Folks Of Interest Don Knopp passes away

From Marcus Edell:
I just heard that Don Knopp passed away. A Niles icon for so many years. He was an interesting character and knew his vintage auto parts. I have quite a bit of Don stories from over the years. I'll miss him.
Let’s here some stories too.....

 

What state did he live in?

 

Correction: Fremont
That number on the photo says

 

Can I assume that the state is Texas ?

 

Fremont, Ca. according to the area code and prefix.

 

Thanks, have no clue where Pleasanton or East bay were. RIP Don.

 

His main business was in the historic Niles District of Fremont, CA - he was very unique individual - In recent times there has been a battle between his daughters over his estate.

 

Donald F. Knopp
Xxxxxxxxx nn, 1934 - July 19, 2018​

 

Don was a cool dude. His place was complete chaos, but he knew where everything was. He had just about every basement in Niles full a parts. He had stuff everywhere. Had a friend break an axle on a stock 40 Chevy, we went to see Don, he said "yup, I have one. Follow me." We drove a couple of blocks over, took an old narrow staircase into a dark basement. He pulled a string and turned on what must have been a 40 watt bulb, it didn't do much, glanced around, and said "there it is" climbed over a bunch of stuff and picked up the axle. Price wasn't bad either. Use to talk to him at the swapmeets too. RIP Buddy.

 

Great guy, east bay fixture. Bought Stuff from him several times and Always got a fair shake.

 

Think it was actually Niles where that store was. He told me about the several warehouses he had full of stuff,,,you walked into his place pictured above and you'd ask for anything and he'd say "wait right here"....he'd walk through the maze and bring it back to you, what a neat person/character he was

RIP, we've lost one heck of a guy

 

That's a cool pic, right out of Central Casting. Didn't know the guy but would like to have met him.

 

More photos of Don Knopp ... and of "Don's Antique Auto Parts" in the Niles district of Fremont, CA:

​

 

Condolences to the Knopp family and friends on the passing of Don...What can you say other than the man found his comfort zone and his life supported with his love of all things mechanical...Pretty amazing and animated collector...and as it has been eluded, knew what and where every darn piece of it was...

Thanks to @Austinrod for sharing the news of Don's passing and to @HEMI32 and all the other friends and acquaintances of Don for painting the picture of his life as the Guy with the Parts...

 

HEMI 32 - Thanks for pics

 

Wow! Who needs Disneyland?

 

I'd known Don most of my life, he provided me with Zephyr gears when I was younger, then through the years many Lincoln parts. Don could be seen at every swap meet, buying. Pulling that little wagon behind, he was a powerhouse of energy.
I called on him when I had my Lincoln tranny stolen, along with the original stick...he was angry with the thieves, just hearing about it.
He replenished me with a clean, used Lincoln case and right hand shift plate with stick. For a very low price.
Godspeed, Don. Take a rest!

 

we used to ride our bikes out to Niles to bother Don and check his swap meet calendar he had hanging up. this was in the 1970's when you could still walk into his shop with out tripping on anything. back then he had a lot in town just full of body parts hoods fenders doors all stacked, had to be a couple hundred pieces out there at least, then some old building full of more stuff.

if you are not familiar with Niles, this is where Charlie Chaplin made movies. anything Niles related has an image of Chaplain who worked there for a few years then left. they should replace the Chaplain images with Don, he was a true icon of the area. I bet he had that business for 50 years.

I love Niles and lived there for 10 years. there is really nowhere quite like it. Don was a part of what made Niles cool.

 

x2

 

Geez, I just remembered the first time I met him...probably late '90's, early 2000's. I had called a few days before for a carb kit for my buddies Stude and a condenser for my FH...I showed up on a Saturday morning, and here was this guy sitting on the ground in front of the store, I just smiled and nodded...had the big hat on..I just sorta walked by him and went inside.

Next thing I know he followed me in.

Told me if I hadn't acknowledged him, he wasn't going to sell me anything.

I listened to some stories, was a lot of fun.

I wasn't a regular, but every time I stopped in he remembered my name and would ask me about something we'd talked about months earlier.

 

Looking at Hemi32's pictures sure brings back a lot of memories. A thought I just had, Don was the only one that new what he had, where it was, and what everything fit. That knowledge is now gone. The only one that might have a clue is his one daughter that worked with him for the last, what 20 years? At least she was there with him 16 or so years ago when I last went there. 49ratfink, I took a ride on the old train out of Sunol that went through Niles Canyon, into Niles, and back about 16 years ago, that lot full of body parts was still there, still full, and clearly visible from the train.

 

that whole area is just empty now. I bet it has been empty for 10 years, even the buildings are gone. I go visit Niles several times a year. Don was out front last time I was there.

 

I left CA. in 2001 I think it was. I hate where I am, but don't think I'll ever move back to CA. Somewhere else for sure. I do wish I'd had bought a house in Niles when they were affordable. Always liked that place.

 

I'd love to have Don's truck and take it to the Goodguys show in Pleasanton and park it with the fancy show cars.

 

great stories

 

I had been going to Don’s place since I was a kid. We used to live in Niles canyon when I was little. We would go over there when my dad needed parts for a car he was restoring or working on. I was out there about 6 months ago. Don had some dementia and one of his daughters and her son were there trying to help prep the store. So when he passed they could make sense of the whole thing. Don was like “Rain man” when it came to parts. He could tell you the part number, what application it was for and the cross reference to apply to other models. He was a kind of no nonsense man - “what do you need, are you going to buy it? If not I’m busy looking for other parts”. He was a good ole guy and was definitely a pillar in Niles Canyon. This is a district within the city of Fremont. For context it is like a 2-3 block little town (historical district). Don was like a 7 eleven in my mind, if he had what you needed it would cost you a little more money than other places. But if needed it, he probably would have it. I hope his daughter and grandson try to make a go of it vs just selling the whole lot .


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memories

 

RIP Don. Never met the man but I wish that I had.

 

X 2. So many of the real roots type people of our hobby/ life style are passing on. Never met Don. But Just got a feeling he was my kinda people. Godspeed.

 

what you see in photos was only a fraction of what he had in parts & cars