BF Classifieds Find: 1923 Gray-Dort
Some of the most unusual finds I’ve ever seen come up through our own Barn Finds Classifieds! This 1923 Gray-Dort is a Canadian product that was apparently restored around 2001 (more about that later) and converted from a touring car body to a stake truck at that time. You can find the listing here in the Classifieds section and the asking price is $8,000. The car is located in Queensville, Ontario, Canada.
As the seller tells us, the Gray-Dort was produced in Canada as a result of a Canadian businessman obtaining the rights to manufacturer the US-designed Dort automobile in 1915. According to this reference, by 1916 the cars were being produced from 100% Canadian-sourced components. This car was converted to a pickup by its late owner and then stored, and at this point does not run although the engine is free.
A little sleuthing on the internet found this picture and the next one, labeled “2001 Fred Thompson collection” which appear to show the same vehicle with the pickup bed under construction. I was unable to find any more information on Mr. Thompson, but presumably, he was the “late owner” mentioned in the ad.
I’m not sure whether I would prefer the original body or the truck conversion, but even if you don’t approve of the change, you have to admit it’s rather striking. Hopefully the wood is in good enough shape now that it can be refinished to look like this.
Unfortunately, based on the appearance of the interior, the vehicle may have been stored outside, as the steering wheel is markedly better in the 2001 pictures. At least the floor looks to be wood, so hopefully it can be replaced easily if necessary.
Under that long hood we have an inline six-cylinder engine. As it appears that only 26,000 Gray-Dort cars were built over a 10-year period, I would consider them quite rare today. Canada considered them important enough to include a 1923-24 Gray-Dort in a series of six stamps issued in 1993 to commemorate classic Canadian cars. Are you interested in bringing this rare find home?
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Comments
I wonder if the original rear seat portion of the car is stored somewhere. Nice to see on of the few actual Canadian cars still with us.
A sad end for a grand old lady.
Looks to be an overhead valve engine. Wasn’t that somewhat of a rarity in the 1920’s?
I am currently restoring a 1917/18 gray-Dort