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. Altho... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
nice write up. im not in the detroit area. but hopefully those who are will somehow be able to use this as a call to action. keep up the good work.
I think the name on the real estate sign speaks for it self " Yousef Beydoun" It is sad to say but this country especially Detroit Michigan is were it is at today on hard times because to much foreign influence. If the US would stop importing so much foreign crap Detroit would be the going industrial griant that it once was.
It's sad that the products of Detroit's hayday are holding up better then the city itself. My father, born in 1941, lived at 6 mile and Schaefer, we drove down to all the places he could remember he used to go too, It was a bit rough to say the least.
Nice write up. Grew up on the west side of Detroit but we never ventured down to that area (except to race on Telegraph). We usually hit Hollywood or Gratiot Auto.
I grew up right around the corner from there in west Dearborn. About 5 minutes from there. I remember going there once with my old man when I was little. Walts Puffer used to sit on display in the store when you walked in. A lot of history in that area for Drag Racing. Not to far from there in the 60's, Dearborn steel tubing was building thunderbolts and the years of people cruising and racing up and down telegraph. Its a long cool history. A lot of people talk about Woodward but, Telegragh Rd. has just as much history and it still goes on the weekends as soon as the weather gets nice. I'm sure a lot of guys and gals that raced up and down Telegraph got parts from Walts. Luckly, I'll be back home at the end of June to go to the Downriver cruise on Fort St. Its a good one. I may have to swing by Walts and take a few photo's of the Riv sitting outside of it before I drive back to LA
Very well done. I'm an East Sider and not that I was heavy into Drag Racing, I thought I had at least heard of these various shops over the years. I even worked in Dearborn (Ford) not far from there but I didn't know about it 'till your article. I had heard of Walt's Puffers but didn't know that they originated here. I always like to learn something more about Detroit and it's history/heritage and I learn alot of it on the HAMB.
Man this hits home for me. I grew up in Inkster about a mile north of Walts Auto and used to go there all the time. Walt is a great guy with tons of great stories and man he has some cool stuff stashed away. His reason...he never had to sell it! It was not uncommon to have some heavy hitters come in to use the facilties at Walts and tune their rides up. I have taken tons of photos of the murals and building...one day it will be gone for good, very sad.. And unfortunately the area around there has drastically changed..Inkster is one of the most violent cities in the country. Who ever did this...thank you, what a great tribute
Lets face it, This world has changed (and I am not so sure for the better) everyone loves the computer so much I think people don't realize the impact it has taken on the Small retail shops. Hell even I have moved back home and setup shop where I live. Overhead is a killer, Guys will come in and hang out, Look, touch , Lick and ooh and ahh over the parts you have in stock and then go home and look them up on the internet and order them from "Wang" or "Sang" and save a whopping five bucks. Maybe I am just bitching and try to live too much in the past but Seeing this pains me. Most likey what will happen is Some Overseas company will purchase it with a full US goverment Grant, And turn it into a "title loans" or "We buy gold for cash" place. Just makes me want to cry.
The building was recently broken into, and scrappers stole all the heavy wiring to all the machinery...
My first cool car in 1983 was a 1970 Monte Carlo SS 454. I never went to Woodward. There were lots of shops that are gone now, Walt's, Ramchargers, Mayfairs HiPo Shop, Safariwagon's uncle owned Hollywood Auto. All gone now. Still have Rays Precision Engine, Acme Carburetor and a few others. This area is still filled with Hot Rodders. Detroit Dragway and Flatrock Speedway were a 15 minute drive. This area was a pretty cool place to grow up.
Yes it was! All we talked about was getting our cars and cruising Telegraph. Before we had cars we would roll out there on our bikes to watch the cars at Warren and Telegraph. We alo had Mid America Speed shop in Westland, Redford Speed, man getting a little bummed thinking about it...
I lived about a mile from Walts. Use to shop there all the time in the 70s Any body remember The Driver in the last pic ? .
That cat was just the type of guy doin that stuff back then, and getting fairly good at it. He's still out there at a cruise night near you. Always in something kool, last week was a late 50's Vette.
Detroit's not alone, the vandals, scrappers, meth-zombies & crackheads are tearing up a lot of history all across the country, mostly because very few of them get shot or arrested. You see it OH, Cali, TX, & even way out in the "country", where the cops seem to do little. Thankfully though, Detroit HAMBers are having new adventures every week & writing some of their own history. Detroit is still bursting with gearheads, hot rodders, & kustomizers. If ya don't believe me, get off your asses & come for a visit this summer!
I saw walt's puffer at the old circuit city cruze night about 10 years ago. He hauled it up there on the trailer. Very cool.
Hey Highlander, how about B&P Speed on Telegraph (or is it M50) down your way? They are still in business. For the "Chrome Go Fasters" crowd there's the Bolt On Speed Shop in southgate too, lol.
I grew up in Allen Park about a half mile from Mayfairs it was my go-to shop for everything they sponsored my cousin in the early 60's spent a ton of money at Rays precision engines also ,along with the original Ramchargers on allen this thread just motivated me to go and take some pics of my F100 at Walt's
You my friend, must be a writer...very well done. I worked for GM for 40 years and while I no longer live there, I did love the Motor City and the cars. I spent more time at the Gratiot Auto Supply than at Walts, but those old legends will never be replaced in my mind. Racing was expensive then also, but you somehow saved a few bucks to spend at the speed shops.Now it is a millionaire's sport. We still have Blairs and the Early Ford store to support my habit. If I save for a long time I can afford the SO-CAL Speed Shop once in a while. As Bob Dylan sang - " The times they are a changing.
I didn't realize it had closed. It was cool to see when passing by. There were a lot of cool places, I grew up in Trenton, you could hear the cars running at Detroit Dragway from the house when I was a kid. We had a Gratiot Auto Supply for a short time in Woodhaven, Ramchargers was over on Allen Road. There were auto parts stores where the counter guys knew their stuff (Gonyea's, Woodhaven auto parts & Southgate Auto). We would cruise up to Telegraph by Joy on Saturday nights. I remember one night a 63-64 Impala burn to the ground in the north bound lanes near the ice cream place.
I used to live at plymouth and inkster and would drive down to vanborn to see my girl at the time. I would drive past the shop but it was never opened. I think it was clossed then. Still sad to see it for sale.
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