Gray Motor Company

[GrayCav56]

Hello folks. I recall some years back, I think in Antique Automobile, reading about a Gray automobile. If I remember right it was built in Detroit in the early 20s and was a Model T, Star type low priced car.

Since I recycle my old magazines by passing them onto my grand nephews, I don't have that issue to look at.

Does anyone know of a person or a website where I could find more info. Just looking for a pre-war project, and with my surname, a Gray sounds like as good as any.

Thanks,

Tony Gray

York PA

[R Walling]

The Gray was an automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan by the Gray Motor Corporation from 1922-26. The Gray Motor Company produced two models, the Star and Gray. They were an attempt to win a share of the mass market dominated by Ford Model T. Many of the employees of Gray, were former Ford employees, including the head of Gray Corporation, F. L. Klingensmith. The vehicles had similar features of engine and chassis to the Model T. The engine had a side-valve, four-cylinder 2.7 L configuration. The suspension used a conventional quarter-elliptical spring at the front and rear. Front-wheeled brakes were offered in 1926, the last year of production. They planned on production of nearly a quarter of a million a year the first year, but those volumes were never realized. The touring car cost $490, and the coach was sold at $760, the first year of production.

[1937hd45]

Tony, Do you like boats? If so find something powered with a Gray Marine engine. Google it and a lot of info will come up.

[Rusty_OToole]

You might look into the Gray-Dort automobile.

This was a Canadian version of the Dort auto, made under license in Chatham Ontario.

They were a best seller in Canada. 26,000 were built between 1915 and 1925. So it should still be possible to find one.

Here is the Gray-Dort enthusiasts web site:

http://www.graydortmotors.com/index.php

A short history of Gray-Dort:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/bv/15-25gray-dort.htm

And of course, Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray-Dort_Motors_Ltd.

[GrayCav56]

Sounds like a second option there.

Roger, your post mentions a Star. Do you know, is this a completely different Star from what Billy Durant made or the same vehicle?

[Guest carlnut50]

Tony, If you like hit and miss engines, get you a Gray engine to restore. I have seen a few of them. They are typical of the teens farm engines and have Gray cast into the hopper in large letters. Good Luck. Richard Mauney Mooresville NC

[Durant Mike]

Tony

The Gray model Star was completely different than the Star manufactured by Durant Motors. The Durant Star was Durant's competition for the Model T also, but billed itself as being "lady friendly' with an electric starter and other nicer features including a 3 speed transmission. Now as far as the Gray-Dort car, Dallas Dort was the original partners with Billy Durant at the carriage business and remained friends with Durant up until his death in the mid 1920's. The Dort car was manufactured from the mid teens to the mid 20's and the partner to Dort in Canada was Gray thus the Gray-Dort name. I guess no one challenged the other Gray company having the model Star during some of the same time period as the Durant Star was produced.

[GrayCav56]

Thanks guys. That is what is so cool about this forum. You have such a wide variety of folks and such a depth of knowledge that is just not available anywhere else.

[Guest Appelgren4]

Hello folks. I recall some years back, I think in Antique Automobile, reading about a Gray automobile. If I remember right it was built in Detroit in the early 20s and was a Model T, Star type low priced car.

Since I recycle my old magazines by passing them onto my grand nephews, I don't have that issue to look at.

Does anyone know of a person or a website where I could find more info. Just looking for a pre-war project, and with my surname, a Gray sounds like as good as any.

Thanks,

Tony Gray

York PA

I beleive I have a frame and axles from a Gray. Please let me know if you are interested.

Thanks,

Dale A

Northern Michigan

989 590 2331

fivehappyappels@gmail.com

[Guest Oracle]

Excuse me if I bore you gusy again but I have done a fair amount of research over the years about Gray and Gray-Dort. This is from my draft book on the British imports:

GRAY-DORT

As is mentioned above, WHITING LIMITED imported Dort vehicles until 1924, just before the Dort company was liquidated. However, there is an interesting connection between the “Dort” company of Josiah Dallas Dort of Michigan and the “Gray” marque: the GRAY-DORT. The 1923 Model Gray-Dort five-seater Tourer, sold at C$1,095 f.o.b. their Chatham, Ontario Plant, which had 60% Canadian content. Chatham was located just across the Detroit River from Detroit. There is a possibility that they were imported into the U.K., though they would have been badged as “Dorts” no doubt: the Imperial preference meant that they were subject to a 1/3rd less Duty than the Detroit Dorts. There is no evidence that they were imported under the “Gray” badge, the concession for the Gray marque of Detroit, just across the River being held by Aconas: see above. The 1923 Dorts used wooden artillery wheels, whereas the Gray-Dort used steel disks, which style were fitted to the 1924 Dorts.

