Edelbrock
Encyclopedia
Edelbrock, LLC is a specialty performance automotive
and motorcycle
aftermarket
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
, California
. The company
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
, a distribution
center and museum, the Russell division
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
is in San Jacinto
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
led him to design a new intake manifold
,
Edelbrock, LLC is a specialty performance automotive
and motorcycle
aftermarket
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
, California
. The company
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
, a distribution
center and museum, the Russell division
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
is in San Jacinto
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
led him to design a new intake manifold
,
Edelbrock, LLC is a specialty performance automotive
and motorcycle
aftermarket
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
, California
. The company
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
, a distribution
center and museum, the Russell division
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
is in San Jacinto
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
led him to design a new intake manifold
, friends and fellow drivers soon wanted one as well. This transformed his repair garage into a parts manufacturing enterprise, making one-of-a-kind equipment for automobiles. In many ways, Vic Edelbrock helped to invent the automotive aftermarket parts industry.
Today, Edelbrock manufactures over 8,000 automotive parts for racers and hobbyists, focusing on increased performance. The company relies on online and catalog resellers and thus offers no direct sales for the bulk of its catalog.
in 1913. After the family grocery store burned down in 1927, he left school at the age of 14 to help support the family by ferrying Model T Fords from Wichita to the many outlying farms in the area. The frequent stops to replace parts that shook loose on the region's dirt roads made him an expert in impromptu repair work.Edelbrock Corporation annual report 1999, Edelbrock Corporation, 1999. Soon after, he found work in a local repair shop, working as an auto mechanic
.History at Edelbrock's official website
When the Great Depression
hit in 1931, Edelbrock went to California to live with his brother, Carl. Initially, he moved in with his brother and took a job as an auto mechanic. In order to earn some extra money to open his own repair shop, Edelbrock took an evening job in downtown Los Angeles
parking cars at a large apartment complex. It was a chance encounter at this parking complex where he bumped into the 19-year-old Irish woman, Katherine (Katie) Collins, who was working as a day maid. Despite the fact that Katie was engaged, Edelbrock convinced her to give him a chance and not marry her fiancé. They married in June 1933, just eight weeks after meeting.
As a 22-year-old, Edelbrock teamed up with his new brother-in-law to open his first automobile repair shop
on Wilshire Boulevard
in Beverly Hills. Business flourished and in 1934 Edelbrock moved into his own shop on the corner of Venice
Blvd and Hoover in Los Angeles. Business continued to grow rapidly and he moved his shop three more times in the 1930s. In 1936, Katie Edelbrock gave birth to Vic, Jr.
, the couple's only child.
In 1938 Vic Edelbrock bought his first project
car, a 1932 Ford Roadster. In his desire to increase the performance, he joined with Tommy Thickstun to design a new intake manifold for the roadster's flathead engine
.Corvette Fever periodical, Retrieved June 26, 2007 Unhappy with the performance of that manifold, Edelbrock designed his own, nicknamed The Slingshot. Most importantly, the new manifold allowed two Stromberg 97 carburetor
s to be used, eliminating a bottleneck that limited horsepower
for the engine.Canadian Classics & Performance, January 2004 The manifold was tested for quality at the Rosamond
dry lake
s (occupied today by Edwards Air Force Base
), which was a testing ground for Edelbrock and many other car club
s and racing associations. After stripping off the fenders
and hubcaps, on November 16, 1941, Edelbrock drove the car in 7.41 seconds at a speed of 121.45 mi/h, achieving a national speed record in the flying quarter mile.Almquist, Ed. "Hot Rod Pioneers, The Creators of the Fastest Sport on Wheels", Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 2000. ISBN 0-7680-0232-X All Chevy Magazine article, August 1988, Michael Lufty Originally, he had no intention of producing any additional manifolds, but the overwhelming response following his phenomenal speed in a 1932 Ford prompted Edelbrock to make more. This was the first product he sold commercially and marked the beginning of the company as it is known today. Edelbrock ultimately manufactured 100 of the Slingshot manifolds.
