After leaving Motown, circa 1964, Billingslea took a job for the Chrysler Corporation at the Dodge Truck Plant in Warren, Michigan. In 1965, he was elected by his fellow United Automobile Workers as chief steward. He resigned from Chrysler in 1968 to join the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. In 1977, he put his years of law enforcement experience to work by joining the Detroit Correctional Department, eventually reaching the rank of Sergeant. In 1972 he returned to the GM studio in Detroit to work with Michael Stokes and Joe Thomas on a project for Sussex Records that appeared as The Segments of Time.
