December 15th, 2023

Walter Marr: The Engine Man

By: Gary Fisher

President - Genesee County Historical Society

The big names are well known Durant, Dort, Chevrolet, Mott, Buick and Chrysler. But just as important to the history of the auto industry are the less famous names. History is fickle. Understanding it has a lot to do with who is telling the story, what their motivations are, and the fame and recency of the people and events being discussed. When it comes to understanding our motoring history, it’s important to know who those almost forgotten folks are whose innovations and expertise paved the way for the celebrity names to get most of the glory and almost all the money. 

High on this list is Walter Marr. Marr was born in Lexington, Michigan in 1865, and later moved to Pine Run. His father died when Marr was only seven, he had to help support the family when they moved to East Tawas. He found his way to East Saginaw where he advanced his mechanical and engineering knowledge and skills. It was in Saginaw that he built his first gasoline engine. 

By 1896 Marr kicked off his career as an entrepreneur starting a company, the Marr Cycle Company to manufacture bicycles. In short order he felt he was ready for the big time and made the move to Detroit in 1890, and he caught the ‘horseless carriage’ bug, resolving to build one of his own. His first effort was called the Marr Motor Wagon completed in 1898. It wasn’t easy for him to put it all together, but he worked collaboratively on occasion with another Detroiter working to build a car, a young man named Henry Ford. Together they worked to solve an ignition problem on the Motor Wagon. In building the car Marr created America’s first known spark advance. 

His second vehicle was designed and built with a single-cylinder overhead valve engine. The prevailing practice was to use a T or L head engine, but Marr felt there was a better way. So, he set his cap to make an overhead valve engine design. Only one other person built a car with an overhead valve engine prior to the 20th century, Marr, and a fellow named John Wilkinson. 

By the turn of the century only Marr and Ford were building cars in Detroit. Ford benefitted from his friendship with Detroit Mayor William C. Maybury who introduced Ford to lumber multi-millionaire William Murphy. That providential meeting led to the capital that created the Ford empire. Meanwhile Marr was left on his own. As he said, “Ford got the money, and I got the experience.”

Marr would soon make a providential connection of his own when he answered an ad for a job. That offer came from another Detroiter hoping to build an automobile. His name was David Dunbar Buick. Marr would start as an assistant in Buick’s firm, working for a man named W.S. Murray. It quickly became clear that Murray didn’t really know what he was doing, and Marr did. Marr ascended to Murray’s position. Buick empowered Marr to take the lead and build the first car for Buick. It was completed in 1900. 

By 1901 Buick and Marr had started to butt heads. Both fiery with quick tempers they parted company. Marr headed off to work at the Olds Motor Works and Buick brought in another engineer named Eugene Richard. The Olds gig didn’t last long and soon Walter was off to try his hand at building cars in Cleveland for Frank Dorman. He persuaded Dorman to buy that first Buick automobile and use it for research. The resulting car was called the American Gas Automobile, and Marr planned to build an electric version too. But he and Dorman would clash just like he did with Buick, and Marr was fired.  He soon found himself back in Detroit again, but with that original Buick, and plans to keep building cars. 

Buick and Richard had patented a design for an engine (in Richard’s name) to be assigned to the Buick Manufacturing Company. The patent was for an overhead valve engine. Marr was rehired and then quickly fired after another blow up with Buick. He left to again build his own car. He called it the Marr Autocar. After a series of adventures building, marketing, and manufacturing cars, including one called The Wolverine, Marr found himself dismissed from yet another company, the Reid Manufacturing Company. He had established three things, 1) He knew how to build a car from top to bottom as well as anyone in America, and 2) He wasn’t an easy guy to get along with, and 3) He needed a job. 

Luckily for Marr, David Buick needed him as much as Marr needed a job. Buick was having an awful time building a car. His firm had been consumed by its financial backer Ben Briscoe and was soon to be on the chopping block for sale. By fall of 1903 it was on its way to Flint having been purchased by the Flint Wagon Works and its leaders James Whiting, William Ballenger, and company. Buick and Marr made a pact that if they were going to work together, they would walk away from conflict and invoke a cooling off period before reconvening. 

In Flint, excitement was high about Buick. Arthur Mason who would become the fourth cornerstone of Buick engine development along with Buick himself, Richard, and Marr was in the process of superintending the set-up of the Buick plant. By February of 1904 Marr and his wife Abbie, along with Buick, Richard, and Mason were firmly ensconced in Flint and ready to start the grand adventure that would be the establishment of both Buick, and later General Motors as the world leader in automobile manufacturing. 

Part Two in the next issue!

Walter Marr

David Buick & Walter Marr

Walter Marr (Behind the wheel) with Tom Buick riding shotgun.

Pic taken on First Street at Saginaw in Downtown Flint

For more information visit: GeneseeHistory.org!

Cruis’n is a publication dedicated to All Things for the Automotive Enthusiast. By highlighting/promoting the events, stories and people that make the car hobby go.

Al’s Garage

Vol. #4, Issue #12

"Taking a sharp right hand turn"

First and foremost, I would like to thank all of you that inquired about the November 2023 issue of Al’s Garage, and really the lack of it. Quite frankly I was in the hospital with a blocked bile duct and was not up to writing and submitting my monthly column. 

In the process of clearing the bile duct they discovered a polyp which connects to the pancreas. Unfortunately, it was cancerous. Fortunately, it was caught very early and my prognosis is good. A very good friend of mine, Hector Garcia, owner of American Auto Works in Burton and fellow Board of Director with the Back to the Bricks(R) organization stepped up and got to connecting. He called his close friend, Dr. Bobby Mukkamala and he was able to start connecting me with some of the best Pancreatic specialists in North America which happened to be at the University of Michigan. Both Dr. Bobby and Hector, have been and will always remain a ‘God Sent’ for me and will always have my deep appreciation and gratitude for each of their concerns and willingness to help with my wellbeing.



Apparently, this type of cancer is very rare and is in the 1% range of all cancers and consequently is not seen much. Even with its overall rarity my prognosis remains high. I am currently scheduled for surgery on December 14th, 2023, and will be in a much better position to know what lies ahead of me. So As you read this I am in recovery.

So how does this relate to the car hobby? Well quite frankly what has occupied at the top of my interests (the car hobby) has quickly ‘taken a sharp right hand turn’. This is not to say I don’t think about it, but some of my projects are on a temporary hold. I suspect that many of you who are reading this have either experienced similar circumstances or have known someone who has. In my case, this was the farthest from my mind and it has served as a real hard reality check. One’s personal health reigns as the most important to all of us and cannot be ignored. In my case, I had absolutely no idea what lay ahead of me. I went to the hospital with a blocked bile duct and learned of this other condition. Specifically, the cancerous polyp is in what they call the ‘ampulla of vater’ area of the bile duct. Kind of sounds like a superfast Italian sports car especially when you shorten it up to ‘ampulla vater’! 

I remain very positive and looking forward to writing a lot more ‘Al’s Garage’ issues for years to come. I am trying not to lose my sense of humor as I move forward. I have never asked ‘why me’ ? I take it as one life’s experiences, and more importantly if this only touches one of you then writing this article about taking a sharp right hand turn is well worth it.

May all of you have a ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New year’. No ‘woke’ terms for me and I repeat, to all have a ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year’. God Bless all of you!

Keep on roll’

Al Hatch

Founder

Back to the Bricks® 

Chairman Emeritus