During World War II
, Edelbrock's machinist
skills were put to work welding
in the Todd Shipyards
in Long Beach
hand fabricating
aircraft
parts. Because of a ban on auto racing by the Office of Defense Transportation
, there was no racing during the war, but Edelbrock secretly designed and developed a new line of products. After the war, he produced aluminum racing
cylinder heads, in addition to manifolds, which quickly gained him notability among hot rodding hobbyists. Parts to increase an engine's performance were not readily available, so racers built their own. Soon Edelbrock found himself building pieces first for his friends and then for customers.McFarland, Jim. "The Great Manifold Bolt-On!", Edelbrock Corporation, 1982. ISBN 0-9608740-0-3
To deal with the enormous amount of mail he was receiving, in 1946 Edelbrock created the company's first catalog, Edelbrock Power and Speed Equipment, with the help of Pete Petersen
. This hastened the transformation of the Edelbrock company from a repair garage into a performance parts manufacturer. Then, in 1947, Edelbrock produced the first cylinder heads for the Ford flathead
.
One of the first companies to use an engine
dynamometer
, Edelbrock moved to a 5000 sq ft (464.5 m²) "purpose-built" shop in 1949 to develop more manifolds, cylinder heads and racing piston
s. In the early 1950s, he continued to dominate the dry lakes and expanded his racing to the Bonneville Speedway
.
(CRA) was formed to run auto races
with roadster
s that raced on oval track
and attempted land speed records on dry salt flat lakes. After World War II
, the sanctioning body began sanctioning sprint car races
. In 1946, Edelbrock decided to expand his involvement into midget car racing, purchasing a car made by Frank Kurtis
. In addition to racing the car, he wanted a test bench for the racing products he was developing.Circle Track magazine article, December 1989, Tom Madigan Edelbrock's team toured the dirt track racing
circuit of Southern California
with flathead guru
Bobby Meeks
tuning the cars.Hotrod & Restoration magazine article, July 2005, Bill Sessa Many famous drivers, including two Indianapolis 500
winners, were in the ranks of the Edelbrock team, including Walt Faulkner
, Perry Grimm
, Cal Niday
, Danny Oakes
, Harry Stockman
, Bill Vukovich
, Rodger Ward
and Bill Zaring
.Anderson, Stephen K. "Historical Reunion: Repeating History Through a Car and a Great American Family". American Rodder Magazine, May 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2008
A major claim to fame for Edelbrock was beating all the Offenhauser
-powered midget cars that had dominated midget car racing for several years; this feat was remarkable because Offenhausers had a significant power advantage over all the other motors.Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Using his Kurtis Kraft
V8-60 "shaker" midget car powered by a secret blend of 20% nitromethane
(disguised with the scent of orange oil
), Rodger Ward made history on August 10, 1950, when his Edelbrock-powered #27 car broke the winning streak of the "Offy"-equipped midget cars at Gilmore Stadium
, the track that originated midget car racing. This was the only V8-60 to ever beat the Offys in the Gilmore 386-Race history. The same car raced at the Orange Show Stadium in San Bernardino
the following night, again beating the Offenhauser cars.Rodger Ward
article This feat was never duplicated in the history of midget racing. Edelbrock was not the only racer in the period to experiment with nitromethane; fellow racers Joaquin Arnett and Tony Capanna had tried it in their hot rods, as well. Edelbrock, however, is generally considered to be the one who pulled it all together and made it work.
Until 1955, Edelbrock made parts only for Ford, Mercury
and Lincoln
. Few things affected the company (as well as the development of the hot rod market) more than the development of the Chevrolet Small-Block engine
(also known as the Gen I) in 1955. Chevrolet
delivered three Gen I engines to Edelbrock for experimentation. He used one engine for testing on a dynamometer
and another to test multi-carb manifolds for magazine articles
. He prepared the third engine for boat builder Henry Lauterback, who immediately set two world records in Miami, Florida
.
In 1958, Edelbrock managed an industry first by designing and achieving one horsepower-per-cubic-inch from a 283 cid small-block Chevy with his new Cross Ram Manifold. This breakthrough led him to begin producing manifolds for Pontiac
and Chrysler
engines.
Another critical turning point in the company's history was the 1964 decision to build a small-block Chevy intake manifold for a 4-barrel carburetor. The C-4B manifold, developed with help from Bob Joehnck, opened the door to a new line of performance products. Although competing with the factory was a risky proposition, it turned out to be a beneficial one, as it allowed the company to expand into a new market. Dick Berggren. Stock Car Racing article, March, 1998
In 1962, cancer claimed the life of Victor Edelbrock, Sr. at the age of 49. At the time, the company consisted of ten employees and annual sales were $450,000. Edelbrock was succeeded by his only son, 26-year-old Vic Edelbrock, Jr.