The story of the Gray-Dort marque traces back as far as the William Gray & Sons Company Limited carriage works in Chatham, founded in 1855. The company built ploughshares, bobsleighs, etc. and then diversified into carriage production in 1884 just as William Gray was killed. Gray’s son Robert expanded the business and as a result of wishing to do business in western Canada, merged his sales force in 1907 with that of Manson-Campbell Company, makers of farm equipment. In 1911 the companies merged fully to become WILLIAM GRAY & SONS, CAMPBELL LIMITED.

In 1904, Robert Gray became, as did so many of his contemporary carriagemakers, interested in the automobile industry which of course was now protected by the Canadian Government in 1904 by the Fielding Budget. In July 1904 he acquired $500 worth of Ford shares : the Ford Motor Company of Canada traces back to 1904 when 31-year old Gordon M. McGregor led a group of young businessmen from Walkerville nearby, to form with Henry Ford a new automobile company based in the Walkerville Wagon Works Limited which was owned by McGregor [hence the connection], literally across the River from Detroit in what was to become Ford City. The first President of the Ford Motors Company of Canada was John F. Gray, second largest stockholder and head of the U.S. firm: after John Gray died in 1906, his family later formed the Gray Motor Corporation of Detroit [see below] with other former Ford men. It seems as though Robert Gray was involved with this “group”, and within two years was awarded a contract to build bodies for Fords until 1912 when Fisher Body Company of Canada Limited was formed in Walkerville itself. 117 vehicles [Models B and C] were produced in that first year of production. McGregor with his 24-year old colleague Wallace R. Campbell reassembled these first vehicles in the then Walkerville Wagon Works, with Ford chassis ferried across the Detroit River where bodies and wheels were added, the bodies being brought in from Chatham. In addition, the Grays built, painted and upholstered bodies for the locally-built Chatham cars. In 1907, the Grays took on a Ford agency.

After losing the contract with Fords to the new Canadian subsidiary of Fisher Body of Detroit, Gray and son William decided to go into automobile production themselves. Taking a cue from the relationship between fellow carriage-makers Durant and McLaughlin’s relationship which had resulted in the successful McLaughlin Motor Car Company, they crossed the River and border with the intention of finding a suitable manufacturer to provide the necessary chassis and running-gear. They visited Chalmers, Gardner and Moon, and then Paterson and Dort in Flint. They were able to strike a deal with Josiah Dallas Dort, and his Dort Car Company which was formed in 1915, having just launched their impressive Models 4 and 5 designed by former Chevrolet Engineer, Frenchman Etienn Planche at the January 1915 Auto Show in New York: there is no doubt that both sides being members of the carriage trade for some years they were in a fortunate position to be able to readily reach an amicable agreement. [it must be remembered that the Dort Car Company was owned by the Durant-Dort company who still made carriages for a few more years, though by 1915 Durant had no financial interest in D-D]. The Durant-Dort company had had a branch in East Toronto, Ontario, which gave them the respectability which of course prompted Robert McLaughlin to agree with Durant and colleagues to build the Buick in Oshawa. It therefore seems that the trip to the U.S. might not have been such a “fishing expedition” as has been suggested, but rather a meeting of minds between businessmen that already knew of each other. In view of the building of bodies for Ford of Canada as well as the Chatham, Dallas Dort must have been at the very least conscious of the Grays’ facilities and history. Monsieur Etienne Planche, the French engineer who had done most of the design work on the Chevrolet Type C between 1911 and 1914 to be the Chief Engineer for the new 1915 Dort light car, to cater for the new U.S. market. No doubt Planche was involved in any engineering requirements for the Canadian market as well. A deal was struck, and in 1915, GRAY-DORT MOTORS LIMITED was formed in the Province of Ontario in the Chatham works. Their new car used the 16 H.P. four-cylinder Lycoming-engined Models 4 small roadster and the slightly larger Model 5 Dort chassis, the first 15 being imported and having “GRAY-DORT” hubcaps and badges added instead of Dort ones. The engine was a four-cylinder unit designed by Planche but built by the Lycoming Foundry & Machine Company, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.When the Gray-Dort company was formed in the Autumn/Fall of 1915, the Grays put up all the capital, though Dort received about 25% of the shares and a royalty on each Gray-Dort built, the initial capitalisation being C$300,000.

