I was looking at some paperwork I received when I bought my truck and found out it was bought at this dealership. I recall an old thread about license plate frames and now I am on the hunt for two. Anybody need to get rid of some to make room for some greenbacks, please feel free to answer, or point me in the right direction. None on EBAY...

Look at some of these prices: Deluxe Tu-tone-$25.55 8100GVW Package-$160.43 390 V8 Engine-$165.78 Ranger Package XLT-$399.98 California Emissions System-$15.55 Tool Stowage Box-$46.37 Cruisomatic Trans-$236.89 A/C-$404.92 Camper Spec. Package-$137.50

Kinda interesting, specially when you just can't sleep!

 

I see there is still a Wray Ford dealership in Louisiana. You might call them and ask if you can buy some frames.
Wray Ford, Inc. - Your Bossier City, Louisiana Ford dealer for new and used vehicle sales and service

The LA abbreviation might even cross over pretty well.

I'm sure you would prefer the old metal ones. But they may be expensive if you can find them at all.

 

Thanks...Gonna call them up!

***UPDATE***I just spoke to Chris in Louisiana at the dealership and he is going to send a couple out to me...for free! I wish I lived closer to handle this in person. I just finished talking to their customer service manager and thanking them for being so wonderful to someone so far away. His answer, that's how we do things. He seemed happy that my 1973 Ford F250 was still in service and treating me so well! I told him that out here in California is going to be at least one truck wearing the Wray Ford plate frames proudly! Thanks again!

 

I'd bet that Dummy could lay his hands on a couple of the originals.

He has an inventory of everything old in Southern California, all in his head!

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Wray Bros. Ford (how the name appeared on license frames) was located on Van Nuys Blvd in Van Nuys. The showroom and shop were located on the west side.

Across the street and south one block was a huge 3 story building where they stored the new vehicles (and had been the original showroom/shop).

At one time this building had painted signs on the outside stating: Roadsters, Coupes, Sedans (and etc.), so the salesmen would know where to find them.

Van Nuys Blvd. between the Ventura Fwy and Vanowen Street was at one time the San Fernando Valley's Auto Row. Little remains today.

Last year I sold my huge METAL license plate frame collection to a fellow (Frank) in Glendora...including some Wray Bros. Ford frames. Frank sells on ebay and at local swap meets.

In case anyone's interested, I found a coupla frames recently stashed in the garage. One each: Wilson Ford (Huntington Beach), Theodore Robins (Costa Mesa).

I also had a pair of Stockton Quincy Ford (in Westwood) frames (that I did not sell to Frank), but a new FTE member who owns a '67 Shelby GT500 was happy to get them, as his car was sold new there.

btw: Be aware that the license plate frames used 1955 and earlier will not fit 1956 thru today CA license plates. 1955 and earlier CA plates were longer and narrower.

Look cheap, don't they? Well they ain't cheap when you put those prices into perspective. The US dollar was worth 75% more back then then it is today...and...the average yearly salary was around 25 grand back then.

 

Thank you NumberDummy, very much for the information about Wray Bros. Ford. You have a way of painting a picture of the past with your words, just as you have in other threads. I will certainly keep watching on EBAY for them, or if you happen to cross paths with him again, I would appreciate it sir.

And those prices, I was thinking more of what you got for your dollar! My truck was made in the USA and is a testament to things built to last. I suppose each generation recalls fondly on their past, but now in particular, I wish it was a lot more like back then right now!

Thanks again!

 

Not to hijack here, but I've been looking for a Wilson Ford frame for years! Any chance you still have that and might consider selling it? Please advise - thank you!
Daniel

 

Welcome to FTE

Swing on by...and pick it up...no charge.

Another FTE member gave it to me, cuz my last name is Wilson.

Did'ja know that Dick Wilson was a "front man" for Ralph Willams, who actually owned the dealership?

The same store was also known as Terry York Ford. York was another front man for Williams.

The CA DMV shut down Terry York Ford because of "improprieties" inre to new/used sales contracts.

 

For those who don't know Ralph Williams....I was trying to find a clip of Johnny Carson spoofing him by having him pop out of a casket at a funeral with his "Hi, Ralph Williams here....". Instead I found this R rated clip, maybe a real one from the days of live commercials. Maybe not. Again, hard R rated:

...Ralph Williams Chrysler Plymouth Sales Pitch...

 

Chick Lambert at his finest, and most memorable hour.

The commercials usually started out, "I'm Chick Lambert, Sales Manager here at Ralph Williams Ford, and this is my dog, Storm."

Last year, NumberDummy told us that Storm was actually a rent-a-dog!

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Chick was the longtime spokesman for Brand Motors Ford City, located at 22nd Street & Crenshaw Blvd. When Brand folded, Chick went to work for Ralph.

