SAPULPA, OK – Gasoline Alley Classics, a longtime manufacturer of game room, garage, and man cave automobilia décor, will launch its first retail shop in a former Model T assembly plant and dealership on Route 66 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 9, followed by Gasoline Alley’s grand opening at 10 a.m. Sept. 10. This 24 N. Main St. business is part of Travel Oklahoma’s Route 66 Passport program.
“I’ve always wanted to be on Route 66,” said “Chief Everything Officer” Michael Jones, a car enthusiast since high school. “We’ve traveled Route 66 in both directions in our classic cars. I have not seen anything like this in terms of game room, garage, and man cave décor or high-end collectibles on Route 66.”
Jones, 60, tinkered with automobilia in his garage for years, until he made a pair of street rod strollers for his then-infant sons in 1994. When those strollers were featured in Street Rodder magazine, Gasoline Alley Classics Inc. officially began. In 2006, Jones left a career in food sales to start a wholesale operation with his uncle in an industrial park, buying out a friend’s signage business in the process. In 2015, Jones and his family bought the 1917 Sapulpa Motor Co. Ford Model T assembly plant and dealership. He has worked on its restoration ever since.
“I like the bright and shiny, but I’m also the rusty and crusty guy,” said Jones, who owns a rusty 1940 Ford pickup and a crusty 1954 Dodge milk truck. Jones’ passion for patina extends to his registered trademarks, including the slogan “In Rust We Trust,” Lady Luck, and Fat Boys Speed Shop. His product line includes oil cans, miniature gas pumps, parking meters, drive-in speakers, custom lighting, men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, gifts, and souvenirs. He even sold 6,000 replica oil cans with T-shirts sealed inside to Hobby Lobby.
The grand opening happens on the day of Sapulpa’s Route 66 Blowout Car Show and Festival. You may learn more about this 33rd annual event at www.route66blowout.com
The updated Route 66 Passport will be published in a few months. The initiative encourages tourists to visit the 66 destinations on or near the highway. Those who get every page stamped can receive a collectible Route 66 coin from Oklahoma Tourism. To learn more about this program, check out www.travelok.com/article_page/
Gasoline Alley Classics, 24 N. Main St., Sapulpa, manufactures and sells game room, garage, and man cave automobilia décor. It will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new retail store at 10 a.m. Sept. 9, with its grand opening 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 10. The shop will operate from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. To learn more, contact owner Michael Jones by phone at 918-806-1000, or by email email at mjgasalley@tulsacoxmail.com. You may find Gasoline Alley Classics on Facebook or at gasolinealleyclassicsinc.com
