At last report we were rattling around Detroit, MI on Friday, June 28. No shop hopping on the weekend, but on Monday July 1 we headed to the western and northern suburbs. We had a breakfast visit with Brock Dittrick in Northville, MI, the guy who was considering buying the Austin A110 that we were inspecting last summer in Mount Uniacke, NS. He didn't buy it, but meanwhile he had finished restoration of an Austin Gipsy.

Guy's Garage in Northville, MI

Dan LaGrou, D&D Fabrications, stuffs V8s into MGBs—lots of them.

We tried to visit Guy's Garage in Northville, just to discover that the property was sold, the house was razed, and a new house was now standing in its place. But the phone number still worked, so we headed for his place in Ann Arbor, MI. Guy St John had a late model MGB converted to Weber downdraft carburetor, prompting a short discussion about how to restore positive crankcase ventilation, fuel vapor recovery and anti-run-on functions. He works mostly on MGs with several of them on hand at any given time.

Quality Foreign Car Service in Berkley, MI is still there but no longer working on vintage cars. British Motor Cars in Pontiac, MI could not be found, we think the street name may have been changed, and no remaining trace of the business. We went looking for Davis Restoration and/or English Motors Inc in Marine City, MI, only to find them gone and the premises being used for storage. Going to Hugo's Garage (foreign and domestic auto repair) in Romeo, MI, the place was closed for the holiday week, but at least it's still in business. D&D Fabrications in Almont, MI. He has in stock 300 aluminum engine blocks, 300 crankshafts, and 1,000-cylinder heads, and is regularly stuffing V8 engines into MGBs (lots of them). In the evening we had a walk-in visit from Ian Kempf of Imlay City, MI who has an MGB and two MGA, and we may get back to see him later.

Doug's Import Service first car found its way back home

We had a long late-night drive so July 2nd a.m. we could be far north in Petoskey, MI to visit Doug's Import Service. He works on all foreign cars, including vintage British. Recently an MGA, the first car he owned when 19, mysteriously found its way back into his hands like a stray cat, so now he needs to find time to restore it. Then we headed south to visit MFD Classic Motors in Traverse City, MI, only to find they no longer service cars, just storage and sales. We did find Lakeside Automotive in Traverse City, but the owner is winding down servicing of vintage British cars, no more new customers being accepted.

Hammer & Dolly Automotive Restorations in in Traverse City

Then we stopped at Hammer & Dolly Automotive Restorations at their new digs in Traverse City where they have lots of space to work on vintage cars, younger guys who look like they will be here for a long time. We also got to visit Van's Garage in Leland, MI, finding a semi-retired guy currently restoring a Hupmobile with his son now running the shop (more long-term staying power). A few days earlier we got a business card for David Irvine Custom Automotive Restorations in Northport, MI, but somehow it didn't get onto our Planning list, so we missed a visit there, but he does work on vintage British cars. In evening of the 2nd we wanted to attend a club meeting with Twin Bay British Car Club in Traverse City, MI, but the meeting was apparently cancelled without notice, so we wasted the effort there.

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