"Vic Edelbrock Jr. To Be Honored", Street Rodder Magazine, Retrieved June 26, 2007. Vic Jr., who had graduated in 1958 with a degree in business from USC
, became President and Chief Executive Officer, a position he held until 2010.Vic Bio at Edelbrock website media center
The company joined SEMA
(the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) as a charter member in the 1960s, with Vic Edelbrock, Jr. serving as president from 1971 to 1974. Edelbrock had been elected in a crucial time in the history of SEMA; Congress enacted the Clean Air Act in 1971 and established the Environmental Protection Agency
, which targeted the air pollution
caused by internal combustion engine
s.
When gas prices soared in the 1970s, Edelbrock produced its Streetmaster line of intake manifolds that featured improved mileage, as well as performance.
In 1987, Edelbrock moved its facilities to its current location in Torrance, California, where it remains today. The five-building corporate facility occupies over 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²). In 1990, Edelbrock built a 73000 square feet (6,781.9 m²) sand-cast aluminum foundry in San Jacinto, which employed 75 to 100 workers, and gave the company the ability to increase production according to market demands.SEMA News, 1990.
In 1994, the Edelbrock corporation went public, selling shares of stock on the NASDAQ
stock exchange. This initially raised $21 million, which was used mainly for construction of a new exhaust division in Torrance near its main facilities.FundingUniverse.com article, retrieved 4 August 2008.
In 2000, Russell Performance Plumbing, a company that manufactures fittings and hose
s, was acquired by Edelbrock. The company, which had been based in Florida
, was relocated to Torrance by 2001.
As of June 30, 2004, the company employed 722 persons, and achieved revenue
s of $125.98 million USD
. Since the company went private again in 2004, revenue findings have not been available to the general public.
On June 7, 2010, the Chicago-based private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners(IOP) announced their strategic investment in the Edelbrock corporation. With $185 million of committed capital, IOP focuses on acquiring and managing middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses. Edelbrock also became a limited liability corporation (LLC). At the same time, Edelbrock announced a new acting president. John Colaianne, a member of IOP's board of operating principles replaced Vic Edelbrock, who has served as president since 1962. Vic Edelbock remains chairman on the board of directors
.http://www.iopfund.com/about/index.htmlEdelbrock IOP press release
Edelbrock does not sponsor a NASCAR
team, but instead engages in advertising through a $250,000 per year (2004) contract with NASCAR by which the Edelbrock contingency sticker is placed on every NASCAR race car. Contingency is a common form of "after the fact" sponsorship whereby racers place stickers on their vehicles from companies that post monetary awards to racing teams for winning, in exchange for the right to use images of winning drivers and their cars in promotional literature and advertising.
Edelbrock also posts contingency awards to drag racers
, including those classes of racers who engage in racing as a hobby. Since 2002, Edelbrock has been the title sponsor of the PRO Edelbrock Drag Racing
Series, which features both professional and sportsman racing classes. The racing series includes seven classes of heads-up style racing and three classes of index style racing.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
aftermarket
Aftermarket (automotive)
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
, a distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
center and museum, the Russell division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
is in San Jacinto
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
led him to design a new intake manifold
Inlet manifold
In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders...
,
Edelbrock, LLC is a specialty performance automotive
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
aftermarket
Aftermarket (automotive)
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
, a distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
center and museum, the Russell division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
is in San Jacinto
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
led him to design a new intake manifold
Inlet manifold
In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders...
,
Edelbrock, LLC is a specialty performance automotive
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
aftermarket
Aftermarket (automotive)
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...
parts manufacturer based in Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
has five locations, including four in Torrance: its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
, a distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
center and museum, the Russell division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
(which also houses the shock manufacturing center), and the exhaust plant. Its foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
is in San Jacinto
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto is a city in Riverside County, California, U.S.A. It was named after Saint Hyacinth and is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south. The mountains associated with the valley are the San Jacinto Mountains. The population was 44,199 at the 2010...
, California.
Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938. When his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
led him to design a new intake manifold
Inlet manifold
In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders...
, friends and fellow drivers soon wanted one as well. This transformed his repair garage into a parts manufacturing enterprise, making one-of-a-kind equipment for automobiles. In many ways, Vic Edelbrock helped to invent the automotive aftermarket parts industry.
Today, Edelbrock manufactures over 8,000 automotive parts for racers and hobbyists, focusing on increased performance. The company relies on online and catalog resellers and thus offers no direct sales for the bulk of its catalog.
Vic Edelbrock
Vic Edelbrock Sr. was born in a small farming community near Wichita, KansasWichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
in 1913. After the family grocery store burned down in 1927, he left school at the age of 14 to help support the family by ferrying Model T Fords from Wichita to the many outlying farms in the area. The frequent stops to replace parts that shook loose on the region's dirt roads made him an expert in impromptu repair work.Edelbrock Corporation annual report 1999, Edelbrock Corporation, 1999. Soon after, he found work in a local repair shop, working as an auto mechanic
Auto mechanic
An auto mechanic is a mechanic with a variety of car makes or either in a specific area or in a specific make of car. In repairing cars, their main role is to diagnose the problem accurately and quickly...
.History at Edelbrock's official website
When the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
hit in 1931, Edelbrock went to California to live with his brother, Carl. Initially, he moved in with his brother and took a job as an auto mechanic. In order to earn some extra money to open his own repair shop, Edelbrock took an evening job in downtown Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
parking cars at a large apartment complex. It was a chance encounter at this parking complex where he bumped into the 19-year-old Irish woman, Katherine (Katie) Collins, who was working as a day maid. Despite the fact that Katie was engaged, Edelbrock convinced her to give him a chance and not marry her fiancé. They married in June 1933, just eight weeks after meeting.
As a 22-year-old, Edelbrock teamed up with his new brother-in-law to open his first automobile repair shop
Automobile repair shop
An automobile repair shop is a place where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.- Types :The automotive garage can be divided in so many category....
on Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in Beverly Hills. Business flourished and in 1934 Edelbrock moved into his own shop on the corner of Venice
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice is a beachfront district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors...
Blvd and Hoover in Los Angeles. Business continued to grow rapidly and he moved his shop three more times in the 1930s. In 1936, Katie Edelbrock gave birth to Vic, Jr.
Vic Edelbrock, Jr.
Vic Edelbrock, Jr. is the son and only child of famed mechanic and Edelbrock founder, Vic Edelbrock. He has been the president of Edelbrock since 1962...
, the couple's only child.
Slingshot
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
car, a 1932 Ford Roadster. In his desire to increase the performance, he joined with Tommy Thickstun to design a new intake manifold for the roadster's flathead engine
Flathead engine
A flathead engine is an internal combustion engine with valves placed in the engine block beside the piston, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine...
.Corvette Fever periodical, Retrieved June 26, 2007 Unhappy with the performance of that manifold, Edelbrock designed his own, nicknamed The Slingshot. Most importantly, the new manifold allowed two Stromberg 97 carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....
s to be used, eliminating a bottleneck that limited horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
for the engine.Canadian Classics & Performance, January 2004 The manifold was tested for quality at the Rosamond
Rosamond, California
Rosamond is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, USA, north of Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, the westernmost desert valley of the Mojave Desert. Rosamond is also south of Mojave, , and north of Lancaster at an elevation of 2342 feet...
dry lake
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
s (occupied today by Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
), which was a testing ground for Edelbrock and many other car club
Car club
A car club or automotive enthusiast community is a group of people who share a common interest in motor vehicles. Car clubs are typically organized by enthusiasts around type of vehicle , brand , or similar interest...
s and racing associations. After stripping off the fenders
Fender (automobile)
Fender is the US English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well . Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be...
and hubcaps, on November 16, 1941, Edelbrock drove the car in 7.41 seconds at a speed of 121.45 mi/h, achieving a national speed record in the flying quarter mile.Almquist, Ed. "Hot Rod Pioneers, The Creators of the Fastest Sport on Wheels", Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 2000. ISBN 0-7680-0232-X All Chevy Magazine article, August 1988, Michael Lufty Originally, he had no intention of producing any additional manifolds, but the overwhelming response following his phenomenal speed in a 1932 Ford prompted Edelbrock to make more. This was the first product he sold commercially and marked the beginning of the company as it is known today. Edelbrock ultimately manufactured 100 of the Slingshot manifolds.
