Walt’s Auto Supply

Let’s face it: much of the Metro Detroit area is scattered with scars of its tumultuous past. A phantom limb of sorts, the plywood paneled windows of the brick buildings struggle to mask the once prosperous storefronts and double paned doors. Although clusters of nondescript structures have slowly faded into the Midwestern landscape, an especially resilient example has endured decades of development on the corner of Van Born and Inkster roads in Dearborn Heights. Despite its significance, a freshly installed “For Sale�? sign threatens the future of this infamous speed shop.

From shirtless national record runs, fistfights with NHRA officials and some questionable German paint schemes, the Knoch family’s Walt’s Auto Supply has been riling up the drag racing community for over half a century. And now it’s for sale.

Walter Knoch, Sr. first opened the two bay garage facing Van Born Road on New Year’s Day, 1939. After World War II, the parts store was open for business, supplying the growing number of Detroit area rodders with their speed part fix.

“My mother worked the parts store,�? Wally Knoch, Jr. remembers. “I would too, because I was too lazy to study law at the time.�?

One day in 1956, Wally came home from school to find his 1937 Ford had gone missing. Confused, his mother reported that it was at the parts store.

“While I was at school, he had hoisted the body was above the frame, dropped a Hemi in it and welded welded in a roll bar!�? Wally said. “My dad built the race cars, I just drove them.�?

In addition to housing the legendaryWalt’s Puffers race team, plenty of big names have made their way through the doors of the shop.

“Garlits would come here during the Nationals,�? Wally said. “One time my dad came up to him and said ‘That’s not how you put together a motor!’�?

Garlits wasn’t the only legend subject to the Knoch’s humor.

“When I was allowed back into the NHRA [with the roadster painted on the shop’s outside wall], I had a German Eagle painted on it,�? Wally said. “In one claw was Borsch’s roadster, and in the other was a blonde. With that and the iron cross on the fuel tank, nobody would bother us in the pits.�?

The fading pair of larger-than-life Walt’s Puffer altereds painted on the North wall point directly back to the building’s racing history, but it’s important not to overlook its speed shop roots.

“It was the biggest parts store around,�? Wally said. “We had times where people were lined up out the door.�?

Walt’s Auto Supply closed its doors about five years ago due to stocking issues.

Mirroring much of the Detroit area, what lies ahead is uncertain. But one thing is for sure—an immense amount of Midwestern hot rodding history has taken place within the confines of those walls. And for the right price, you could write the next chapter in the Walt’s Auto Supply story.

-Joey Ukrop