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Veteran
Posts: 123
Location: Boise, ID | Inspired by a recent post, I thought I would check if anyone has heard of Edwards dealership in Milwaukee. My '59 Imperial has that emblem on the trunk. It's a long way from where I found most of the car's history, which was around Oregon through the 80s and from where I bought it last year in Spangle, WA. Through Google, I found on the Allpar site a brief mention of someone stating they worked at an Edwards Motor Cars Milwaukee... Anyway, if anyone knows anything else about where this beast was born, I'd love to hear it. Thanks, Brendan |
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Expert
Posts: 2181
 
Location: Muskego, WI | I asked my dad about this and he told me that George Kuehm owned the Edwards Motors Chrysler dealership at that time and he was a friend of Carl Kiekhaefer, the well known Chrysler race car driver of the same time period. He said that the dealership no longer exists, not sure what is there now.
The dealership that my car was originally sold at was just torn down in Burlingon, WI, to widen an intersection. Miller Motors moved out of there years ago and it had most recently been a laundromat, kind of depressing really. |
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Walter passed away on Jul 29, 2014. We will miss you, Walt!
Posts: 5358
Location: Heaven Above (Formerly Oklahoma City,OK) | Carl Kiekhaefer owned Mercury Marine, and sponsored a lot of Chrysler racing activity in the 1950's, but to the best of my knowledge, while his cars were raced on the sand and on the hard surface, I don't believe he drove any in competition.............But I'm probably wrong.............. |
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Expert
Posts: 2181
Location: Muskego, WI | Well, I'm certainly no Carl Kiekhaefer expert, but I plan on reading his biography as soon as I finish my Walter P. Chrysler biography. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1004
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin | "Edwards" ... mopar repair shop is still standing in milwaukee as of today 7-21-12. they are located approx 68th and national ave.milwaukee .. It is occupied by another business to this date .
Edwards was a mopar auto / truck repair service business. they did not sell cars ther,it was strickly a service shop for all mopars only. It was a one level shop with approx 12 stalls . very cool place I stil remember it very clearly .. My pa used to take his 59 dodge there for repairs .
another repair service for mopars was called "University dodge" on 32nd and wisconsin ave. back in the 60's.
this place was huge with two floors . and is still standing today also.
Edited by dodge59 2012-07-21 1:45 PM
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Inactive by user's request
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada | 68th and National is in suburban West Allis. Near the old Allis-Chalmers plant. I have some Milwaukee city directories going back to the late 1920s.
I'll look it up for you.
k. |
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Location: Under the X in Texas | wbower3 - 2011-08-16 11:39 AM Carl Kiekhaefer owned Mercury Marine, and sponsored a lot of Chrysler racing activity in the 1950's, but to the best of my knowledge, while his cars were raced on the sand and on the hard surface, I don't believe he drove any in competition.............But I'm probably wrong.............. You are not wrong. Elmer Carl Kiekhaefer was born in 1906 and would have been about 50 when when his Mercury Outboards sponsored Chrysler C300s and 300 Bs were dominating NASCAR. While that isn't exceptionally old for driving a race car, as a multi-millionaire CEO of a large corporation with numerous plant building locations in central Wisconsin it would have been highly impractical for him to climb into a race car. Neither had he driven any of his own cars previous years in the Carrera Panamericana (Mexican Road Race) or in AAA events. And he wanted to win so he hired the best drivers money could buy. And the 300s, with the best drivers, won often. EC, drivers, 300B
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 Kiekhaefer.jpg (15KB - 254 downloads)
CK_SpeedyT_Tim_FMundy_BBaker_SML.jpg (92KB - 229 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2308
Location: The Bat Cave, Fairborn, OH | FWIW, I'm very familiar with the eastern portion of Wisconsin having lived there for 20 years. (I don't live there now though) Mercury Marine's major plant is in Fond du Lac, WI and can be seen from US Highway 41, the major artery that goes between Milwaukee and Green Bay. I don't remember a dealership called Edwards in Milwaukee that sold MoPars, but it might have changed names over the years. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 608
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Here is an a portion of a book I found on the web about the history of Milwaukee. It discribes Frank Edwards and the Edwards Motor Company.
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EdwardsMotors.bmp (181KB - 301 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 608
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Here is a matchbook from the dealership...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Matchbook-Edwards-Motor-Company-Dod... |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 608
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Here is an ad from the Milwaukee Journal Newspaper. By the way, my car came from the Doering Dodge Dealership...
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milwdealers.bmp (47KB - 192 downloads)
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Expert
Posts: 2308
Location: The Bat Cave, Fairborn, OH | I bought a 1982 Dodge 400 2-door new from Doering Dodge in West Allis. I don't know if the dealership is still there though. The car business can be volatile and dealers go out of business all the time. What about the Yugo franchise that used to occupy a corner building at Brown Deer and 91st Street in 1987? You don't see those cars anymore (and quite rightly too in my opinion.)