Early years
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Edelbrock's machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
skills were put to work welding
Welding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
in the Todd Shipyards
Todd Pacific Shipyards
Vigor Shipyards was founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation through the merger of Robins Dry Dock & Repair Company of Erie Basin, Brooklyn, New York, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of Hoboken, New Jersey, and the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
hand fabricating
Fabrication (metal)
Fabrication as an industrial term refers to building metal structures by cutting, bending, and assembling. The cutting part of fabrication is via sawing, shearing, or chiseling ; torching with handheld torches ; and via CNC cutters...
aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
parts. Because of a ban on auto racing by the Office of Defense Transportation
Politics of the United States during World War II
The United States maintained its Representative Democracy government structure throughout World War II. Certain expediencies were taken within the existing structure of the Federal government, such as conscription and other violations of civil liberties, and the internment and later dispersal of...
, there was no racing during the war, but Edelbrock secretly designed and developed a new line of products. After the war, he produced aluminum racing
Racing
A sport race is a competition of speed, against an objective criterion, usually a clock or to a specific point. The competitors in a race try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time...
cylinder heads, in addition to manifolds, which quickly gained him notability among hot rodding hobbyists. Parts to increase an engine's performance were not readily available, so racers built their own. Soon Edelbrock found himself building pieces first for his friends and then for customers.McFarland, Jim. "The Great Manifold Bolt-On!", Edelbrock Corporation, 1982. ISBN 0-9608740-0-3
To deal with the enormous amount of mail he was receiving, in 1946 Edelbrock created the company's first catalog, Edelbrock Power and Speed Equipment, with the help of Pete Petersen
Robert E. Petersen
Robert Einar "Pete" Petersen was an American publisher and founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1994.Petersen was born in East Los Angeles, California and served in the Army Air Corps in World War II...
. This hastened the transformation of the Edelbrock company from a repair garage into a performance parts manufacturer. Then, in 1947, Edelbrock produced the first cylinder heads for the Ford flathead
Flathead engine
A flathead engine is an internal combustion engine with valves placed in the engine block beside the piston, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine...
.
One of the first companies to use an engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
dynamometer
Dynamometer
A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for measuring force, moment of force , or power. For example, the power produced by an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover can be calculated by simultaneously measuring torque and rotational speed .A dynamometer can also be used to determine...
, Edelbrock moved to a 5000 sq ft (464.5 m²) "purpose-built" shop in 1949 to develop more manifolds, cylinder heads and racing piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
s. In the early 1950s, he continued to dominate the dry lakes and expanded his racing to the Bonneville Speedway
Bonneville Speedway
Bonneville Speedway is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records....
.
Racing
After the war, the California Roadster AssociationCalifornia Roadster Association
The California Racing Association was a racing governing body which set rules and hosted Sprint car racing events in Southern California....
(CRA) was formed to run auto races
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
with roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
s that raced on oval track
Oval track
Oval track racing, also known as oval racing, is a form of closed-circuit automobile racing that is contested on an oval-shaped track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, almost universally left...
and attempted land speed records on dry salt flat lakes. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the sanctioning body began sanctioning sprint car races
Sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....
. In 1946, Edelbrock decided to expand his involvement into midget car racing, purchasing a car made by Frank Kurtis
Frank Kurtis
Frank Kurtis was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of Kurtis-Kraft....
. In addition to racing the car, he wanted a test bench for the racing products he was developing.Circle Track magazine article, December 1989, Tom Madigan Edelbrock's team toured the dirt track racing
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on oval tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...
circuit of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
with flathead guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
Bobby Meeks
Bobby Meeks
Bobby Meeks was an American hot rod engine builder and chief mechanic to famed hot rod driver and auto parts designer Vic Edelbrock. Meeks was pioneer in the early days of hot-rodding and was considered the first Ford flathead guru.Meeks was born in St. Louis, Missouri...
tuning the cars.Hotrod & Restoration magazine article, July 2005, Bill Sessa Many famous drivers, including two Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
winners, were in the ranks of the Edelbrock team, including Walt Faulkner
Walt Faulkner
Walt Faulkner was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas, who moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to Los Angeles, California in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the National Championship and in stock car...
