Eaton Detroit Spring Celebrates 80 Years

Still a Spring in its Step

It may be turning 80 years old in 2017, but Eaton Detroit Spring still has a spring it its step.

Founded during the Great Depression and located across the street from the site of the former Tiger Stadium in Detroit, the company has built a reputation as the premier manufacturer of leaf and coil springs and related attaching parts for the restoration and street-rod markets.

“My grandparents, Frank and Grace Eaton, started this company in 1937,” says grandson Mike Eaton, who now leads the business with his daughter, Kim. “At a time when most of the country was stalled in fear, they only saw opportunity.”

That opportunity was in the form of the aftermarket division of Detroit Steel Products, which the Eatons purchased for $11,000.

“With this risk, they started building their personal empire and picked themselves to win when others were too afraid to play,” Mike notes.

A few years later, when their original lease expired, the Eatons moved production to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull—across from the former home of the Detroit Tiger baseball team. The company is still there today, manufacturing springs and components for the classic vehicles it has watched debut and mature over the decades.

In fact, Eaton Detroit Spring now has more than 24,000 OEM spring blueprints for more than 166,000 vehicle applications, ensuring a perfect fit for nearly any classic, muscle-car, or hot-rod application that comes its way.

“Our blueprints give us the edge in leaf spring design and manufacture over everybody else in the industry,” Mike Eaton believes. “If you give us accurate information and install your springs correctly, you’ll never have a problem with them.”

One of the secrets to Eaton Detroit Spring’s success is its team of experts that are always willing to help.

“Have a question, don’t know what to get, or just want to order from somebody who knows what they’re talking about?” Mike asks. “That’s what we specialize in.”

Others may sell springs, Eaton Detroit Spring makes them.

Just as it has for the past 80 years.

 

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