I always thought it was “Gray-toit “. Then again there’s 1/2 dozen cars I mispronounced for years till I saw commercials on TV.
For Gratiot Auto Supply, Inc. , the State of Michigan 2021 Corporation Annual Report was filed by Angelo.
I used to work with a guy who bought a Dodge Dart drag car that had been sponsored by Gratiot Auto Supply. The back of the car was stripped from one side to the other with black stripes. He ran brackets with it for years.
Really cool thread…learned a lot. as long as we’re talking about old Detroit Speed Shops, any information about Custom Speed Enterprises, also on Gratiot, and Palermo Speed Shop, and going way back Lee’s Speed Shop on Kercheval and Alter Road …all on the Eastside.
A little Linguistics 101 here for anybody engaging in conversation about G.A.S. so you don't embarass yourself - Gratiot is a name of French origin and is pronounced GRASS-Shut, not Ga-Troyt, like I have heard on occasion. EDIT: I see this was covered a couple of pages back. Oh, nevermind.
Been awhile since this thread started but very cool history here. I do remember Gratiot Auto Supply well, it was one of the absolute biggies back when I was getting my younger gearhead knuckles busted in. A couple of the older posts triggered a hunt through my photo archives since I remembered seeing one of the Gratiot Auto Supply kit roadsters at the NSRA Nats in St. Paul. Sure enough, 1977 was the year. (Slightly beyond the scope of the HAMB so if it's too O/T..... ) Here's the pic - might stir a few memory cells, especially with those bitchin' square headlights. Hey, it was the '70's! And I learned something else today - I've been pronouncing "Gratiot" totally wrong all these years. Thanks guys!
The Jalopy Journal
