Eaton Detroit Spring is turning 80 years old this year, and still has a spring in its step.
The company was founded during the Great Depression, and since then has built a reputation as a 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.”
The opportunity they saw 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.
When their original building lease expired, the Eatons moved production to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull—across from the former home of the Detroit Tiger baseball team. Today, the company is still there, manufacturing springs and components for classic vehicles.
Eaton Detroit Spring now has over 24,000 OEM spring blueprints for more than 166,000 vehicle applications.
Eaton Detroit Spring also has a 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.”
