{"id":66170,"date":"2022-12-09T08:51:28","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T13:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=66170"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:19:57","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:19:57","slug":"remembering-mr-norm-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2022\/12\/remembering-mr-norm-2.html","title":{"rendered":"REMEMBERING Mr. Norm!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Starting in the early 1960s and continuing through the muscle car era, there was a very famous Dodge dealership based out of the west side of Chicago, Illinois, and it was called “Grand-Spaulding Dodge.” Over the years, I had opportunities to sit down and talk with Mr. Norm all about the glory days and it was such an interesting story, and it was directly from the source! The dealership, the action at the drag strip, how it all came about and some fond memories. There’s a lot to be learned by this story, as it tells the tale of how Detroit came to get the youth charged up about automobiles – in this case, Dodge vehicles – and how the scene was different in this timeframe, everybody was “car crazy” and the dealers that were smart enough to reach out and market to this young group experienced a lot of sales; and Grand Spaulding Dodge did it like no other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman Kraus first started selling used cars when he was just 16 years old at his father Harvey’s gas station, as he wanted to do something a bit more exciting than simply sell gasoline and make 3 cents per gallon profit. Slowly but surely, he and his brother, Leonard, expanded the family business to include high-performance, manual transmission cars. They knew that if they had an ample supply of them, they would sell almost immediately. In order to find customers, they ran small ads in the classifieds of the Chicago newspapers, and since there was a charge for each letter and number, in an effort to use as few letters as possible they simply put “call Mr. Norm” at the end of each advertisement and it ended up sticking. The phones would ring off the hook and they were always in search of fast V8 cars to sell, and in time the place, then called “Grand Spaulding Auto Sales” (because it was located at the corners of Grand and Spaulding Avenues), was known all around Chicago as the place to find used performance cars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1961, there was a call and visit from the people from Dodge about the creation of a new Dodge dealership at the business the brothers had started. After reviewing the Dodge product lineup, the brothers simply thought the cars were too ugly to sell, and thanked the Chrysler Corporation representative but said no. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about the end of the year 1962 when the rep returned, only this time, he had some pictures in his briefcase that caught the attention of the Kraus Bros.: the all-new 1963 Dodge body style and the news that the 413 “Max Wedge” engine was going to be enlarged to 426 cubic inches. That was enough to get Norm and his brother signed up to be a Dodge dealership! We pick up the story with the delivery of brand-new 1963 Dodges and the construction of the new-car showroom and service facility at the corner of Grand Ave. and Spaulding Ave. \u2013 soon to be the headquarters of the world\u2019s most famous Dodge performance outlet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While reviewing my extensive material for this story, I went through the tapes I had recorded of him in the interviews and here’s some of the key historical information he gave me: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL:\n<\/em>What was the scene like at 3300 West\nGrand Avenue in the early days of 1963?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm:<\/em> I remember my brother and I were\nsitting in the office there and we were saying that we should get at least\nabout 15 of the new 426 Ramcharger cars. We were only projected to sell about\n25 cars a month and we thought we\u2019d made 15 of them Ramchargers. We ordered\nthem and then the sales rep from the factory asked us how many Ramcharger cars\nwe planned to sell a month \u2013 we said about 15 the first month, maybe 20 the\nsecond month. The rep said, \u201cWell, why don\u2019t we do this. We\u2019ll order 50 so\nyou\u2019ll have them built at the factory and then as you need \u2018em, we\u2019ll have them\nshipped in!\u201d That sales rep assured<\/em> us that all we had to do was call and say to ship the cars\n\u2013 as we needed them. Well, about thirty days later \u2013 it was snowing so hard\u2026\nyou couldn\u2019t see 10 feet in front of your place, it was cold too! Well, I\nlooked up and all 50 cars showed up at the same time! We can laugh about it\nnow, but boy, I wasn\u2019t in a laughing mood when I saw that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: <\/em>Wow! 50 hot new 426 Ramchargers all at one time\u2026 what a sight that must have been!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: First of all, we had to get them off the trucks! The head driver comes into the office and says, \u201cI can\u2019t get these<\/em> cars started!\u201d He was freezing\u2026 covered with snow\u2026 white mustache, white hair, white eyebrows! You really felt sorry for the guy\u2026 we sent a man out there and soon he returned\u2026 all covered with snow\u2026 and he said: \u201cAll these cars are flooded out!