1917 Gray-Dort, built in Chatham

THE OLD CAR DETECTIVE

Bill Sherk

An email arrived recently from Simon Genest of St. Thuribe, Quebec, with the story of a car built over one hundred years ago in Chatham, Ontario.

“Hi Bill. My father was a cabinet maker. A friend offered to buy for him, a heap of scrap, which was once a Gray- Dort car made in 1917.

“For five years, my father worked patiently on its restoration. He ordered original parts. His first outing was during the official parade of the 150th anniversary of the village of St. Albans. He was very proud.

“My father passed away a few weeks ago. We found the car in a dusty garage. We took it out and cleaned it up. The engine no longer starts. We don’t know if we can make a collector happy or if one of my nephews, who is a mechanic, could continue to improve it.”

1917 Gray-Dort recently restored in Quebec.

The Gray family in Chatham, Ontario, was very successful in building horsedrawn carriages. When the automobile became popular, they decided that was the way to go.

They hooked up with Dallas Dort in Michigan, who was building a light and well-made car called the Dort. The Gray family would build a car in Chatham with parts imported from Dallas Dort in Michigan. The result was the Gray-Dort, which began in 1915.

For the next four years, all Gray-Dorts had the gas filler neck sticking out through the dashboard. This way, the driver could sit behind the wheel while buying gas from a curbside pump. But there was always the danger of fire if the driver was smoking a cigarette. In 1920, the gas tank was moved to the rear of the car.

In 1925, Dallas Dort suddenly decided to get out of the car business and died soon after of a heart attack while playing golf.

With no more parts coming from Michigan, the Gray-Dort Company in Chatham came to an end after building 26,000 Gray-Dorts. Some still survive, including the one shown here.

I’m always looking for stories. Email billtsherk@sympatico.ca.