History Ramchargers/Chrysler History

That kinda sounds like it may have been Poletown, Billy. GM tore Poletown down under eminent domain to build a new plant there in the '80's.

 

No, there's still a Hamtramck, MI (checked with Mapquest.com). Remember: This was DODGE Main.

 

A bit of trivia: I was one of a group of graduate students who helped Van Allen collect data on that which would later be called the "Van Allen Belts." Sorry, guys, but we never went to the moon. Those "belts" keep us here and keep those funny looking space aliens out. Think about it: Only very recently have we developed the technology for a vertical rocket landing.

 

In a an attempt to clarify the Dodge Main/Poletown post above they were the same site, at least in terms of the same general piece of land- Dodge then GM.

As a kid growing up in Detroit I was always amazed at the large numbers of automotive plants-it still amazes today. I remember Dodge Main which was the plant that Billy refers to above. It was torn down in the early 80s (at least when it was finished being demolished) and GM built their new assembly plant on the property against the wishes of many in the local community. It was called then and to some now as the Poletown plant as Hamtramck was home to many of Polish descent. Today the Hamtramck council is a majority of Muslims and is home to many Muslims-maybe a majority of the residents I believe. It can be a tough area. I worked there in the mid 80s (9600 Mount Elliott if I remember correctly) when they were finishing up the new GM plant. It is very near the intersection of Mount Elliott and the I-94 Freeway. I ran a paint project for GM in the old Gemmer gear building (we rented space for doing anti-graffiti work for the new buses that GM sold to New York city-right around 1200 buses) across the street from the new GM plant and watched many trucks entering the property and large helicopters moving in large equipment as they flew over our building. Gemmer was quite a large building and we would park 40 buses at a time in the area of the plant where they built airplanes in WWI. The Packard plant (in Detroit-Grand Boulevard) was across the freeway and was quite impressive. Stored a 1923 Packard in one of the refurbished storage rooms there in the 80s-it was stolen and never recovered.

When I learned to paint when I was 13 in my grandfather's auto restoration shop, his painter was a guy named Whitman Daly who told me story after story about Dodge Main as he worked his way up to one of the heads of the paint line. It like so many plants here were incredible in size. As a summer job I worked at the Budd Company on Charlevoix in Detroit. There was a Dodge building across the street on Charlevoix and another large plant at the back end of the property on Mack Avenue, which was the Mack Avenue Dodge plant-another large sprawling factory. It seemed where ever you drove their were auto plants and tool and die shops etc. Amazing city in those days IMO.

 

But,but but, the whole world watched it on TV! me included.
Is the earth flat too?

 

You should watch Kent Hovind some time on YouTube. He has a lot of fun ridiculing the flat earth nuts. If you think the flat-earthers have lost their marbles, how about those idiots that teach our kids that we evolved from a rock? And, they even get tax money to teach their screwy religion in the public schools! And, thanks, Jim, for straightening out the "Pole Town" business.

 

If the Earth were flat....A cat would have knocked everything over the edge by now...……..

 

A few words on d'Alembert's Principle: This is something every engineering student learns, usually by his second year. In as few words as possible, a dynamic situation can be simulated by the application of a static force at the center of gravity having a magnitude equal to the product of the mass and the acceleration. For instance, if a mass is accelerated to the right, a force equal to the product of mass and acceleration appears to act at the center of gravity and with a direction to the left. By d'Alembert's Principle, this static force is the equivalent to the dynamic situation when a mass is accelerated to the right. In other words, many dragracing teams spend an entire season "tuning" their rear suspension at the dragstrip when it could have been done at the shop with the equivalent of a "come along" and some wheel scales. And, of course, the engine would never be started during the suspension setup.

 

I very much appreciate the information you guys provide. I can only recall my memories through the early part of 1960. From then on, I was either in graduate school or teaching or working somewhere. My last job, as I might have mentioned, was lecturing to a bunch of graduate engineering students at the U. of Central Florida. When my new bride arrived from The Philippines, I retired (again). Obviously, I have memories from when I was working for the General, but I've tried to recall only the Chrysler memories.

 

Billy, if you were to write 3 paragraphs concerning mowing your lawn, I'd enjoy every word ... seldom we get talent & knowledge like yours, and we thank you.

 

There is evidently an atheist in charge of this board, so I will not bother posting here again. You can reach me at shope.shop.org

 

What the heck is this all about? We need to have this resolved A.S.A.P. This man is a national treasure and I think we are so very fortunate to have him willing to share with us some of Drag Racings most sought after history. Admin., please make an effort to resolve this !

 

Yes, What he said....And besides , I am atheist AND offended.

 

I can explain what happened very easily. Billy delved onto a rant about schooling and religion and I was the one that reported it.
Very simply, I do not want to mix my hobby with any discussions about politics or religion and to back me up there are guidelines written for all to see that explain what posts are limited to.
I can assure Billy that I am not an atheist, and likely the moderators here are not either, I’m just looking for a place to visit and discuss cars, tech and the people that build/drive/race them.

 

Interesting.......guess my reading comprehension isn't that good.
I just read around that chatter.

 

if you don't want to hear what the man has to say just scroll down the list of threads and pick another that suits your liking.

 

I feel bad about this. I saw Billy's post just after he posted it. I was going to let him know via conversation that he was out of line. He was confusing the HAMB with some sort of social media board. I just couldn't do it right then.

It is a shame that no one took the time to explain things to him. The post could have been deleted and everything could have gone on in a civil fashion.

This is our loss!

 

It is too bad for all of us that you did not just p.m. him to wise him up. Now we all loose!

 

AGREED w/ the last 2-he was/is fascinating!

 

Bingo!

 

Thanks Billy for making this board more interesting. I have had many disagreements here and came close to being banned but cooler heads prevailed. I hope you will reconsider. We need you.

 

I love sitting down with all y’all old timers and soaking up all the stories and how to. I had the privilege of being raised in Orlando around all the racing.