\u201d I said, \u201cWell, they come from the truck like that, I guess it becomes a warranty situation!\u201d<\/em> We ended putting in 50 sets of plugs that night\u2026 the only way to get them started! Every one with a big puff of smoke\u2026 finally we got them all unloaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Where\u2019d you put them all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: We had no place to put 50 cars! There was never supposed to be more than 20 cars coming in once at that time. But what those 50 cars did do was show us how many friends we had in the area\u2026 in 1961, I was the president of the Used Car Dealers Association of the State of Illinois\u2026 I took out the list of used car lots and asked if they would help me out and store 2-3 cars in their lots for a while\u2026 you had to do what you got to do! We didn\u2019t waste any energy worrying about it, crying about it, we just took care of it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How did you move out (sell) all those cars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: The very next morning, our advertising agent was in our place and we made up advertising spots for the Chicago-based WLS <\/em>radio station\u2026 the largest radio station in the United States at the time. The ad was all about performance<\/em>. There was nothing in the ad about vans, wagons or trucks! It was just a few days later\u2026 the word got out and soon they were gone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Mr. Norm, when did the showroom get built?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm:<\/em> Part of our agreement with the Dodge people was to build a showroom and a service department \u2013 immediately! In the spring of 1963, the foundation hole had been dug and no matter what we were doing at the place, sales always was top priority. One day, I was walking a customer through the area to see a car \u2013 there was a huge pile of dirt \u2013 and I\u2019m talking, and talking, and I don\u2019t hear a reply or agreement\u2026 or anything! I turn around and he\u2019s not there. He fell into the foundation hole! I look down and he\u2019s trying to get out of the hole\u2026 he\u2019s laughing, and while I\u2019m trying to help him get out and I\u2019m laughing! He became a very good customer and over the years every time he came in we\u2019d talk and laugh about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How did you and your brother get into using drag racing as\na sales tool to sell new Dodges from your dealership?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: One day, a guy by the name of Clyde Hopper came to me\u2026 a black dude from the South side of Chicago. He had just bought from us a new 330 Ramcharger to race 1\/8 mile drags \u2013 this was a Saturday morning \u2013 and he says “Norm, I\u2019ll put your name on the side of the car if you\u2019ll give me a set of spark plugs and a pair of seat belts. I called over to Dennis Hirschboeck in the Parts Department and we gave him the parts. The next thing I hear is all the phone calls\u2026 “We saw your racecar win\u2026 congratulations!\u201d<\/em> The next Monday, we sold five more Ramchargers off that\u2026 the following day, I started thinking about a race team of our own!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How and when did the famous Mr. Norm\u2019s Super Charger <\/em>racecar get built?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: When I met Gary Dyer, it was in the summer of \u201964. We were already talkin\u2019, and I knew that this guy would work with me hand and hand. What Gary taught me in one year would take anyone else ten years to learn! Well, we had the Super Stocker (early 1964, campaigned by John Farkonas and Pat Minick), but what we learned was \u201cDon\u2019t run a Super Stocker!\u201d because you don\u2019t want to run against all your customers\u2026 So we had to make arrangements, so that we wouldn\u2019t run in class against our Grand Spaulding customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, we were running at Lake Geneva, and he (Gary Dyer) was involved with the factory Mercury Comet program. He got off the truck, and we introduced ourselves to each other and started talking, and talking. By the time we got done, in a couple of hours, we had the whole future planned. We just clicked \u2013 from that day on, Gary was right there with me. I said to Gary, I don\u2019t want to run S\/S any more, and he said, \u201cLet\u2019s build an F\/Xer (Factory Experimental)!\u201d I said, you got it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nhanded in his Mercury race and truck and everything, and we went from there.\nFor the next ten years, we were involved with each other in performance at the\ndealership, Super Charger racecars and anything and everything that we\ndid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: So it was this Gary Dyer that got you out of Super Stock\nracing in into more exotic racecars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Gary Dyer was a genius! The man has got golden hands, a golden mind! Everything he touched\u2026 he was a very dedicated, responsible car guy. He came in, and we started building the 1964 Dodge Super Charger. We put a blower on it. We started getting it ready. The only other supercharged car was Arnie Beswick. There was no other F\/Xers around\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Were you running gasoline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm<\/em>: One night at a match race in Illinois,<\/em> Gary went out and wins then comes back (to the pits) and I\ntold him that something was wrong! He said, \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d I tell him\nthat my eyes are burning, I can\u2019t keep my eyes open! He says the competitor\n(Beswick) was running \u201cfuel.