OUR HISTORY

[Terry T]

STILL THERE

[Bob G]

Great!

[Terry T]

don't know why it keeps flipping sideways but when it is opened it is upright

[Roadmaster49]

Not sure what that is. so for the uninformed, you might fill me in.  I assume it is at Willow Run?

[Terry T]

This is the smokestack at Willys-Overland in Toledo--there long before Kaiser became the landlord.
It was destined to be blown up but has been saved.
All other buildings of the plant have been flattened so it stands alone.
Located just across I75 from the Chrysler plant north on the outskirts of Toledo.

PS I have tried to reload the pic several times, starting with various orientations ,but it keeps pointing westward!

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The Willys-Overland complex went to the wrecking ball in 2008; I would pass it going between Cleveland and the general Detroit area.  Because I didn't know how to access it on the streets at the time, I couldn't get off I-75 to take pictures of the demolition and (if it would have been possible) to wander through the ruins.  Years earlier, when GM tore down the Clark Street Cadillac plant and the Fleetwood body plant in Detroit I was able to wander the ruins & found a couple of bits of paperwork that sorfaced from the 1970's.  It went to a Cadillac collector I knew in England.

[Gordie]

I collected a brick from Ford's Iron Mountain plant in the upper peninsula of Michigan where they made the woodies and also at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg plant.  I don't know what I will ever do with them but I have them.  The Willys chimney was visible from the freeway in Toledo.  Kaiser Frazer had twin chimneys at Willow Run also.  Does anyone know if they are gone?

[joefrazer]

Very little of Willow Run is left. Most of the assembly area, as well as the office building, has been demolished. The Yankee Air Museum is working to save the hanger area as well as some of the adjacent space. I visited there about two years ago and a sympathetic guard let me wander some of the complex but there wasn't much to see but rubble. I gathered several bricks from a few different spots on site as I was leaving.

In Toledo, all that's left is the Overland smokestack. The main office building, assembly buildings, as well as a Willys era engineering building that was later home to the Jeep House Museum, have all been demolished. I was lucky enough to be in Toledo when the assembly building came down and was able to gather a few bricks from there as well.

For those visiting both areas, there's little to tell of KFs presence.

[Fid]

Somehow I missed this thread last month.  I was at the 1974 KFOC National for the 'Return to Willow Run' event. We toured the plant, which most know, was a Hydramatic plant at the time. I remember the floor and the aisles between the assembly "lanes" were caked with grease and there were many bolts, nuts, washers etc. embedded in the floor - they had been walked on and tracked in there for years it seemed. I removed an 'embedded bolt' from the floor and put it in my pocket. Somewhere I have it. It was my little souvenir of the plant. It likely had nothing to do with KF and was probably there since the bombers were being built but it is a souvenir.  The bolt has remnants of medium blue paint on it.

[Terry T]

a few years back, KFer's traveled from Dearborn to Willow Run for a photo op in front of the building.

At first, we were told we could not go into the plant, but with some convincing that a restroom break would avoid some unpleasant spills, we were let in.

Very impressive structure.

The plant was spotless and the floors were highly polished wood.