Hot Rods List of Speed Equipment Manufactuers that Began in California?

Did anyone mention Keith Black Racing Engines.

 

Speed O Motive in South Gate.

 

Don Zig Magnetos?

 

American Custom Cam in Glendora. I think late 60s to early 70s startup.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

KB is on the list.

 

CAE

 

Lenco equipment Co.
Bob Stewart axles.

 

Bill Thomas Race cars
Bill Stroppe /(later) HMS
H&L Speed Improvements (Roll bars)
Norris Cams
Babe Erson cams
W&H Du Coil
Tyree Headers
BRC components
Cooks Machine works
Fletcher Chassis
SPS ( high grade bolts before ARP)
Lockerman Porting Service
Jocko's Porting Service
Slover's Porting Service.
Mullin's racing heads.
Buddy Barr casting Co.
Navarro Speed Equipment
Thunderbird Products/Ermie Imerso ent.
Segal Manufacturing
Ed Cholockian ent ( first commercial "racing" T shirts & early decal source)
Berry Plastiglass
Fiberglass Trends
Cal Auto ( fiberglass )
Astro Wheels
Genuine Suspension
Grant Piston Rings
Pacific Ring Co
Childs and Albert
Falconer & Dunn
Al Bartz
Crankshaft Co
C-T Automotive
Traco
( all from memory and there are more)

 

Back when Kalifornia was California!

 

Horsepower Engineering in Pasadena. I don't owe Doug Robinson the dust off my shoes, but the 'no-name- headers from the boys on the benches in the back are probably on more cars than those from the 'big boys', It's for them I'm posting this.

 

anybody mention henry's machine shop in orange county area. they made all the cut down rear ends and custom length axles back in he day. plus more.

 

It’s Taxifornia now!

 

even the left are getting tired of the crap here!!

 

Hello,

If you are talking about the original Henry's Machine Works, it was located in Northeast Long Beach. It was one of the cool shops in this almost 1/2 mile stretch of shops catering to custom cars, hot rods, drag racing and just plain old cruising around people. The location was just North of Del Amo and Cherry Avenue. Yes, that Cherry Avenue and the "secret" dragstrip built into the quiet street next to a couple of cemeteries.

The Cherry Avenue history started for all of So Cal hot rod/drag racers down almost 5 miles South at Reath Automotive Shop on the corner of 10th and Cherry Ave. A relative "gold mine" of the top hot rod shops in the whole area of Long Beach.

The shops were everything from chrome accessories, muffler shop, a wheel alignment shop, a wheel/tire shop, a transmission build/repair/install shop, engine building/modifying shop, and Henry's Machine Works. Henry's did just about everything custom for drag racers and modifying hot rod metal work. In the same area was the famous Jocko's Porting Service building, too.

Jnaki

The location was just past the borders of Bixby Knolls and was a one stop shopping for most local hot rod teenagers and those famous Long Beach drag racers that grew up in that area. Even the Lakewood, CA drag racers and hot rodders came West to these shops as the work was exemplary and had recommendations from almost everywhere. Henry's was right in the middle of the area, until they moved in the later years.

 

Bruce Alexander created Bruce’s Slicks

Hello,
When we got started in drag racing, most of the top modified cars were running Bruce Slicks. The street roadster class and some altered coupes were using the narrow Bruce Slicks. The top racers were using much wider slicks from Bruce’s Tires in Oakland, CA.

Cook and Bedwell record holder from So Cal

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what%E2%80%99s-the-best-1932-ford-body-style.1171186/page-2#post-13319978

We purchased some 7 inch wide Bruce Slicks in 1958-59 for our 58 Impala at the drags. We found out that if we used the slicks, we would be in the Gas Coupe and Sedan Class. But, we were otherwise qualified for the A/Stock factory class. Slicks were allowed in any car during the time trials, but when the class eliminations began, all tires in our class had to be standard factory supplied or else.

The Bruce Slicks were the best at the time and our time trials gave us some valuable experience and slightly quicker E.T. runs. There were plenty of other A/Stock and other classes that did the same thing. Slicks for the time trials and stock tread tires for the class eliminations.
1958 Impala Bruce Slicks then stock tires for eliminations.

Then the “cheater slicks” with grooves, came into play, trying to fall within the grooved tire category like factory tires. But, eventually, they were not allowed due to the fact that they were just regular slicks with several grooves cut into them. Plus, for those that tried the “cheater slicks”, they worked, but not as good as the regular slicks, like Bruce’s Slicks. So, for the stock factory classes, it was back to the standard tires that came with the car.