\u201d I say, What\u2019s that?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 MAXWELL<\/em>: Nitromethane?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Yes! That\u2019s the first time I found out about fuel. I said, Boy, did I get a sniff of that! I asked what does it do? He told me it made the car go quicker. I said: Put some in the car! He told me the engine wouldn\u2019t take it\u2026 he said it would blow mid-range. We did it anyhow\u2026 it came out of the gate like you wouldn\u2019t believe\u2026 and he did blow it! But he coasted through (the finish line) five car lengths<\/em> ahead of that Pontiac!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: So it was \u201cWin on Sunday, Sell on Monday?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Every week! Wherever we ran, we\u2019d do real good. The further away we ran from Chicago, I\u2019d talk about parts, if we were 700-800 miles away. The closer we were, I\u2019d talk about cars. They\u2019d always want me to come up there (to the tower) and talk, and I\u2019d talk and answer questions. Which I would gladly do. I was a dealer, and we had a performance parts department! Plus we had a service department, and we had a new car department and a used car department. And this became a big part of our sales at Grand Spaulding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Is this when you started running those ads in Drag News<\/em> and Car Craft<\/em> and the other car magazines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Yea, I met Doris Herbert while in California and she cut a deal with us to provide a free 6-month subscription to members of our Grand-Spaulding Sport Club. She gave that and I said that was so nice of her! And then our customers would re-new the Drag News<\/em> subscription with her. It helped everybody involved. So we started putting that ad in there, we put info about all the new cars, a picture of our racecar, specials on service, specials on high-performance parts and a schedule of where we\u2019d be running for the next four dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How did the Sport Club idea come up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Well, everything we did over at Grand Spaulding Dodge, it was like niche thinking, once you start niche thinking, that you want to be separated from everyone else, it wasn\u2019t hard! We sold a lot of cars at $200.00 over cost, and we had the Sport Club for our customers. We\u2019d have a \u201cMr. Norm\u2019s\u201d day at the track and 400-500 guys would talk to another\u2026 and they\u2019d all have different prices on their cars? No way! We formed the Mr. Norm\u2019s Sport Club. We\u2019d give them a free power tune. A free T-shirt. A discount on parts. Specials in the service department. A free Drag News<\/em> subscription. Everything that we learned and developed on the racecar, we would pass on to the members. Our theme then became performance-proven know how. We had Clayton chassis dynomometers. Gary would come in the dealership, and we\u2019d take a 383, a 426 wedge, and a HEMI\u00ae<\/sup>, and he\u2019d \u201cpower tune\u201d and give the specs to our dyno people. We\u2019d do the carburetor, we\u2019d curve the distributor, change the springs in it. That was a Power Tune. Then we\u2019d run it up on the dyno, and put a load on it, run it up to 5,000 rpm to see that it put out the horsepower! We made sure that no Grand Spaulding customer would be embarrassed on either the street or the strip.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Can you tell us about the way Grand Spaulding got involved in selling high-performance \u201cspeed\u201d equipment through the part department?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Denny Hirschboeck was my Performance Parts Director. He was recommended to me by Gary Dyer. He knew cars! He was my eyes and ears to the performance equipment world. One day, Denny walks up to me and says they are having a big \u201cspeed\u201d parts show out in Anaheim, California. I tell him to get two tickets, we\u2019re going! We were there the next day\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: What show was this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: The very first SEMA Show. I went through that place and introduced myself to Doug Thorley, Vic Edelbrock, all the cam guys, the wheel guys, everybody! I wanted distributor prices\u2026 but could only order about 50 wheels at a time, instead of 400 like they wanted. I finally talked them all into it \u2013 the fact that I was an automobile dealer\u2026 selling lots of performance cars, it\u2019s just that I didn\u2019t have the space at the time for large quantities. But after we got going, and were selling these speed products fast, they never complained! We were moving these headers, manifolds, custom wheels, cams, carburetors \u2013 you name it \u2013 by the hundreds at a time. We ended up selling more parts than some of their existing \u201cdistributors!