The 1916 Model production was under way in Chatham by late 1915, with imported Dort chassis and running-gear, but with their own design body, so avoiding the tariff barriers erected to preserve the carriage industry, which the Canadian automotive industry inherited. The car was a success, and as with the McLaughlin carriage business, the Grays’ was sold off. In 1915 they offered a roadster and a Tourer, and although initially parts were imported, as time went by more Canadian content was added as a number of new suppliers to the industry were established in the Walkerville and Windsor areas.

The Roadster was dropped in 1916, replaced by the “Fleur-de-Lys” roadster with three seats arranged in a cloverleaf pattern. The Tourer and Roadster were supplemented by a Sedan for 1917, though the Roadster was dropped for 1918. With the 1918 models, new four-cylinder Lycoming Model K engines were used:, as were the equivalent Dorts: 19.6 H.P. rated at 17hp by the Dort company. Several new models were introduced and proved so popular that they were even exported south to the U.S., and no doubt sold as “Dorts” through the Dort Car Company. It is at this point that it is queried as to whether any were in fact imported into the U.K. as 1919 Model 39 “Dorts”, imported by the summer of that year. There is little evidence, but it is suggested that in fact there was a deal of importing and even re-badging by Whiting Limited for the U.K. market of “Dort” chassis, and even bodied cars, which were in fact supplied by the Gray-Dort factory during the War for the Canadian forces, and post-war to take advantage of the Imperia Preference with a 1/3rd reduction in the Duty payable on U.S. cars. From this point on it is assumed that this was the case. Of course, there was a boom period immediately post-War and the Whiting company would have been sorely placed to seek supplies of chassis and cars to satisfy the British demand. Multiple sourcing from the Detroit and Chatham factories was of course possible. To back-track slightly, although some L.H.D. cars were most certainly imported for overseas duty by the Allied Forces, especially in France and the Near East, the Gray-Dort Model 29 was offered as a Right-hand Drive model specifically for export, followed by from 1918 to 1920 by the Lycoming K-engined Model 39, which we do know was imported though badged as a “Dort” by Whitings.

Gray-Dort Company sales boomed for two years, the 1919/20 Dort Right Hand Drive equivalents as we know being the Right Hand Drive Model 39. However, bodies were completely restyled for 1921, as the new Gray-Dort Model 17 with a Rolls-Royce style radiator shell. The Model 17 used a L-head four-cylinder Model K Lycoming engine, of 192.4 cu. in., 3.5” x 5” with a Carter carburettor. Sales bounced back in 1922 with the Model 19-B, the emphasis being on closed cars the “Finer Gray-Dort” which had steel disc wheels, nickel-plated radiator shell, front and rear bumpers, and Spanish leather upholstery. There seems to have been no specific Right Hand Drive export models from now on, but there were Right Hand Drive Dort chassis imported, and it is suggested that there were in fact Right Hand Drive versions using the Flint-built chassis albeit with more and more Canadian content. Also in 1922, there was for one year only in theory, a Gray-Dort truck which used an adapted car chassis. However, in the U.K. Whiting Limited imported the Dort commercial chassis, rated at 15 cwt., or ¾ Ton, and it is suggested that the Gray-Dort Truck chassis was in fact the Dort light commercial chassis which is referred to above [see “DORT”], and it is possible that some were bodied by Gray-Dort and exported to the U.K., as they were of course Duty-free being commercials, being badged as “Dorts”.