Chick (who was a lush), lived on his yacht in Marina del Rey. The TV commercials for Ralph Williams Ford (15800 Ventura Blvd-Encino) were filmed on Tuesday evenings.

Two porters were sent to pick Chick up around 2PM, dry him out, so he'd be ready to appear before camera.

Storm (a german shepherd) and its handler would usually show up around 5ish...thankfully, neither drank. Chick would call the dogs name off camera, the dog wouldn't even glance his way. Chick's usual response...was "dumb dog."

Some of us employees would stick around and watch the commercials being shot. One time, on camera, the dog peed on a tire. It wasn't unusual for Chick to pee in his pants..off or on camera!

Chick was canned circa 1970 after wrecking his demo...again while DWI. The last one I viewed at the body shop was a 1969 Chrysler New Yorker.

Ralph did quite a few commercials before Chicky-Baby was hired, had to step in when Chick was too intoxicated to appear before camera. His usual pitch line opened up with:

"Hi friends, Ralph Williams...speaking to you from Ralph Williams Ford, where you'll get more for your car purchasing dollar." Uh huh...

Copies of sales contracts was stapled to new car get ready RO's, which were kept in racks along with RO's for customer pay and warranty in the service dept's dispatchers office, which was inside the parts dept adjacent to the back parts counter where yours truely worked.

Reading those contracts was an eye opener, cuz some 'car purchasers' received a first class "hose job" by 'ol Ralph and his finance peeps.

Ralph was the finance guy at downtown LA's Frank Taylor Ford (newspaper ads crowed: "No Sunday Selling, so we can give our employees a day off!") when he married actor/Ford Dealer Leon Ames' daughter.

Leon Ames Ford (originally Gossett-Ames Ford) was located in Studio City, on Laurel Canyon Blvd., one block north of Ventura Blvd. Ralph talked Ames into opening a new store in Encino, and it wasn't too long before Leon Ames Ford became Ralph Williams Ford.

inre to Taylor's No Sunday Selling hyperbole: The Catholic Church owned the property where Taylor was located, would not allow him to open on Sunday.

But...when the property was sold, Taylor wasted no time opening up on Sunday!

 

"Spot, finally fed up with laying on the hoods of cars, bit Chick Lambert.

"Chick got a canine induced version of Tourette's Syndrome which initially manifested itself in this commercial.

"Chick was reduced to doing sign language versions of car ads till his middle finger (no doubt caused by Tourette's) got him banished from American TV forever.

"He died in obscurity after getting a TV gig in the Baltic Republics pitching Yugos."

A sad ending to a brilliant broadcasting career.......

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Storm was the dogs name in Ralph's ads. "My dog Spot" was Cal Worthington's name for every animal that appeared in his commercials, which parodied Ralph's.

Cal's first new car dealership (Hudson) was located at 2771 E. Slauson Avenue in Huntington Park. In 1955, Cal switched to selling Dodge's at this location.

In late 1969, Ralph Williams changed the name of his Encino dealership to Four Seasons Ford, then moved the store to Long Beach, the name then became Queen City Ford.

Ralph (at that time under inditment in CA & WA due to sales improprieties), sold all his CA, WA & AK Ford and Chry/Ply dealerships to Cal, who soon went bankrupt due to over expansion.

Cal was able to hold onto the Dodge store in HP...later rebuilt his empire. Today he owns 10 dealerships, a dozen ranches and lives in NorCal.

Cal is a down to earth good-ol-boy (born in OK), despite being an 'in your face' car dealer (his son Rod is a pal a mine). During WWII, he was a B-17 pilot, flew 36 bombing missions over Germany.

Rod got a "wild hair" decided to go onto the carbiz, bought the Ford dealership in Blythe. The dealership was located on a side street in a rundown former airplane hanger.

Cal flew into Blythe in his private plane to look the store over. Was picked up at the airport (a dirt landing strip out in the middle of nowhere) by yours truely.

Cal got out of the truck (1986 Ranger Super Cab), took a look, shook his head, never said a word, got back in the truck, then I drove him back to the airport.

I worked for Cal in Long Beach in 1986 as an "outside wholesale parts" salesman. Despite the excellent salary and the free use of the Ranger, it was just too damn far to drive from WLA.

I was working weekends in Blythe (doing a parts return termination, SOP when a dealership changed owners). The parts dept was a disaster, former managers had never returned anything to FoMoCo for credit.

What space there was a stacked high with old warranty parts that should have been disposed of years before.

Rod wanted me to go to work there as the parts manager, but...there was no way-none that I would move to Blythe, a carbunkle on the backside of humanity.

 

Thanks for the welcome and the generous offer. But I'd certainly be willing to compensate you for it -
Is there a way to PM on this site? I'd like to work out details with you if possible.
Thanks a lot,
Daniel

 

You've got to have 25 posts before PM's become active.

Welcome to our corner of cyber-wherever....

A good bunch of guys hang their hats here.

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