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: So you were in a unique situation, a Dodge dealer, a speed equipment merchant, a Funny Car team owner, an advertiser in the popular car magazines\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Everything was done to back-up the New Car Department. That\u2019s the number one priority! We sold mostly performance cars, so we had a Performance Service Department. We sold performance parts. Let me tell you something\u2026 when we sold these cars at $200.00 over cost, well, you\u2019re not going to get rich are you? You can\u2019t! So how were we so successful? I went into our Billing Office, we had five full-time billers. They were busy eight hours to ten hours a day, every day. Just billing out new customers, the Bills of Sales and the contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: That\u2019s a lot of cars!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Yes. Next door was the Sales Office. One night, I took them all out to dinner and said, \u201cI\u2019ve got a new deal for you!\u201d We went over the Miller\u2019s Steak House, ordered all the shrimp cocktails and the steaks, and then I said: \u201cHere\u2019s the deal.\u201d I presented them with all the Performance Packages \u2013 Street, Street and Track, and Track Only. Packages Galore! Headers, cams, oiling systems, high-rise manifolds, carburetors, gears, transmissions, wheels, tires, you name it! They sold the packages, they got a commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: You figured they were going to go and buy all these aftermarket parts somewhere\u2026 they might as well get them at Grand Spaulding!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm<\/em>: We knew that within a month of buying\nthe car, they\u2019d spend nearly 50-percent of the value of the car on parts. We\nbecame the \u201cThe One Stop Performance Headquarters!\u201d Within a couple of years,\nwe became the number one profit Dodge Dealer in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: All this plus you spent a great deal of time on the road with the racecars!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm<\/em>: I\u2019d fly out on a Friday evening, then\nfly back late on Sunday. If we were racing in the area, I\u2019d always ride to the\ntrack with Gary in the truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: What ever happened to all the old \u201cMr. Norm\u2019s\u201d racecars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Well, nobody knows where the \u201965 racecar is\u2026 the acid-dipped Fuel Funny Car, it ran a 8.63 at Lions in California and that blew everybody away. It also blew out the back window of the car. The Charger Funny Car from \u201969-\u201970 is now being totally restored and will be displayed at Logghe Stamping Company. There are people who keep track of where these types of cars are, and they know where every one of the old Grand Spaulding cars are except that \u201965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: That 8.63-second run made the cover of the Los Angeles\nHerald newspaper, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Correct, you really did your homework! Yes, and that night at Lions there was something like 25 to 30 thousand fans there, they could not believe that a car from Chicago would beat everybody but we did.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: You and Gary really performed well on the drag strips over\nthe years, from all over the country in fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Gary Dyer was the best! In our shop, we had a thousand race flags going through the center of ceilings going through the Service Department\u2026 we had 4 x 8-foot character drawings \u2013 nice paintings \u2013 of all the guys we raced and beat! It was done in good humor, not to put anybody down. One time, we were sending back one of our Fuel Funny Cars from Pennsylvania back to the dealership and the driver, who was our Service Manager at the time, was told to transport the car directly to the shop. Well, he stopped at Ubly Dragway\u2026 he turned the car over and ran it through the traps on its roof! The next day, I called our artist, told him what happened. Next thing, he comes in with a new painting \u2013 showing the guy going over the finish line upside-down saying: \u201cDon\u2019t worry Norm, I\u2019ll bring it right back to the Service Department!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: A great story! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Another time\u2026 I was away on vacation in Hawaii and told my guys, \u201cNobody touches the racecar!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the mechanics somehow got the car out of the shop and took it to the Southside and raced it on the street. Alongside a canal\u2026 he got it all crossed-up and he pulled the chute on it, went over the embankment and just stopped short of going into the canal! Someone called the police, and they came out. The car is all turned over, completely totaled-out. The cop was standing there, looks at the mess, looks up and says, \u201cWhat kind of an airplane would fly around and drops a car with a parachute?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: [Laughs and chuckles] Now when did\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Wait a minute! That\u2019s not the end of that\u2026 I had about $6,500.00 into that car \u2013 had a completely totaled car, no insurance and some punk drivin\u2019 it, right?! The next day, when he came down to the shop, me and a couple of guys grabbed him, and we chained him \u2013 right to the car! We said, \u201cWe\u2019ll release the locks when you have every part off this car!