Canadian Automotive Trade, February 1922 announced that Gray-Dort Motors Limited were to have a 6-cylinder engine. This engine was an o.h.v. FALLS MODEL T-8,000 with Bosch electrics, modified by features incorporated by ETIENNE PLANCHE, Chief Engineer of the DORT COMPANY. Gray-Dort Motors Limited was the production company. Further, the parent company WILLIAM GRAY & SONS, CAMPBELL LIMITED, of Chatham, Ontario, opened a direct factory branch for the retail sales of Gray-Dort cars in Ottawa, and was distributing the GRAY car as well! It can thus be seen that the Gray family were importing the U.S. Gray cars in addition to their Dort-based cars.

For 1923 a new Tourer was launched, selling with the Lycoming engine $1,095 f.o.b. Chatham, as well as a new six-cylinder car with a Falls-built unit, the Model T8000. The company was doing well, with a C$1.25 million investment, 800 employees working in three plants and a sales network of 300 dealers. Falls were located in Genoa, Illinois, and produced engines for a number of companies.

In January 1923, there was an attempted alliance with the Gray Motor Corporation of Detroit, although for a few months the parent company had been marketing Grays in Canada. Canadian Automotive Trade, March 1923 stated that Gray-Dort Motors Limited was reorganised. The Gray interests retired: Robert Gray resigned as President and was succeeded by J.P. Byers, secretary-treasurer of the company, and W.M. Gray retired as vice-president, and assistant general manager: W.E. Finnigan took the position of general sales manager. The query here is whether the two events were linked.

For 1924 the Dort Car Company dropped their Lycoming-powered four-cylinder models, though the Grays decided to keep them in production because of Canadian demand. An approach was made, as referred to below [see “GRAY] to import the Detroit-built Gray chassis [again] with its Canadian-preferred four-cylinder Gray engine. Some 1923 Gray chassis were in fact imported as well as the 1922 Models, and then for 1924 the Canadian Gray family were involved in arranging for the ’24 Gray to be built in Chatham presumably as the Gray family no longer had any executive positions in Gray-Dort Motors Limited. However, Dallas Dort himself was tired of the business, and as is mentioned above he decided to “get out”, notifying Robert Gray in the late summer of 1923 that he wished to pay-off his creditors and liquidate the Dort Car Company in the Autumn of 1924. Deprived of engineering and mechanical parts, the Gray-Dort company was forced to discontinue production after total sales of 26,000 cars. The expected assembly of the 1924 Gray cars was a victim of the Detroit company’s failure as well, and Robert Gray was persuaded out of investing his own funds to keep the company going. Thus, Gray-Dort Motors Limited was handed-over to its bankers, who reorganised the company without the Gray family, and the company remained trading into 1925 to sell off unsold 1924 Models, some of which may have been exported to the U.K. and sold either by the Ancona Motor car Company, the Gray concessionaires. Note, this timing does not seem to make sense to me! Note that the re-organisation was in March 1923, so is there a mistake in timing here by Cars of Canada? * was it not WILLIAM GRAY & SONS, CAMPBELL LIMITED that was handed to the Bankers?

There is evidence in the classified columns of The Autocar which seems to prove that Gray-Dorts were indeed imported.

POINTS OF INTEREST:

Dominion Forge in Windsor began making gas tanks, fenders, running boards and other stampings for Ford Motor Company of Canada in 1910, later changing its name to Dominion Forge & Stamping Limited. They later went on to producing components for G.M. of Canada as well as Gray-Dort. It seems that Du Pont supplied the paint.

A wholly-owned subsidiary company of Gray-Dort Motors Limited continued operating a a few years longer doing mill work for Dodge of Walkerville/Windsor, Durant of Leaside, Ontario, and Overland of Toronto bodies. Inasmuch as all of these makes were imported into the U.K., this is of interest here.

One of the Model 1921 17s is an exhibit in the Canadian National Museum of Science & Technology in Ottawa, which was previously an exhibit at the Oshawa Canadian Automotive Museum which opened originally 23 July 1964. It carries serial # 18216, Engine # K96738.

