Gus and the Model Garage

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From 1925 to 1970, Gus Wilson took the readers of Popular Science on a journey of understanding how their vehicles worked and how he solved the problem. It was part detective story, part Norman Rockwell and part repair manual. Now more than 500 of the stories have been scanned in by a automotive instructor Mike Hammerberg at the website gus-stories.org

Gus Wilson was the main character of the series and part owner and master mechanic of the Model Garage.  A thoughtful man, respected in his town, Gus was never without his common sense and trusty pipe.  You could always tell when he was pondering possible solutions to a complex problem as he became quiet and lit up the famous pipe.  That process was usually follow by the exclamation “I’ve got it” and then we were treated to the solution and the logic behind it.

“In July, 1925, a gruff, gray-haired mechanic appeared feet-first on the pages of popular science. His name was Gus Wilson, and his feet were protruding from beneath a car on which he was “examining the brake rods.” Sliding out from under the car, Gus Wilson emerged both into the light of day and into an extraordinary career. In the years that followed he has become the best-known and most respected auto mechanic in the world of fiction. All dimensions of the Gus Wilson saga are of heroic proportions, Model garage stories are among the longest continuous fiction features ever printed in any magazine. More than 500 Gus Wilson stories have been published.

The Website:

www.gus-stories.org

Gus Signs off in 1970