\u201d So Denny could take the parts and sell them \u2013 so I get the money out if it. He was chained there well into the next day! He removed the parts, I got my money\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How did you market the dealership outside of all the drag\nstrip activity? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: We advertised on the powerful WLS (AM rock station) every night from midnight until 6 AM, which, at the time, went to something like 17 surrounding states because of all the power of the station. We had the group The Buckinghams do a song about the dealership and our ads became well known. One night, we had a match race at Rockford Dragway, and we had a “Mr. Norm’s Night” where the Buckinghams sang in-between the races and we had free hot dogs and sandwiches. We liked to create things a little different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Besides selling the factory performance cars, and a lot of\nthem, tell us about the special dealer cars that you sold and how that came\nabout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: Well, when the 1967 Dart was released, we had been told that there was going to be a special performance model, something with some power to compete with the Chevelles and other high-performance cars from the other manufacturers. When I found out that the 273 small block V8 was the biggest engine that was going to be available in the Dart, this was late 1966, I didn’t feel Dodge was doing enough to keep up. I had asked the factory about slipping in a 383 big block into the new Dart, and they said it couldn’t be done. I called back to Denny in parts and said to him to get a Dart and get a 383 engine and put it in there, I got busy and within a few days he came to me and said it was all done. There was a motor that needed to be changed, we had to cut the K-frame about a quarter of an inch, and we put a heat deflector by the steering column. The car was a “no-brainer” so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Then what?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm<\/em>: We knew we had a strong package, so\nwe called Detroit to make arrangements to see the head of Dodge, Bob McCurry.\nHe said to bring it to Detroit, because he wanted to road test the car. When I\ngot there he took it for a ride, and he really got on it! He called his\nengineers to see it, and said: “Look what these kids from Chicago\ndid.” They liked it and said that if we could order 50 of them at a time,\nthey could make them for us. That was the start of the GSS Dart. It took two\nGTS emblems to come up with the GSS plates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: How did the 440 Dart program come about? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Norm<\/em>: That was the next progression, and it came in 1968. Fifty were sold. Then we went to the six-pack in 1971, on the 340 Demon. The following year, it was Supercharged Demons.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAXWELL<\/em>: Thank you, Norm, for the fun stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr.\nNorm<\/em>: I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I\nlove every minute of it. I meet the guys that come up and talk about the old\ntimes. It lights me up and charges my battery. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t\ndo for a Mopar fan!”  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SURROUNDING\nAREA DODGE DEALERS WERE NOT HAPPY <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Dodge franchise men pitched Norm and his older brother, Lenny, about becoming a dealer, they explained that a showroom and service department was mandatory, and that needed to be added to their facility (which was just a car lot and gas station at the time). This was late in 1962 and things were moving fast, and once the cars started showing up, they were being sold fast as well! Because of the time rush and, of course, the cold winter climate of Chicago, Norm just put up a tent and around it was a corral-style fence, with a few hay bales and scarecrows to have a little fun with it. Max Wedge cars were selling and those performance buyers didn’t give one hoot about a showroom. However, until the work was done to build a proper showroom and service area the Dodge regional manager caught a lot of flack by the other dealers. What they soon heard was something along the lines of: “We understand you approved an application for a Dodge dealership at Grand and Spaulding in Chicago.” Of course the reply was “yes.” Then the next thing to come was: “Do you realize they not only don’t have a service department, they do not even have a showroom!” After getting chewed out by the higher-ups in the company, the manager was thinking perhaps it could cost him his job for this. Then, when he was told this, he really was worried: “You gave a dealership to two kids from Chicago? Are you out of your mind?” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well it was something of a miracle of sorts when “these kids” started selling the new Dodges like wildfire, doubling their sales in the first months and then continued growth at a record pace since that early start. When the warm weather hit the showroom and service department did come to reality and at the next big corporate meeting, the same Dodge regional manager told the top brass how he knew the former gas station \/ used car dealer would be so successful… the man simply smiles and replied: “I had a good feeling about them from the very start.” Grand Spaulding went on to become the number one sales volume Dodge dealership in the country.