Jnaki

Bruce Slicks were one of the first from California. Gradually, the compound M&H used started to take over the whole scene, everywhere. Our 7 inch wide Bruce Slicks worked well. (on Chevy rims, they fit inside of the rear fenders without any modifications.) But, in our next phase of the 1940 Willys 671 SBC coupe, our larger M&H slicks were on order, ready for pickup in Los Angeles, but never made it to Long Beach. Those Bruce Slicks worked well after the Willys Coupe, as we put them back on the now, modified, 1958 Impala,again, for our weekend encounters all over So Cal.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/friday-art-show-5-24-19.1151067/#post-13092468 what goes around, comes around…

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-racing-slicks.1036192/#post-11737593 Bruce Slicks
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/nostalgia-drag-slicks.1179300/#post-13393792 moxley + bruce

 

"In 1946, Robert Paxton McCulloch moved his company to California, changed its name to McCulloch Motors. In 1953, he launched the VS57 supercharger, the result of those earlier patents."

"By 1957, McCulloch had set up a separate division within the company to produce the superchargers under the Paxton name.? In 1958, McCulloch sold the Paxton division and, once again, changed the name of his company to the McCulloch Corporation."

Hello,

With the whine evident when a hot rod or even a stock T-Bird or Ford sedan rolls into the drive-in parking lot gives notice that this car is hot. So, with the development of the centrifugal supercharger from McCulloch/Paxton, So Cal was out in front of that technology. Factory support and installations did wonders for those that used the same technology on the race cars at the drags.

For us, the best sample of a McCulloch/Paxton Centrifugal Supercharger was the installation on Junior Thompson’s 1941 Studebaker Sedan for the B/Gas coupes and sedan class.

Jr. Thompson SOUND at Lions Dragstrip

Jnaki

Despite starting out in the Midwest, Robert Paxton McCulloch developed the centrifugal supercharger (McCulloch/Paxton) in California.

 

Nobody has mentioned what I consider a very important outfit: SPEED EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION (SEMA). Now in Diamond Bar, started in Alhambra. First SEMA Shows were in Southern California.

 

They need break it up into at least 2; Speciality has taken over for Speed, but there should be a WEMA just for Wheels...

 

I don't think Super Bell Axles was mentioned. I met Jim Ewing once when he had a shop behind Birdman Stewart's, that was during his badass Bonneville bound Studebaker days. I was driving my then ratty '57 Chevy Pickup and he was bagging on me to finish it --- which I never got around to doing before I sold it. Damn nice fellow and it's tragic how his life ended. At least he got a good send off, so I hear. He certainly made his contribution to the Hot Rod and Street Rod market.

 

Hey Guys,

It has been an honor to be part of the original group of small speed shops that was invited to be a part of the So Cal shops dealers and manufacturers. @ denis4x4 knows, having been a part of the vast history. It all began in 1963 when a group of small manufacturers who were suppliers of performance equipment for early hot rods organized their fledgling industry and called it "Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association" (SEMA).

They encouraged a lot of little speed shops to tie in with the big names prior to the official announcement in 1963. When we were starting out in 1959-60 as a so-called "engine building speed shop," we made cards to send to the big companies to be able to get the dealer cost for all parts necessary for our business.

We were sent all manufacturer's catalogs and price sheets. The more we ordered, the bigger the discount as it applied to us. The envelopes sent with a letter introducing us and the cards inside made us "dealers" or a small speed shop. We did have a certified business license for our backyard garage stuff. That original speed shop list of every one of the different dealers has come and gone over the years.

But, at the time, our friends had a one stop shop for all speed parts and accessories. Motors? We had two partial rebuilds and upgrades in plenty of speed parts, multiple carburetors, shifter kits, custom wheels and tire packages, etc. Our own builds were for the Impala and friend's cars.

We lived in a R-1, R-2 neighborhood that had several small companies that took over empty houses for their businesses. A leather shop, a clothing/jacket mfg, a gift shop, and a photo business, etc were samples of businesses in a residential area. They were all within a block or two of the full-on businesses on the main drag.

Time had changed by 1963 when it became big time with all of the huge manufacturers in place. But, if we wanted to join, we could have. We were on an original speed shop list from 1960. Those dealers/manufacturers who eventually made up the original SEMA group in 1963 created and distributed the list to every little speed shop in all of LA and Orange County. We were happy to be on that list as it now gave us some credibility and buying power. We ran with the small speed shop for a while, but did not join the original SEMA in 1963-64.

Jnaki

My brother had already been through a year and a half of recovery and his life was going in a different direction. He like surfing from a time before our Willys Coupe, so he returned to that for part of the recovery process. The other part was buying a new 250cc desert racing motorcycle. He told our mom, who was worried to death, that it was for his recovery and that he would only ride it on the huge field near the refineries of Wilmington, just a few blocks from our house. Now, our dealer list included motorcycle shops and dealer/manufacturers.

So, the end of our small speed shop business was officially 1965, when he was back in an L.A. university and I was starting with a move away from home to go to a different college, far from home, in the Northern California Bay Area.