, Perry Grimm
Perry Grimm
Perry Grimm was an American racecar driver who raced midget cars in California and Australia.-midget car:Grimm drove midget cars for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team...
, Cal Niday
Cal Niday
Cal Niday was an American racecar driver. He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident after high school, but it did not affect his race car driving career. Cal is also noted as the first racer to wear a modern style Bell helmet in the Indy 500...
, Danny Oakes
Danny Oakes
Danny Oakes was a midget car hall of fame driver.-Early life:He became interested in racing when he delivered morning and evening newspapers in his hometown of Santa Barbara, California. His favorite day was Monday...
, Harry Stockman
Harry Stockman
Harry Stockman was an American racecar driver who raced midget cars. He was born in Yucaipa, California....
, Bill Vukovich
Bill Vukovich
Bill Vukovich was a Serbian American automobile racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500 plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races...
, Rodger Ward
Rodger Ward
Rodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...
and Bill Zaring
Bill Zaring
Bill Zaring was an American racecar driver who raced midget cars in Southern California. A native of Southern California, he was born in north Hollywood.-Racing:...
.Anderson, Stephen K. "Historical Reunion: Repeating History Through a Car and a Great American Family". American Rodder Magazine, May 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2008
Offenhauser
Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...
-powered midget cars that had dominated midget car racing for several years; this feat was remarkable because Offenhausers had a significant power advantage over all the other motors.Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summer.-A-C:...
Using his Kurtis Kraft
Kurtis Kraft
Kurtis Kraft was a designer and builder of race cars. The company was founded by Frank Kurtis.Kurtis Kraft designed and built midget cars, quartermidgets, sports cars, sprint cars and USAC Championship Cars....
V8-60 "shaker" midget car powered by a secret blend of 20% nitromethane
Nitromethane
Nitromethane is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a slightly viscous, highly polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in extractions, as a reaction medium, and as a cleaning solvent...
(disguised with the scent of orange oil
Orange oil
Orange oil is an essential oil produced by cells inside the rind of an orange fruit. In contrast to most essential oils, it is extracted as a by-product of orange juice production by centrifugation, producing a cold-pressed oil...
), Rodger Ward made history on August 10, 1950, when his Edelbrock-powered #27 car broke the winning streak of the "Offy"-equipped midget cars at Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field...
, the track that originated midget car racing. This was the only V8-60 to ever beat the Offys in the Gilmore 386-Race history. The same car raced at the Orange Show Stadium in San Bernardino
San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
the following night, again beating the Offenhauser cars.Rodger Ward
Rodger Ward
Rodger M. Ward was an American racecar driver who won the 1959 and 1962 Indianapolis 500. He also was the 1959 and 1962 USAC Championship Car champion.-Early history:...
article This feat was never duplicated in the history of midget racing. Edelbrock was not the only racer in the period to experiment with nitromethane; fellow racers Joaquin Arnett and Tony Capanna had tried it in their hot rods, as well. Edelbrock, however, is generally considered to be the one who pulled it all together and made it work.
Turning point
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...
and Lincoln
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
. Few things affected the company (as well as the development of the hot rod market) more than the development of the Chevrolet Small-Block engine
Chevrolet Small-Block engine
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block...
(also known as the Gen I) in 1955. Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
delivered three Gen I engines to Edelbrock for experimentation. He used one engine for testing on a dynamometer
Dynamometer
A dynamometer or "dyno" for short, is a device for measuring force, moment of force , or power. For example, the power produced by an engine, motor or other rotating prime mover can be calculated by simultaneously measuring torque and rotational speed .A dynamometer can also be used to determine...
and another to test multi-carb manifolds for magazine articles
Article (publishing)
An article is a written work published in a print or electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis or debate.-News articles:...
. He prepared the third engine for boat builder Henry Lauterback, who immediately set two world records in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
In 1958, Edelbrock managed an industry first by designing and achieving one horsepower-per-cubic-inch from a 283 cid small-block Chevy with his new Cross Ram Manifold. This breakthrough led him to begin producing manifolds for Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
and Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
engines.
