It seems to be the sole running prototype ever built of the stillborn Martin truck.
I believe its the martin 1/4-ton truck,its body was mostly wood and it had FWD 61 BHP 4.The vehicle weight was 750 lbs and could carry 500lb payload. Two prototypes were built?
Sorry kwgibbs, but I think Wendax got to it first, even without the added detail.
This is what I know about Captain James V. Martin and this prototype truck:
19??: Forms the Martin Aeroplane Co.; successfully patents and sells landing gear and other aircraft components.
1922: Forms the Martin Motor Co., Springfield, MA; produces
the Scootmobile under this company name.
192?: Creates a concept for a small car (called the ‘Dart’) and
a small, unnamed truck.
1926: Enlists engineer Miles H. Carpenter to develop and build the Dart.
1926-29: Carpenter constructs a total of three Darts.
1929: Partners with C. A. Warbeck to found Martin Truck Corp. With Warbeck in control, the company plans to build a truck factory in Sayre, PA. This plan is ultimately rejected by the city.
2009: The puzzle photograph and accompanying documents surface in New Jersey. The photo shows a small truck wearing a 1940s NJ license plate. The documents indicate that the truck is a running prototype developed by the Martin Aeroplane Co., Garden City, NY.
I think a likely scenario is:
- City of Sayre, PA rejects plan for new factory;
- Worldwide economic depression hits (1929) making it impossible to continue;
- Martin and Warbeck abandon the plan, dissolve Martin Truck Corp, and go their separate ways.
- Post-war economy spurs Martin to take another go at the small truck idea. (His aviation business may have even profited from the war.)
- Martin builds a running prototype under the name of his existing company. (kwgibbs mentions two prototypes, but I haven't seen a source to corroborate this.)