The Canadian Regal Company of Kitchener [formerly Berlin], Ontario built the Regal car until 1916 when parts became hard to obtain from the U.S. The owner, Henry Nyberg, closed the car factory down and sold off the building. However, he had built a new factory adjacent to the Regal site, where he planned to make parts for existing Regals as well as building the Saxon cars for the Canadian domestic market. This did not proceed, so Nyberg converted the plant into a factory for building the Dominion truck unit which could convert Chevrolet, Ford T, Maxwell, and Gray-Dort cars into one-ton trucks, as did the Smith’s Form-a-Truck multi-body conversion which was sold here in the U.K. by Grace Brothers Co. Ltd. But which was arguably the first U.S. conversion to turn a Chevrolet 490 car into a 1-Ton truck, before the Model T. [Grace Brothers & Co. Limited was formed 30 May 1899, the Grace brothers being “Merchants” based at 144 Leadenhall Street in the City of London, though one brother lived in New York and may have been the U.S. Agent]. The Dominion conversion cost about C$450, and used an extension to the car’s chassis frame with a heavy chain-drive rear end. This did in fact precede by some years chassis extensions available in the U.K. designed in Denmark [see GENERAL MOTORS LIMITED 1925 Part 2], and also cumbersome converisons on Bedford chassis which added a second set of rear wheels with a chain-drive system. Soon afterwards, the name Canadian Regal was dropped, and instead it became the Dominion Truck Equipment Company Limited, run until its voluntary liquidation by W.S. Gurton who was the former Canadian Regal Office Manager. Gurton then bought-out Nyberg’s controlling interest and the company expanded to handle a wide range of truck equipment and trailers. Did any of their equipment and conversions reach the U.K.?

GRAY 1923-1924

After The Ancona Motor Company Limited lost the concession for Oaklands and G.M.C, they clearly had to contract to market another company’s products in order to continue in business. They became the importers and Concessionaires for the “GRAY” marque instead, whose products largely offered in theory a range appropriate to the U.K., with not only passenger cars but also commercials as well.

The GRAY MOTOR CORPORATION of Detroit was founded by the family of John F. Gray and other prominent Ford men produced cars and commercials between 1922 and 1926, with Right Hand Drive vehicles being exported at the latest by the start of 1924 Model Year, including to Australia in limited numbers. In 1924, the Tourer sold for $490.00.

The first reference to Grays was contained in a small item in The Motor 8 February 1922, which referred to the new Gray car which sold in America at under $500, produced by the GRAY MOTOR CORPORATION of Detroit Michigan. The specification included a four-cylinder monobloc engine with a bore and stroke of 3 5/8 x 4 in., three-speed gearbox, quarter-elliptic suspension, thermo-syphon cooling, battery ignition, electric starting and lighting, spiral-driven back axle, and four-seater touring body and detachable rims. A photograph of the engine side-view, and pan view of the l.h.d. chassis were shown.

The Autocar 11 February 1922 published a full-page article, with a photograph of the four-door Tourer. The car was produced in America by the Gray Motor Corporation of Detroit, of which Frank L. Klingensmith was President. Klingensmith had been up until about 1919 a deputy to Henry Ford along with Knudsin, and had dealt with Percival Perry at Ford of England. The intention was to compete headlong with Ford, its U.S. price being under $500 which equated with approximately £120. The makers had stated that 23,000 Gray cars were to be built in 1922, and that agents had already contracted to take that amount. With the further establishment of further assembly branches throughout the country, the production of 200,000 cars per annum was put forward. Twelve of the stations were estimated to be in operation that year, in Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Columbus, and Portland. The engine measured in metric terms 92.1 x 101.6 m.m. bore and stroke, for 2,707 c.c., or 3 5/8 x 4 in., and 165.13 cubic in. The Rating was 21 H.P. 30 x 3½ in. tyres were fitted on demountable rims. Wheelbase was 8 ft. 4 in. Negotiations were under way for the establishment of a concession in the U.K.

Motor Commerce 4 November 1922 announced that the Gray had arrived. HARRY B. HURT & CO., O’Connell Stret, Waterford, Irish Free State, were expected to be able to show outside Olympia, a specimen of the just-received first consignment of Gray cars. Hurts were interested solely in the Irish importation of the car and it was for the interest of Irish dealers and agents that a car was being shown.