Another critical turning point in the company's history was the 1964 decision to build a small-block Chevy intake manifold for a 4-barrel carburetor. The C-4B manifold, developed with help from Bob Joehnck, opened the door to a new line of performance products. Although competing with the factory was a risky proposition, it turned out to be a beneficial one, as it allowed the company to expand into a new market. Dick Berggren. Stock Car Racing article, March, 1998
Growth
Vic Edelbrock, Jr.
Vic Edelbrock, Jr. is the son and only child of famed mechanic and Edelbrock founder, Vic Edelbrock. He has been the president of Edelbrock since 1962...
"Vic Edelbrock Jr. To Be Honored", Street Rodder Magazine, Retrieved June 26, 2007. Vic Jr., who had graduated in 1958 with a degree in business from USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, became President and Chief Executive Officer, a position he held until 2010.Vic Bio at Edelbrock website media center
The company joined SEMA
SEMA
Specialty Equipment Market Association of the automobile aftermarket was formed in 1963 by Roy Richter, Ed Iskenderian, Willie Garner, Bob Hedman, John Bartlett, Phil Weiand, Jr., Al Segal, Dean Moon, and Vic Edelbrock, Jr...
(the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) as a charter member in the 1960s, with Vic Edelbrock, Jr. serving as president from 1971 to 1974. Edelbrock had been elected in a crucial time in the history of SEMA; Congress enacted the Clean Air Act in 1971 and established the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
, which targeted the air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
caused by internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
s.
When gas prices soared in the 1970s, Edelbrock produced its Streetmaster line of intake manifolds that featured improved mileage, as well as performance.
In 1987, Edelbrock moved its facilities to its current location in Torrance, California, where it remains today. The five-building corporate facility occupies over 400000 square feet (37,161.2 m²). In 1990, Edelbrock built a 73000 square feet (6,781.9 m²) sand-cast aluminum foundry in San Jacinto, which employed 75 to 100 workers, and gave the company the ability to increase production according to market demands.SEMA News, 1990.
In 1994, the Edelbrock corporation went public, selling shares of stock on the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock exchange. This initially raised $21 million, which was used mainly for construction of a new exhaust division in Torrance near its main facilities.FundingUniverse.com article, retrieved 4 August 2008.
In 2000, Russell Performance Plumbing, a company that manufactures fittings and hose
Hose (tubing)
A hose is a hollow tube designed to carry fluids from one location to another. Hoses are also sometimes called pipes , or more generally tubing...
s, was acquired by Edelbrock. The company, which had been based in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, was relocated to Torrance by 2001.
As of June 30, 2004, the company employed 722 persons, and achieved revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
s of $125.98 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. Since the company went private again in 2004, revenue findings have not been available to the general public.
On June 7, 2010, the Chicago-based private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners(IOP) announced their strategic investment in the Edelbrock corporation. With $185 million of committed capital, IOP focuses on acquiring and managing middle-market manufacturing and value-added distribution businesses. Edelbrock also became a limited liability corporation (LLC). At the same time, Edelbrock announced a new acting president. John Colaianne, a member of IOP's board of operating principles replaced Vic Edelbrock, who has served as president since 1962. Vic Edelbock remains chairman on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.http://www.iopfund.com/about/index.htmlEdelbrock IOP press release
Sponsorship
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
team, but instead engages in advertising through a $250,000 per year (2004) contract with NASCAR by which the Edelbrock contingency sticker is placed on every NASCAR race car. Contingency is a common form of "after the fact" sponsorship whereby racers place stickers on their vehicles from companies that post monetary awards to racing teams for winning, in exchange for the right to use images of winning drivers and their cars in promotional literature and advertising.
Edelbrock also posts contingency awards to drag racers
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
, including those classes of racers who engage in racing as a hobby. Since 2002, Edelbrock has been the title sponsor of the PRO Edelbrock Drag Racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
Series, which features both professional and sportsman racing classes. The racing series includes seven classes of heads-up style racing and three classes of index style racing.