Edited by 58 DESOTOS RULE 2012-07-21 6:52 PM
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Location: Parts Unknown | The 84 Yugo Ghia South Hampton Sports Tourismo was a nice and very desirable car. 
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: TitleTown, USA | Hello all. I searched the web for Edwards Motors & was linked to this site so I thought I would join it & set the record straight about this dealership. My grandfather was Head Bookkeeper (today it would be CFO) of Edwards Motors for over 25 years from the late '40s into the '70s. It was located at 36th St. & Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee. I would spend a lot of Saturdays down there as a kid drooling over the new models & hanging out in the shop. Lots of good stories from those days. Edwards was a dealer for all things Mopar. Chrysler, Imperial, LeBaron, De Soto, Dodge, & Plymouth. I actually got a ride in one of the 50 Turbine cars when they came out. Edwards was chosen as one of the dealerships to test customer response. Gramps showed up at our house one summer morning driving this thing just to take me for a ride. What a thrill. I was the envy of the neighborhood. As far as Kiekhaefer is concerned, he was actually a friend of my grandfather's because his brother-in-law (my great uncle) was a business partner of Karl's. It was my grand dad who sold him the Chrysler 300's he used in NASCAR. I watched them being stripped down & gutted before being sent up to his shop in Fond Du Lac for race prep. Anyway, I just figured I would clear up any questions or misinformation about this fine old business based on my own experience. Thank you.
Edited by 4 on the floor 2012-11-26 9:39 AM
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19171
Location: bishop, ca | Steve, do you recall which dealership sold Kiekaefer his Dodges?
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: TitleTown, USA | They were sold through Edwards Motors. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | I'd like to order a new, well optioned 58 Fireflite convertible with the 57 sidetrim on it (including all
documentation for this).
Do you think your Grand Dad could set me up ?
Thanks. 
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: TitleTown, USA | d500neil-I'm not sure about any Dodges. The cars he raced were Chryslers.
Edited by 4 on the floor 2012-11-26 9:37 AM
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Location: Parts Unknown | Au contraire, mon ami ! Carl had a passle of Dodge D-500/501 cars in 56 to go with those 300's.
We have photos of them posted in the "Who goes racing ?" thread.
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New User
Posts: 4
Location: TitleTown, USA | Thanx for the info. I was not aware of the Dodges. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | That's what we're here for - share intel and tease each other.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 654
Location: NC | Jboymechanic,
Are you reading "The Life and Times of an Automotive Genius" by V. Curcio?
Edited by mopardave 2012-11-28 8:24 AM
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Expert
Posts: 3144
Location: NY & VT | And regarding Carl Kiekhaefer I can highly recommend "Iron Fist: the life and times of Carl Kiekhaefer" by Jeffrey Rodengen... it is a VERY entertaining read, CK was truly a nut and a genius! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1004
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin | EDWARDS at 36th and wisconsin ave was later called UNIVERSITY DODGE I believe. in the 60's.
anyone recall that ?
I think they both used the same buildings over the years .
The parts department and repair service area had two floors for repairing cars . It wa a cool old building.
I drove thru there this summer and the main service garage is still being used by a parts house .. and it appears the second floor of the university dodge service garage has been eliminated. just a ground floor building now. not more second floor building .
some things still stay the same . |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1004
Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin | <p>October 29 2021 ...... Update of thoses concerned ........... Edwards Dodge dealership and service repair buildings milwaukee wi ...... on the corner of 36th and Wisconsin and on the end of one block at corner of 36th and Michigan in wisonsin is where edwards dodge plymouth used to be located . the building at 35th and wisconsin is where the show room used to be and is now occupied by wisconsin cabinets business . On the other end of block at 36th and michigan is where the parts and 2 floors of service department used to be . It is now all gone.... leveled . just recently demolished .https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0380009,-87.9590261,3a,90y,315.05h,81.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVtqD7xJDx_sevQbglA9eow!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en</p>
Edited by dodge59 2021-10-26 9:28 PM
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Regular
Posts: 62
| Edwards Motor Company sold a 1957 Dodge D100 Sweptside 1/2-ton truck to Kiekhaefer Corporation on July 23rd, 1957. The VIN was 84299497 and the V-8 engine number was 53816833. The truck was scrapped out in 1964. Most of ECK's 1955 C-300s were purchased through Bettenhausen & Schuldt Motor Sales in Tinley Park, IL. All of the 1956 Chryslers and Dodges that ECK raced in NASCAR were picked up at the Detroit assembly plants and driven back to Oshkosh. None of the 1955-56 Chrysler 300s and Dodge D500-1 race cars purchased by Kiekhaefer Corporation had any connection with Edwards Motor Company. |
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Edwards in Milwaukee?