The Motor 24 July 1923 published the announcement of the launch of the Gray on the British market. The Gray was “shortly to be handled” by the ANCONA MOTOR CAR COMPANY of 78 Brompton Road, London S.W.3!. The chassis price in Detroit was priced at only $420 which was a remarkably low figure. A considerable variety of bodies were to be available.

Automotive Industries 3 January 1925 referred to the 1925 Models at the New York Show. They commented that Gray had added a new 3-passenger coupe finished in jet black with nickeled radiator. The interior finish was in dressed corduroy with a comfortable form fitting driver’s seat slightly ahead of the seat for the other two passemgers. A luggage compartment was contained in the rear deck. All Gray bodies were finished in varnish and a placque for winning the World’s Economy Record in 1922 was prominently displayed at the Show.

As mentioned above, when the Gray-Dort company was unable to continue as a result of Dallas Dort’s desire to quit, the Canadian Gray family struck an agreement with the Detroit Gray company to import and market 1922 and then 1923 Model Graysfrom the Detroit Plant, and then to build the redesigned 1924 Model Grays in Chatham. However, nothing seems to have come of this as Gray-Dort Motors Limited was re-organised in 1923, and then again the following year when the Bankers took control. However, Gray-Dort sales continued into 1925 of old stock, and Detroit Gray production continued into 1926. By then, they were exporting to various Right Hand Drive markets including Australia, and some cars survive there.

The Gray company in fact carried on trading and produced a three-model line up in the 1925 Model O series from 1 January 1925, and then finally in 1926 Model Year from 1 January 1926, the “Greater” model as a four-door sedan or Tourer.

Referring back to the commercial vehicle chassis offered by Gray Motor Corporation, these all used the same 21.03 H.P. engine, Gray’s own, and in 1923, they were the ½ Ton Model N, and 1 Ton Model T. These two models were available until the end of 1926 Model production, in theory, and were joined for 1924 to 1926 by the ½ Ton Model O. However, Dort Motor Car Company only offered ¾ Ton chassis from 1923 to 1924, with prices much higher than Gray’s.

It is an unanswerable question at this juncture whether any Gray chassis were in fact exported from the U.S. to Canada, and then re-exported by the Gray-Dort company as their 1924 Models were disposed-of into 1925 and we have seen that there has been a “tradition” of selling unsold stock in the U.K., starting with the 1912 Whitings. There were no 1927 Model Grays assembled in Detroit, as the company folded as a result of over-expansion, and survived the Canadian company of similar name by over a year.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Oracle (see edit history)

[Guest Oracle]

In Canada:

The initial Ford body-makers, William Gray & Sons Company Limited was founded in 1855 as a carriage works based in Chatham, Ontario founded by William Gray one year after he emigrated from Scotland. They started making ploughshares, bobsleighs and later wagons. Production of carriages was just getting under way when William was killed in an accident. Robert Gray, the founder’s son then ran the company instead. Robert expanded the business until it was turning out 15,000 wagons, carriages and sleighs per year, mostly through a network of dealers. In 1899 they also built at least one body for William Still’s auto: he formed the Still Motor Company Limited that started operations in May 1899 at 710-724 Yonge Street, Toronto, and whom exhibited at the August 1899 Canadian National Exhibition. The company ran out of money in 1900, and was re-organised as The Canadian Motors Limited at 710 Yonge Street, Toronto, though this company closed down in 1902. CCM had been formed in 1899 through the amalgamation of, among others, the bicycle wing of the Massey-Harris farm implement company, and the H.A. Lozier Company, bicycle and car manufacturer. By 1903, CCM leased the old premises at 710 Yonge Street for two years to produce little runabouts, bearing the name ‘Ivanhoe’ as per Still’s 1899 machine with William Gray & Sons Company Limited body.