Note: SEMA ANNOUNCES eMARKETPLACE SOLUTION

"SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, announced today that it is offering an online marketplace to allow manufacturers and resellers in the specialty automotive segment to connect and conduct business. Taking place Nov. 2-6, SEMA360 was created after industry members expressed a need for a viable marketplace solution in the absence of the 2020 SEMA Show."


They have changed over the years and now encompasses almost every aspect of the car industry. It is not just for hot rods and drag racing parts from the So Cal region.
From this: "Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association" (SEMA).
To this: "Specialty Equipment Market Association"

 

well,while on ignition...--pounden magnetos !-flatheads through o/heads,for a few decades....

 

Hello,

One of the more popular catalog stores and mail order shops was Newhouse Automotive Industries. Their stuff was tested locally by hot rodders and drag racers. It had some items that were very cool and were very accessible to the hot rod people all over, especially in So Cal. If we did not want to send away to the mail order catalog companies like J.C. Whitney or Honest Charley, then locally was the Newhouse Automotive Industries shop.

Jnaki

Reath Automotive was our first choice, but, if they did not have it, it was possible that this Los Angeles shop would have it in stock. It was about the distance to the shop, as if we were going Hot Rod cruising in Hollywood, a few minutes away in the same area. The shop was about 30 miles North into Los Angeles from our Long Beach house.

“By 1951, Newhouse was one of the largest companies in the world dealing with racing equipment and special accessories to increase mileage of passenger type cars. Virtually every make and brand of heads, manifolds, ignitions, and other equipment could be bought from Newhouse.”

1960
“Although one look at an advertisement in Hot Rod or Motor Trend magazine as far back as 1950 and Newhouse Automotive Industries claimed it was "one of the world's largest speed equipment distributors. It's interesting to note Newhouse Automotive Industries also advertised in the Saturday Evening Post.”
Hot Rod Deluxe

 

Hello,

Many years ago, there was a miscellaneous aircraft parts supply location at the Douglas Aircraft Yard on Carson Street, near the Lakewood/Long Beach border. Everyone we knew in drag racing raided that yard for endless supplies of surplus aircraft parts, Douglas Aircraft machining left overs and scrap aluminum in bulk. It was the backyard hot rodder’s dream yard sale. The parts and surplus fittings, sheets, blocks of aluminum were all priced to go to anyone interested.

Jnaki

Then as the surplus yard supplies started to dwindle, a name popped up and continued supplying the local drag race group with plenty of hoses and fittings for the high performance applications. Who hasn't seen the popular silver braided hoses with the eye catching blue and red fittings? Hot rodders, drag racers and custom car applications were the popular sights and builds.

"Earl's Performance Products was founded by Earl Fouts nearly 50 years ago in Lawndale, California. The mission was to supply high-quality military aircraft specification surplus plumbing components directly to the racing industry from a small retail outlet. As the military surplus market dried up, Earl recognized the need for continuity of supply to the racing market and pioneered the Earl's range of hoses and fittings that are still used (and copied) today. In doing so he created the racing aftermarket plumbing industry."

"Earl's Performance invented the self indexing hose end in 1973, known as the "Swivel Seal". It allows 360 degree adjustment after installation making plumbing a snap. Earl's invented most of the special purpose racing adapters, the full billet hose clamp housing, and introduced the flexible armored PTFE lined hose to the racing industry in the 1960s."

 

A pal and I went to the LA Roadsters show in ‘76 and while out there we made the rounds of a few shops. We go to Earl’s and it was like arriving in Mecca, cool surplus items everywhere, unbelievable prices and naturally Swivel Seal stuff too.
Somehow the guy behind the counter finds out we are from Chicago and he yells Hey Bob, get over here! The guy was Bob’s dad and Bob greets us and lays out the different plans to become a Swivel Seal dealer. The buy in for Master Dealer was $1000 and the discount on parts was steep, but being young and foolish we declined. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

 

Was Evans Speed in El Monte mentioned? We would have never got to the track without their machine work in the 60's. I believe they manufactured flathead equipment in the beginning....but I could be confused..again.

 

Sad to see Edelbrock shutting down the Torrance facility.

 

Crestline Wheels
ET Wheels
DeLong Cams

 

Hello,

In 1958, that northeast area of Long Beach along Cherry Avenue and South Street was a haven for hot rod modifications. Those shops grew with the clientele from all of the areas surrounding that location. Bixby Knolls to the South, Lakewood to the East and Paramount/Bellflower to the North. To the West was more of Long Beach, Carson, Wilmington and Los Angeles area cities.

Back then, business was booming with all of the teenage hot rod stuff going on and someone was always in need of auto accessories, modifications and or repairs. So, the shops including a custom chrome shop, custom wheel shop, two machine shops and a tire and alignment shop were the main ones. An additional hot rod/custom shop, a porting/polishing shop, upholstery shop, as well as two muffler/welding shops. We considered it hot rod central with all of the services available for us.

