Old Car Dealers in the Detroit Area

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Originally Posted by shovelhead

RGK20m3,
I think that’s where I went in with a broken clutch fork in the summer of 1970 looking for a replacement. When he asked me what it was out of I said “I think it’s from a 62 Chrysler”. He said with an attitude “You don’t know what car you drive?”

I replied “Ok, it’s a 54 Chevy” He said “I don’t have Chevrolet parts, go to Emmett down the street” again with more,of an attitude.

I answered “When it’s got a Chrysler drivetrain in it you do!” which it did, 383 and four speed……

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As I remember, back in the 50s, we used the term "squirrel motor" to describe putting another brand engine into a car. Mercury or Olds engines into Fords was a very popular choice. It was also used as a verb, "I squirreled it up" to describe the act.

Actually it was a pretty easy swap. The 54 already had the torque tube rear axle replaced with a Tri-five rear end with an open driveshaft. Unbolted the factory “tower” engine mount brackets, two pieces of angle iron and a drill press and the 62 Chrysler mounts sat right on top. Had to move the rear crossmember back an inch or so, it was a previously fabbed one during the rear axle swap.

About two or three hours to mount the radiator and wire it. It did get a lot of looks when the hood was closed and I hit the starter and bystanders heard the famous Chrysler gear reduction starter whine………

The funny part, I had a nameplate from a engine donated to my high school auto shop on one of the valve covers that said:

Chevrolet Motor Division Engineering
This unit is donated for educational purposes.

There was a showroom built on Grand River east of Meyers [[Just beyond Frost-Avis Ford) that was supposed to be a Tucker dealer. As you all know, Tucker went belly up before it really got off the ground, and the building became Skiffington Kaiser-Fraser. Back around 1948, I'd guess.

My run of Michigan plates from 1910 here in Las Vegas.

Ray,

pretty impressive the plates 66 through 69 with the same numbers!
You had to know someone at the branch office to get those!

In ‘72 I had one of my plates stolen while working at Livernois and Seven Mile. I made some Secretary of State runs to the Livernois branch and around then they were assigned PMD series and I was trying to get by until plate number 421 came up as that car was a Pontiac and was a 421 engine. Well, almost. The thief or a different one came back for the rear plate and I could not stall any longer, had to take what I could get.

The 1970 MCL777, a coincidence? I looked up MCL777 and there is a statute on the books here under that number.

BTW, the 1970 plate colors. As a LEO what was your take on that paint scheme that year? I found them hard to read especially motorcycle plates.

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Originally Posted by RGK20m3

I worked at Redford Sales and Service [[Chrysler Plymouth) from 1/74 to 12/79, it was a former Nash/International dealer [[the chimney still had Nash on it and there was a dealer sign in the rafters above service); the owner Hugh McVeigh also owned the CP franchise in Walled Lake [[the Car Store, it was right on the water). He sold property at Twelve Oaks Mall to Ford Credit, who built the dealership that never opened.
I recall Dameron becoming Dick Green West, but not Farmington Hills. I worked at Porterfield Wilson Pontiac in '72 [[formerly Glenn Pontiac).
Grew up in the area, recall Dean Sellers Ford, Bob Sellers Pontiac, Armstrong Buick, Rosedale Olds, Dwyer Imports, Emmert Chevy. I worked for a very short time at Kelel Dodge; Naiff Kelel was a retired Army general and the dealer principal at Greenfield AMC- Kelel became Luv Dodge, which relocated to Telegraph and became Bruce Campbell Dodge. There was a Chevy dealer that opened at I-96 and Telegraph in an old supermarket [[Matick?), also Coon Bros. AMC/Jeep at Plymouth [[became Snethkamp).

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Dameron changed ownership due to the death of the dealer principal, early 70’s thereabouts. Before Bob Sellers Pontiac that was Clohecy and before that it was Currie Pontiac.

I remember that dealership by Twelve Oaks that never opened, slated to be a Mercury dealer and possibly Lincoln. That would have put the hurts to Bob Dusseau Lincoln Mercury in Farmington.

