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If you're ever in or near Flint, Michigan go see this
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Last week we had a business meeting in Flint Michigan at what is called "Factory One."

The building was the site of the Durant Dort Carriage Company. If you recognize the name Durant, it's because William C "Billy" Durant was the man who in 1904  took over a fledgling motorcar company called Buick and made it a success. In 1908 he founded General Motors, consolidating Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Oakland car companies. He eventually was removed from the company. His story is far longer and deeper than I can do justice, but our guide (who seemed to live the life of learning everything he could about this site and it's inhabitants said Durant was the Elon Musk of the time.

The site itself is actually a portion of the full factory that once sat there. Literally across the street sits their 2 story office building, and the carriages they built were on display on the second floor. That meant when one was sold, it was disassembled and carried downstairs before being re-assembled. The office building is now a museum itself. 

In 1915, Durant's business partner J Dallas Dort (a maverick in his own right) converted the carriage company to Dort Motors Company and by 1920, their production reached 30,000 vehicles!. The company was liquidated beginning in 1924.

Our guide gave us just a quick half hour tour of the office building, which almost pained him. He said the full tour will take @ 1.5-2 hours. He said the Factory One building would be about the same. This guy is full of stories, trivial knowledge, and has a real passion for doing this. 

Factory One is also the site of Kettering University's vast archives, though they may be limited to the public.

To learn more about the site, go to www.durantdort.org and www.gmfactoryone.com both have some better pictures than I could get, plus shows a lot more detail. There's also a video on the factory one site which shows some real-life settings and cool background shots.

The tours are free, though I think they ask for reservations.

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Bryan-NW 'burbs
1972 Malibu
Vaguely stock appearing, and the opposite of restored.
1999 std bore 5.7, Vortec heads, Holley Stealth Ram, GM cam
700R4, Viking coilovers, 12 bolt 4.10 posi, and a whole bunch more
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There is definitely a lot of automotive history to see in Flint Michigan, because it was made there. There are auto related activities throughout the year. We were up there last summer for the Back To The Bricks summer car show; where I had a chance to have my photo taken with Mr Durant and Chevrolet. Not to many car shows start with aircraft fly overs. We returned a week ago for the Chrome and Ice Show, I was thrilled when they asked if they could use my Buick for their 2024 calendar of events

 

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Kevin

Northwestern Ohio
Derek69SS


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Looks like something I'd thoroughly enjoy!

I've been to several early Ford sites, but none of the GM ones.

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Derek Kiefer - Mantorville, MN

69 Malibu Pro-Touring stroker LS1-383/T56 - 69 SS396-325/3spd project
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Kevin, that pic with the statues is right on the corner of Factory One, NICE!

Derek, this is right up your alley and the Kensington archives would be worth a month of snooping

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Bryan-NW 'burbs
1972 Malibu
Vaguely stock appearing, and the opposite of restored.
1999 std bore 5.7, Vortec heads, Holley Stealth Ram, GM cam
700R4, Viking coilovers, 12 bolt 4.10 posi, and a whole bunch more
dashboard


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Last summer Buick (Buicks are loved in Flint) was the featured car at Back To The Bricks. Buicks were lined up on the brick road between Durante Carriage Factory and the first GM Corporate office that you toured, as well as the large parking area behind.

 

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Kevin

Northwestern Ohio
bowtie


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That building picture you showed has an elevated step height for when people would pull up so they didn't have to step up or down when getting on or off their carriages.

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Bryan-NW 'burbs
1972 Malibu
Vaguely stock appearing, and the opposite of restored.
1999 std bore 5.7, Vortec heads, Holley Stealth Ram, GM cam
700R4, Viking coilovers, 12 bolt 4.10 posi, and a whole bunch more
dashboard


2K+ Club

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Posts: 2447
Date:
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Derek, Bryan if you do travel to Flint Michigan and want to add some fun, take the ferry across Lake Michigan. As Bryan stated, there is so much automotive history. The big car show is held on 12 blocks of Saginaw Avenue.

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Kevin

Northwestern Ohio
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