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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

We're making progress, though it's still early days. We're all very excited to be on this journey, though, and this is absolutely doable. We're excited to bring you with us as we bring this piece of history back to life!

The Marathon on a trailer, at the location we picked it up.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Some bad wiring by the previous owner, combined with some heavily degraded insulation on a busbar, resulted in the entire chassis being live at 50V. We've sorted that out. Now we can start trying to solve the mystery that is the wiring job under the dash, with all the professionalism you expect.

A POV shot, in which the person holding the camera is flipping the bird to a disconnected set of red wires.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

As for the electrics? Well... it's progressing. Inky gives a good idea of how that's been going.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The good news? It's surprisingly still quite good mechanically. (Forgive the picture, I forgot I needed to make this post.) The brakes are excellent, the parking brake works, the shifter is as good as a 70s Ford shifter can ever be, and the underbody only has surface rust. So that part is easy.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Oh, whoops, didn't get the edited video out on time, or... ever. Enough waiting around though, folks- here it is. Don't mind the state of things, we've been hard at work... #ev #electric_vehicle #classic_car #restoration #thread

Our 1981 Marathon C360 electric van, partly disassembled with a blanket thrown over it.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Ah, I missed my own deadline! I'll have a proper edited video out soon documenting the whole rescue process, but for now here it is- our Marathon C360, the last surviving one in the world. youtu.be/CqJIg-Kc5ig #EV #history #carculture #cars

youtu.be

State of the Marathon

YouTube video by Infinity Systems

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

That is, until recently, when something very interesting turned up at an undisclosed location in the Ottawa Valley... Stay tuned. Big news on Sunday. :)

A mysterious metal object, painted white, with peeling red lettering reading MARATHON C360 ELECTRIC VAN.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

So where does this leave the C360? Up until recently, it was believed only one survived. A first generation model purchased by Briggs & Stratton and converted to a gas-electric hybrid, it survives to this day as a rolling shell and was recently sold at auction.

A Marathon C360, finished in bare aluminium.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

In 1980 or 1981 (dates are unclear), a second-generation model was introduced which went some way to solving the issues- but it was too late for the company. A failed plan to open a new factory, combined with the end of the gas crisis and failing government support, would see Marathon fail by 1983.

A second-generation C360 in the livery of the Dartmouth Mail Service. The driver is not visible.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Problems soon arose. The vans were difficult to control in reverse with the self-steering rear axle. Power delivery was described as "spasmodic". Drivelines failed often, and batteries wore out quicker than anticipated. Marathon worked hard to resolve these problems, but it tainted their reputation.

Seven Transport Canada-owned C360s lined up, perhaps awaiting a day of work.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Initial success was promising. Ontario Hydro ordered 12, including the first production model (seen here with Premier Bill Davis behind the wheel). Transport Canada would eventually operate 11, and USPS had a standing order for 10 per month. At first, things seemed excellent.

Premier of Ontario Bill Davis, seen behind the wheel of the first production Marathon C360, in a very flashy Ontario Hydro livery.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

The first C360 electric vans rolled out of the factory later that year. Powered by eighteen 6-volt golf cart batteries, they could achieve a top speed of roughly 70 km/h, over a range of roughly 60 km. Hardly ground-breaking numbers, but useful enough for a local delivery vehicle when gas was tight.

Louis Gyory, sitting in the driver's seat of a C360, shows the battery tray located over the rear wheels.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Marathon Electric Vehicles was founded in 1969 by a Hungarian immigrant named Louis Gyory. I'll cover their early history in a later thread (there is an excellent series of Ingenium articles for now) but by 1979, seeing limited success with cars, they decided to focus on commercial vans.

An unfinished Marathon C360 van (perhaps the first) in the factory. The inventor, Louis Gyory, sits on it. In the background, a line of C300 electric cars.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

The Marathon C360 is one of the most interesting and certainly most forgotten EVs of the 1970s "crap era". Somewhat uniquely among the offerings on the North American market at the time, it wasn't designed as a gas-saving commuter vehicle- but as a genuine workhorse. Thread: #carculture #EV #history

A worker hangs out the open side door of a Transport Canada-liveried Marathon C360.

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Watch this space, we've got a big announcement for Sunday :)

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The Last Marathon @thelastmarathon.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

#didyouknow that Québec hosted a pioneering EV manufacturer in the late 1970s and early 1980s? Marathon Electric Vehicles made a good first impression during the gas crunch of the 70s, but quickly fell from grace once fuel became cheap again. Now almost all trace of it is gone. Almost...

A press photo of the Marathon C-360 Electric Utility Van, a wedge-shaped six-wheeled compact van.

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