Im thinking that the old Kar Kraft building was a Dodge dealer, maybe Norwest but I can’t remember, maybe that was the franchise that became LUV/Kelel? I remember the body shop manager at one time for Kelel, his nickname was Mac, last name McCarthy.I remember him from my seven months at Gene Merollis in Garden City in ‘73.

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Originally Posted by shovelhead

Dameron changed ownership due to the death of the dealer principal, early 70’s thereabouts. Before Bob Sellers Pontiac that was Clohecy and before that it was Currie Pontiac.

I remember that dealership by Twelve Oaks that never opened, slated to be a Mercury dealer and possibly Lincoln. That would have put the hurts to Bob Dusseau Lincoln Mercury in Farmington.

Im thinking that the old Kar Kraft building was a Dodge dealer, maybe Norwest but I can’t remember, maybe that was the franchise that became LUV/Kelel? I remember the body shop manager at one time for Kelel, his nickname was Mac, last name McCarthy.I remember him from my seven months at Gene Merollis in Garden City in ‘73.

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Norwest Dodge does sound familiar for that location….

Maybe they still have one way in the back???

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Originally Posted by shovelhead

Ray,

pretty impressive the plates 66 through 69 with the same numbers!
You had to know someone at the branch office to get those!

The 1970 MCL777, a coincidence? I looked up MCL777 and there is a statute on the books here under that number.

BTW, the 1970 plate colors. As a LEO what was your take on that paint scheme that year? I found them hard to read especially motorcycle plates.

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My mother was the branch supervisor at the AAA branch in east Dearborn, which also handled plates, so getting my fav number was no problem.

Yeah,the MCL number is a coincidence. As for the 1970 plates, I've always had good 20/20 vision, so I really didn't have a problem best as I can recall. It was, though, a pretty sick combination of colors.

It was pretty neat to get a new plate every year. With today's way of just issuing year stickers, I wonder if license plate collecting will kind of fade away as a hobby. Pity.

"Yeah,the MCL number is a coincidence. As for the 1970 plates, I've always had good 20/20 vision, so I really didn't have a problem best as I can recall. It was, though, a pretty sick combination of colors."

I remember back when a fellow named Richard Austin was Michigan's Secretary of State. A slogan going around at the time was "His only job is to pick the colors for next year's license plates. And each year he blows it."

Yeah he sure did in 1970. LOL! :)

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Originally Posted by Ray1936

"Yeah,the MCL number is a coincidence. As for the 1970 plates, I've always had good 20/20 vision, so I really didn't have a problem best as I can recall. It was, though, a pretty sick combination of colors.

I remember back when a fellow named Richard Austin was Michigan's Secretary of State. A slogan going around at the time was "His only job is to pick the colors for next year's license plates. And each year he blows it."

Yeah he sure did in 1970. LOL! :)

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Yep, butterscotch and white, greaaaaat color combination to honor some small college in this state with no forethought on visibility especially on motorcycle plates. If I remember correctly 1970 plates were originally intended to have tabs for renewals but due to complaints from law enforcement on how bad those were for visibility. So it was 72 for that implementation with the color change of white on maroon for the plates for 71.

Anyone have any knowledge of Superior Motor Sales in Wyandotte? It was located on Biddle, SW corner of Superior, prior to 1958, when it was renovated to a Firestone store that my dad managed until 1973. It had a couple of hd truck hoists and obviously was a dealership in a prior life. It was where the Tim Horton’s is now.

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Originally Posted by RGK20m3

Norwest Dodge does sound familiar for that location….

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Northwest Auto Co. was an import dealership selling MG and Austin Healy at that address per a recent thread on this site titled British Car Dealers; perhaps they got a Dodge franchise prior or after?
When I worked there I recall it being very small for a domestic brand, but would have been fine for MG/AH.

I’m still waiting for more Hodgea Dodge photos from around 1967.

great thread. Glad guys can connect on here for vintage dealerships from back then

Can’t speak for others here but I worked in dealership parts departments from 1970 to 2017 and was hot rodding and repairing cars from before that and still today.

One of my best friends is the son of the guy who owned Dalto Ford on Jefferson, east of I-375. I believe it is now Bob Maxey Ford. Dalto Ford had a slogan like "the little cheaper dealer." I wonder if anyone remembers when it was Dalto Ford.