William Gray & Sons strove for business in the west, and the company merged sales forces in 1907 with the Manson-Campbell Company, makers of incubators, fanning mills, and other farm equipment, also based in Chatham, and seeking Prairie markets. The deal worked out and in 1911 the companies merged as William Gray & Sons, Campbell Limited. Possibly as a result in the interest in the Ivanhoe, Robert Gray’s son William Murray ‘Bill’ Gray became fascinated by the automobile, and was the fourth person in Kent County to drive a car. In 1903, Robert bought Bill a new Oldsmobile Curved-Dash, probably through the Canadian distributors Hyslop Brothers of Toronto, just along Yonge Street in fact. Gradually, Bill interested his father more and more in the automobile. Thus, in July 1904 Robert Gray acquired $500 worth of Ford shares. The first President of the Ford Motor Company of Canada was the unrelated American John F. Gray, second largest stockholder and head of the U.S. firm. After John Gray died in 1906, his family later formed the Gray Motor Corporation of Detroit with other former Ford men.

Robert Gray was thus one of the ‘young men’ who had travelled over to see Henry to secure the rights to manufacture Ford automobiles in the British Empire. To gain experience in selling cars, the Grays took on a Ford agency by 1907. After Fisher Body [see below] was awarded the contract to build bodies instead in 1912, Robert Gray and son Bill eventually contracted with J. Dallas Dort to build the Gray-Dort in Chatham, with a new company Gray-Dort Motors Limited. The tenuous link is that in January 1923, there was an attempted alliance with the Gray Motor Corporation of Detroit, although for a few months the parent company had been marketing Grays in Canada.

FISHER BODY COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED

This Canadian branch of the Fisher Body Corporation, Fisher Body Company of Canada Limited, was originally formed for the manufacture of automobile bodies for Ford of Canada, having been awarded the contract in succession to William Gray & Sons Limited of Chatham, Ontario, and was incorporated on April 25 1912. The Fisher Body Company of Detroit had originally been incorporated in the State of Michigan in July 1908, and the Fisher Closed Body Company of Detroit in December 1910.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Oracle (see edit history)

[Dandy Dave]

I had a One HP Gray Stationary engine years ago. Sold it at an auction. Not sure where it is now. Dandy Dave!

[earl e rizer]

Well here's a 1921 Gray-Dort for sale! Nice looking car in Ontario Canada

1921 Gray Dort Touring Car - Ontario Collector Cars For Sale - Kijiji Ontario Canada.

[Lthomas]

this is a very old post but I am looking for some help for a friend that has a 1925 Gray Touring. The engine number is 63680. I am trying to find out information on the car for him. I found wiki stuff about the company but it would be nice to find out about this specific car. Any thoughts?

[wayne sheldon]

Oh so many years ago, I knew a fellow that owned a beautifully restored Gray. He was good friends with William Harrah because Harrah's people were restoring one for his collection. At that time, the total known surviving Gray automobiles was six, maybe seven (one rumored). Since then only a couple more have been found, including one incomplete project. The count I hear now is "maybe" ten of them in complete cars. Quite a few parts are scattered around the world. A lot of them in Australia, but I have also heard of some pieces in the Dakotas.

I do know one fellow (in Michigan I believe) through the internet that has two of them, one being the incomplete project that he bought a couple years ago. If you can send me your contact information, I can try to forward it to him. Of course, maybe your friend is my friend?

 

These Gray automobiles are noteworthy in the antique automobile hobby for their dismal survival rate. They actually made a good number of them, and formed a dealer network to sell the cars. Numerous era photographs exist showing the cars, both factory and dealer photos as well as random street scenes. Quite a few photos of local dealers also exist. All that, and only maybe ten surviving cars? There have been several discussions over the years on this and other forums. The Model T Ford Club of America  (mtfca.com) has also had a few discussions of the cars.

[dustycrusty]

 Gray gasoline engines were made in Detroit. They still are easy to find, simple to work on, take up minimal space and they have nice proportions

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OHZnZOxkcY

 

[cricket-ny]

You might try this Gentleman. I met him and his roadster last summer at a car show in Maine.

 

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/facing-off-with-the-flivver-1922-gray-roadster?refer=hccweekly&utm_source=hccweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-05-13

[28 Chrysler]

From Nov.1922 

I had to E mail this to a gal that was bragging to me about her  Prius and knocking old cars.