Timeline
- 1913 - Vic Edelbrock, Sr. is born
- 1927 - Family grocery store burns down
- 1931 - Edelbrock moves to California
- 1933 - Edelbrock marries Katie Collins, opens his first repair shop on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles
- 1934 - Edelbrock moves into a shop on Venice and Hoover in Los Angeles
- 1936 - Vic Edelbrock, Jr. is born
- 1938 - Edelbrock buys a 1932 Ford Roadster and designs the first Edelbrock product: the Slingshot manifold
- 1941 - Sept 28 - Edelbrock sets land speed record in a V8 roadster
- 1941-45 - Edelbrock contributes to the WWII war effort by fabricating parts in the Long Beach shipyard
- 1945 - Edelbrock designs his first aluminum racing cylinder heads for flathead Fords
- 1946 - First Edelbrock catalog published
- 1948 - Edelbrock purchases a Clayton engine dynamometer
- 1950 - Edelbrock moves to its first purpose-built shop on Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles
- 1951 - The first streamliner powered by a Flathead Ford to go over 200 mi/h is the Edelbrock-equipped Bachelor-XydiasAlex XydiasAlex Xydias was an influential figure in the early days of the auto racing sport involving hot rods.Xydias served in World War II as radio operator and engineer on a B-17...
So-CalSo-Cal Speed ShopThe So-Cal Speed Shop is a specialty parts shop for hot rods, specializing in cars built in the 1940s. It offers parts online, as well as a number of retail stores in the western United States and one in Canada. The headquarters is located in Pomona, California....
SpecialOilstick.com NHRA museum article Groak, Bill, 2004. - 1958 - Vic Edelbrock, Jr. graduates from USCUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
; Edelbrock is the first to achieve one horsepower per cubic inch - 1959 - Vic Edelbrock, Jr. marries Nancy Crook
- 1962 - Vic Edelbrock, Sr. dies of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of 49 - 1966 - Edelbrock builds a race boat for astronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s Gus GrissomGus GrissomVirgil Ivan Grissom , , better known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot...
and Gordon CooperGordon CooperLeroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. , also known as Gordon Cooper, was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and NASA astronaut. Cooper was one of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first manned space effort by the United States...
to race on the Salton SeaSalton SeaThe Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial Valley. The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Like Death... - 1968 - Edelbrock moves to El Segundo, CaliforniaEl Segundo, CaliforniaEl Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on the Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
- 1971-74 - Vic Edelbrock, Jr. serves as president of SEMA
- 1975 - Car CraftCar CraftCar Craft is a magazine devoted to automobiles, hot rodding, and drag racing. It is published by Source Interlink Media. It was first established in 1953...
names Edelbrock "Manufacturer of the Year" - 1987 - Edelbrock moves to Torrance, California
- 1990 - Sand castSand castingSand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material.It is relatively cheap and sufficiently refractory even for steel foundry use. A suitable bonding agent is mixed or occurs with the sand...
aluminum foundry built in San Jacinto, California - 1994 - Edelbrock goes public on the NASDAQNASDAQThe NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock exchangeStock exchangeA stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
. An exhaust division is constructed. - 1995 - Edelbrock acquires Qwiksilver II and begins manufacturing Harley-Davidson motorcycle productsanswers.com article retrieved 11 December 2008
- 1998 - Edelbrock begins manufacturing shock absorbers
- 1999 - New distribution center opens, including Vic's Garage, a museum of Edelbrock's cars
- 1999 - ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
names Edelbrock as one of the 200 best small companies - 2000 - Forbes names Edelbrock as one of the 200 best small companies for the second year in a row
- 2000 - Edelbrock acquires Russell Performance Plumbing
- 2003 - Vic Edelbrock Sr.'s historic original 1932 Ford Roadster is acquired and restoredVehicle restorationVehicle restoration is the process of restoring a vehicle that is either partially scrapped or otherwise life expired back to its original working condition. Automotive restoration can be applied to many different eras of automobile. Heritage railways and railway museums aim to restore and operate...
- 2004 - Edelbrock goes private
- 2007 - The Edelbrock foundry begins construction of a new permanent moldPermanent mold castingPermanent mold casting is metal casting process that employs reusable molds , usually made from metal. The most common process uses gravity to fill the mold, however gas pressure or a vacuum are also used. A variation on the typical gravity casting process, called slush casting, produces hollow...
facility - 2009 - Rob Simons, from Saleen, Incorporated joins Edelbrock to design exclusive integrated superchargerSuperchargerA supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
s - 2010 - Industrial Opportunity Partners strategically invests in the Edelbrock Corporation