Visitor looking for info on an early 1930s Marquette Luggage trunk.

Legio3Arty

Greetings, HET fans, I was raised restoring old Fords, mostly Model As, but we did build one Model B roadster. Now I am passing the tradition down to my son by helping him build his first car. We are heavily modifying a VW based Gazelle Mercedes SSK replica roadster that he found on line. My first car was a 68 bug that my dad and I restored and I always wanted to build a kit car. Long story short, we were looking for an old 20s-30s removable trunk to serve as an engine cover. I found one and took a chance on it, but it turned out to be too nice. The restorer in me won't let me just chop it up without first determining if it might be that one rare piece that some enthusiast is hoping to find. I did a quick online search and found out that this Marquette Hiway King was a dealership option on Hudson and Essex in the 1930-33 range. WhenI picked it up (some nitwit had drilled through the sides and attached cheap door pulls) I noticed that it was a lot heavier than other similar trunks I've seen. Reading the literature I found online, it turns out that is because the whole front, bottom and sides are doubled up so that once the lid is opened, the whole front slides out and the trunk doubles it's capacity. Pretty nifty. Does anyone have an idea if these were exclusive to the HET marques? Also, what is the rarity/approximate value of this model? I apologize if that breaks any forum etiquette, but I would prefer to find something else for our project and save this piece for folks who own real collector cars.

oldsbanger71

Hi Legio3Arty, do you still have the trunk ?
i think i bought a trunk like this , at least it looks equal, but without the sliding out part.
The locks look the same, could you send me detail pics of the locks and possably of the key's , as my trunk is missing the keys. With your help, i might find a fitting key or can replicate one.
Please kontact me at : pst-ch@quickline.ch
Best regards Oldbanger71.