Checker Aerobus: the twelve-seat Checker built as an airport shuttle

The Checker Aerobus was an extended version of the Marathon, built by Checker Motors Corporation from 1962 until 1977 on two different wheelbases. Its name announced its purpose: it was meant above all as an airport shuttle, carrying passengers and their luggage where a normal taxi could not.

Checker Aerobus at a glance

History of the Checker Aerobus

The Aerobus was an extended Marathon, offered as a seven-door station wagon including the tailgate or a nine-door wagon, coded A12W, and as a six- or eight-door sedan coded A12E. The shorter wheelbases seated nine people, while the longer models carried twelve and their luggage. Unlike the standard Marathon, which used a Continental straight-six, early Aerobuses were powered by Chrysler’s A318 V8 of 5.2 litres, at first with 190 hp and later 200 hp.

When the Marathon switched to a Chevrolet straight-six in 1965, the Aerobus moved to Chevrolet’s 327 cu in small-block V8 with 185 hp at 4,400 rpm. It ran in a lesser state of tune than the 250 hp unit used in regular Marathons, with lower 8:1 compression and a two-barrel rather than a four-barrel carburettor, and top speed was around 84 mph. The rear wheel cutouts were radiused, unlike those of the sedans, to clear the longer body.

Standard equipment for 1966 included a three-speed manual transmission, power brakes, a windscreen washer and a front stabiliser bar. For 1969 the bigger 350 cu in engine of 5.7 litres took over with 200 hp, rising to 215 hp gross for 1971, or 155 hp SAE net. By 1974, intended as the last year for the Aerobus as Checker ended station wagon production, power was increased to 160 hp using a four-barrel carburettor, and the car came only with an automatic gearbox and standard power steering; a 1974 example could reach 99 mph.

Checker also sketched special versions. Marketing material described a prisoner transport variant called the Convoy, a twelve-passenger security van with a rear-facing front passenger seat for a guard, a security screen behind the front compartment and three bench seats in the rear, though there is no evidence that any were sold. An artist’s rendering of a possible Aerobus Ambulance, a short-wheelbase six-door wagon with the rearmost doors closed off by extended rear fenders, appeared in an advertisement with a reply coupon, but no ambulance appears to have been built.

After building no Aerobus models in 1975, Checker found that a market for extended Marathon-based vehicles still existed and created the Aerobus 15. It was based on the long-wheelbase Marathon A12E sedan with a rear door nine inches longer, which made room for jump seats ahead of the last row and raised capacity to fifteen. The rear axle was a heavy-duty truck type with eight studs. Sixty were built in 1976 and a further 47 in 1977. Production of the short-wheelbase versions, always far lower than that of the long ones, had ended with the 1969 model year, and the last Aerobus 15s of 1977 closed the line: no further extended-length Checkers were made. In total 3,568 Aerobuses of all versions were built.

Design and features

• Airport shuttle purpose: the name and the stretched body were aimed at carrying groups and luggage.
• Two wheelbases: nine seats on the short chassis, twelve on the long one.
• V8 power: Chrysler then Chevrolet small-block engines, detuned compared with the Marathon.
• Radiused rear arches: a visual mark of the extended body.
• Aerobus 15: a 1976–1977 version with jump seats for fifteen passengers.

Checker Aerobus versions

• A12W wagon (1962–1969): seven-door and nine-door station wagon bodies.
• A12E sedan: six-door and eight-door sedan bodies, short and long wheelbase.
• Convoy: a proposed twelve-passenger security van, apparently never sold.
• Aerobus Ambulance: an artist’s rendering of a medical version, not built.
• Aerobus 15 (1976–1977): long-wheelbase sedan with jump seats for fifteen, 107 built.

The standard car is described in the Checker Marathon article, the fleet taxi in Checker Taxi, and the A-series chassis code in Checker A11. More cars are in the Checker collection.

Sources

• Checker Aerobus, English Wikipedia: bodies, engines, special versions, production
• Checker Marathon, English Wikipedia: context of the Marathon range