Sure, the Westside of Long Beach had access to Lion’s Dragstrip and the number of speed shops, but the amount and history of those Northeast Long Beach shops still was a big player in the hot rod/drag race world. A teenager with some extra cash and the need for some parts for the sedans or hot rods played right into these shops in the area. (South Street and Cherry Avenue, Long Beach)

Jnaki

Thanks, @themoose
We had Buick bolt patterns modified and installed (Henry’s Machine) on our 58 Impala for the Skylark wheels, heads ported and polished by Jocko’s, front end alignment on both the 58 Impala and the 1940 Willys Coupe. And, a shortened drive shaft to connect the 37 LaSalle transmission to the 56 Chevy rear end in our 1940 Willys, by Tom’s Muffler when Henry’s Machine Shop was packed with jobs.

Tom’s Muffler was a manufacturer of speed parts specific to each hot rod guy/girl’s wishes. Tow bar, lowering blocks, custom parts not able to get elsewhere in the area. That area of South Street and Cherry Avenue had a lot of places that drew local So Cal hot rod people to get what they needed. Parts or Services.

 

1964
Hello,

These timing clocks were the ones at almost every dragstrip in So Cal. They were certified for all of the drag racing records set during those early days of drag racing. It still is amazing that such an electronic set up could actually record the e.t. and the top speed within a ¼ mile drag race scenario.

Chrondek started in 1950 and by 1967 had become the worlds largest and most dependable drag race timing system.

“In 1954 while attending a Dale Carnegie class he met Bud Coons who was a Pomona, California, Police officer and the Field Director of the fledgling NHRA Safety Safari. Coons learned of Ollie’s electronics background and felt that Riley might be able to help develop an accurate timing system.”

“Ollie’s ingenuity and drive for perfection made him the ultimate problem solver; an attribute that was stimulated by Coons inquiry about developing an accurate timing system. Ollie built the first timing set on his kitchen table which was accurate to within 0.001 second. It had the advantage of also being modular which allowed for easy replacement of a defective components. Soon Ollie was mastering the challenge for other precision drag racing timing equipment that brought the sport to a new level.”

“After transforming drag racing’s timing system Ollie left the aerospace industry to open the doors of a new family owned and operated electronics business-Chrondek Electronics. It was a specialty electronics manufacturer that was dedicated to producing timing equipment for all types of sports.”

“During the late 1950s Ollie observed several starters were making moves that allowed a driver to predict when he would raise the flag to start the race. To correct this Ollie worked to develop the first step light starting system which debuted at the 1963 US Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to providing a starting system the device also had a built-in “foul light” that turn red if the driver left early. A year later pre-stage bulbs were added to assist the driver in staging correctly. Because of its overall appearance the new starting system was soon dubbed the “Christmas Tree”.

"Drag racing, born on the Pomona/La Verne border, was catching on nationally, and Ollie was working with its leaders. In the article, Coons relates that Ollie built the first Chrondek clocks right on his La Verne kitchen table. The timers were accurate to within .001 second, and they were modular, which allowed for the replacement of a single defective component. Soon, in his garage, Ollie was mastering other precision drag racing timing instruments that would change the sport and launch it to a new level."

"He soon opened an electronics business, Chrondek Electronics, a family run shop where he was the president, his wife the vice president, and his sons the share holders. The name Chrondek was carefully chosen and captured Ollie’s time passion: “chron” for time and “decca,” Latin for 10ths."

“Oliver was a big part of drag racing because he created the accurate time systems which are essential to make drag racing work,” Greg Sharp

"Steve Gibbs, then NHRA vice president and retired director of the NHRA Motorsports Museum, later embraced the change impact of Ollie’s inventions. “Years ago, any news of an outstanding run was met with skepticism and was called a ‘popcorn time.’ We’ve worked hard to eliminate that specter. With so many important barriers being broken…it was important for us to make sure that the timing devices, as well as the starting line system at our high-profile national events, are always accurate and fair. I’m glad to say that I think that we’ve more than achieved that goal.” Ollie spent a decade perfecting his Chrondek timing systems."


Jnaki


So, it still is amazing that the original timing clocks and viewing from the original Lion’s Dragstrip orange tower was used for such a long time. It was a classic in most photos of early drag racing. But the new yellow uplifted walkway and tower seemed to make it easier to identify what was going on down on the drag strip.

Even the newly developed Lion’s Dragstrip Museum has re-created the walkway overhead tower offices, built in to the corner section of the huge warehouse complex. It goes well with the fabulous murals painted on the surrounding walls and the tire marks on the concrete, below. When the museum is ok to reopen after the pandemic has passed, “Get Your Motor Running” and head on over to see the re-creation in person. It will have you drifting back to those days of spending Saturdays at the races.