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nme, and to anyone who had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Norm Kraus, it\nalways was a real thrill to hear from him, his detailed stories of the\n“glory days” when he was active in selling and racing Dodges.\n“The High-Performance King” Mr. Norm passed in 2021 and I’m grateful\nI had the privilege to spent the time I had getting the “straight\nscoop” on so much Mopar history!           \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This one goes way back to the late 1950s! With a Buick Roadmaster in the background, it’s Norm “back in the day” as a used car salesman, and little did he know that by the time the early to mid-1960s rolled around, he would become a household name in Mopar circles, go on to be heavily involved in Funny Car racing and sell more high-performance Dodge products than any other Dodge dealer out there… and eventually the top-selling Dodge dealer overall, and grow to having two stores, the other located in Buffalo Grove.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is the 1964 Hardtop drag car that the dealership sponsored. Standing next to the car is Norm Kraus (left), driver Pat Minick (center) and brother Lennie Kraus (right). While Norm was excited in getting involved with drag racing, it was later felt that running a Super Stock car wasn’t such a great idea as they oftentimes ended up running against their customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

$3,995.00 bought you a brand-new ’65 Dodge HEMI Dodge, all thanks to Mr. Norm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The same 1965 Mr. Norm car (which was a A-990 sedan modified with altered wheelbase in the rear) equipped with a supercharged 426 HEMI engine that delivered a best of 9.10 run at 156.57 mph.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Then called “A\/FX” for Factory Expermental, it’s actually Norm himself pulling a wheelie with the ’65 car that had received both front and rear wheels moved forward to increase traction by means of improved weight transfer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This\n1965-dated ad was selling lightweight body panels, hood scoops, plexiglass\nwindshields, along with the slicks, headers, cams, carburetors and liquid resin\nfor fiberglass work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In what could be considered a “transition” car, it’s the ’65 supercharged sedan with rear differential moved forward and still have stock from wheel location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a big, big deal when the Mr. Norm car made its appearance for the first time in Southern California for the Lion’s Drag Strip match race… which it won, 8.63 seconds later! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The “bin & bench” was a Chrysler Parts Division dealer publication and on the cover of their August 1966 edition the Mr. Norm drag car was cover material! Gary Dyer behind the wheel with Mr. Norm.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 1965\nCoronet altered wheelbase car in preparation for a run! Sweeping in the\ntraction rosin, Norm standing by the car! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this rare\nvintage photo capture from inside the famous Grand-Spaulding dealership shop is\nthe ’65 altered wheelbase car and ’68 narrow-body Charger Funny Car.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This 1966 Charger Funny Car was built by Dennis Rollain and John Buttera of R&B Chassis in Kenosha, WI, and featured a square-tube chassis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s a 1967 newspaper ad and it hyped bare-bones 383 Coronets for $2,495 and in the used car department, a 1964 aluminum front ended Super Stock HEMI Dodge for $1,695. Wow, if we could turn back the clock…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Norm ran the\nCoca-Cola Funny Car Circuit and toured all over the country, this example of\nhis Charger F\/C had a flat black top to promote the then super-popular optional\nvinyl tops on production cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\npsychedelic sixties and the colorful poster done up for the 1968 “Super\nCharger” Funny Car, definitely a rare piece was wall art today for any\nMopar fanatic! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Details\nmattered to the Grand Spaulding cars, even as far as fitting actual\n“Charger” emblems onto the C-pillars of the fiberglass-bodied Funny\nCar as seen here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A press shot with Gary Dyer fiddling with that big supercharged and injected 426 HEMI engine!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There were two different Charger-bodied Funny Cars campaigned during the 1968 racing season, this was the narrow “Mini Charger” (10 inches narrower than stock) which saw a lot of match racing. The chassis was way ahead of its time and was designed by Gary Dyer, built by Frank Huszar of Race Car Specialties and featured a tight, dragster style of driver roll cage. During a race at U.S. 30 Dragway in Gary, Indiana; unfortunately, an oil filter blew off the engine and the car burnt to the ground, after a 7.47-second run at 196 mph.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n