Pounder! Formed by the Hot Rod Parts Makers; – Their Ingenuity, Drive and Passion
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yy yy yyFuel For Thought with “Landspeed Louise” Ann Noeth Theyy Fabulous Five- 20 years ago when he was deeply tome. “I also got to know my grandfa- involved with SEMA, the organization ther and all the pioneers much better Pounder! formed by the hot rod parts makers; – their ingenuity, drive and passion. It he had been the volunteer helmsman changed how I looked at my dad, it Photos Credit: Courtesy of Edelbrock Cor- with the company’s evolution. Ralph battling Federal, State and local gov- added another dimension of respect poration Private Collection Guldahl, Jr. performed a gargantuan ernments on air pollution standards. for him to read about what he went task cataloging and identifying thou- In the early 1980’s I was absorbed through in the 70’s. I was attracted to the sport of land sands of photos in the Edelbrock in investigative journalism and my And Mom, what a trooper…, with speed racing mainly because it’s very collection. I was asked to perform political background gave me insight that vinyl purse on her shoulder as nature is rooted in freedom and unen- Developmental Editor duties on the to uncover things the bureaucrats she and dad zipped through pits at cumbered thinking, experimenting almost 300,000 word manuscript – the would have rather kept buried. The drag racing events, few knew it was and daring. The people who achieve details were stunning, but I had to EPA was determined to “lock the always full of parts. They were side-by- repeated success and startling speeds painfully whittle it down to a little hood” on performance enthusiasts side, through thick and thin. Wally do so first from a passion powerbase under 100,000 words. Terry Spohn with backing from the mighty federal Parks even depended on her to tempered by common sense and and Curt Boyer at Tehabi Books took government. explain the sport of drag racing to cor- finessed by practical technical smarts. it from there. Working together with SEMA’s porate sponsor wives. I am now so Having spent years testing new Not some boring, self-aggrandize- Technical Director Bob Burch and much more aware of my own history, cars and trucks for magazines and ment, or ego dust-up, the result is five SEMA legal counsel Russ Deane in I’ve become the archive queen.” newspapers, I have met convention fabulous pounds that reveals how one 1984, I published “Vehicle Arrest, ” an Ok, but what about the folks who halls full of parts manufacturers, all significant aspect of the performance in-depth investigative article that pro- don’t know you, I asked, what will convinced that they had the best parts business evolved, starting from Vic filed the smog laws of every state in they get from reading the book? for the performance crowd. The ones Edelbrock Senior’s perspective and the country and was awarded an inter- “Enjoyment,” she beamed, her who made lasting impressions not then moving onto Vic Jr. and wife national writing award. NHRA’s Wally voice carrying the tone of happy ful- only had spiffy parts, but also exhibit- Nancy (she’s as much responsible for Parks later told me he had been one of fillment, “Readers will have a better ed fervor for their use, and stood the company’s success as her “Fun the judges. understanding of where this industry ready to go “heads-up” with any chal- Team” hubby) before treating us with Had Edelbrock not spearheaded came from, its roots, and how serious lenge. a look at the future: the talented, the fight a decade earlier, marshalling we are as a family - and a company.” The Edelbrock family is indelibly spunky offspring Vice Presidents a team of very talented crew through- She stopped, reconsidered her words etched into the performance arena; Camee and Christie Edelbrock. out the 70’s that proved enthusiasts for a moment and then summed up they live the dream, and for decades This book is as much a com- could change out OEM parts, improve with a serious, reflective tone, “Read- have made it possible for thousands to pelling retrospective of the speed performance and not sully the atmo- ers will understand our heartfelt, deep realize speed dreams of their own. equipment industry as it is of the sphere, I never would have been able seated passion, how important it is for That is why I encourage you to take a great American spirit and preserves in to write the story that became a cata- us to be part of this wonderful perfor- look at the new book, “Edelbrock: print that “can do” enthusiasm that lyst for SEMA’s grassroots political mance industry.” Made in the USA” by Tom Madigan - percolated up in this nation after action process whereby local enthusi- Some of the photos were never an extremely revealing story of why so enduring the Great Depression and asts watch, report and act on local before seen by the immediate family many fast machines have the compa- World War II. Ladies and gentlemen, legislation. because they came from the depths of ny’s parts bolted on. hot rodders helped rebuild this coun- I’m not shining my own apple the archives,” she said with astonish- Madigan spent more than three try as much as anyone and Otis Victor here, simply expressing my gratitude – ment, “this was the result of Ralph years shadowing the Edelbrock family Edelbrock Senior was a lynchpin in we were all fighting the same fight Guldahl’s hard work on Vic’s Garage, asking questions, taking notes, and that regard. back then. It took thousands of hours we were able to select many for the interviewing dozens of folks involved I met Vic Edelbrock, Jr. more than and put a dime in Edelbrock’s pocket; book that would have been impossible he did it because it would help the to find otherwise. Even the marginal, entire industry chart a new, prosper- old and yellowed images reproduced ous course. Dad would have been beautifully.” 888-990-COOL2665 EvansCooling.com proud of junior. Consider the Road Runners Car Dealer Inquiries Welcome. “There were stories in the book Club snapshots, found in Nancy and that dad hadn’t revealed to his girls,” Vic’s home garage, stuffed into the CompleteComplete CustomCustom CoolingCooling SystemsSystems laughed an amused Camee Edelbrock proverbial shoebox. Some of the pho- when I quizzed her on the family tos had the original, rusted metal Waterless Coolant NPG+ Waterless Coolant tacks still in the corner of Aluminum Radiators is a lifetime, storage-safe the pictures, as if they coolant. NPG+ does not had just been taken Coolant Pumps boil over and protects from pump cavitation and down from the wall. Accessories corrosion. Dirty, curled and faded, Camee wondered, “Could Owner: Brian Bowers some of the dirt have been from the dry lakes?” When she was reviewing the book, Camee put herself in the enthusiast’s position, try- ing to make sure it would be something that appealed to the readers. Considering she is in Discover the Evans Difference! charge of the company 14 August 2005 one of the toughest speeches I had Meeks who, in 1949, ever done, but also one of the most with Alex Xydias and rewarding,” the late Dean Batche- One of those heroes was Bobby lor went to Bonneville Meeks, the man who Vic Sr. consid- for the inaugural ered his adopted son. At age 14, he Speedweek. Together, went to work pushing a broom. It was the trio set the speed 1935, the same year Sir Malcolm bar at such a dizzy Campbell inked a new era in land height – an unbeliev- speed racing history with the historic able 196mph, 30 miles 300mph world record on then myste- per hour faster than rious Bonneville Salt Flats. any hot rod had ever “Edelbrock was the only employer gone. Guess you could say that perfor- learning something, we had to stay I ever had” recalled Meeks who retired mance unleashed the chronic speed with it. There was lots of experimenta- at age 71, “I had a general curiosity disease known today as “salt fever.” tion, it was going on all the time, about cars and they just fell into my “We were shooting for 200,” because we knew the minute we life.” About the book, he humbly chuckled Meeks who was in awe of stopped, we’d start to fall back.” added, “I think I had something to do the flatness and instantly recognized To keep winning races was the with it. It catches the highlights, is the ideal driving conditions meant most difficult task because of the pretty much factual and has the flavor there were no limit to how fast you inbred, constant pressure to stay of the era, but it helps if you know a could go, “We used various nitro mix- ahead, so that’s why a lot of work advertising she thinks like that a lot, little background.” tures, but didn’t get that 200mph occurred at night, without too many always trying to think like an enthusi- That’s an understatement. Edel- record until the following year.” prying eyes around it allowed the guys ast thinks and anticipating their brock Equipment Company was a “I’m grateful for the opportuni- to think. At Bonneville, Meeks resort- needs. She is particularly looking for- master at keeping speed secrets; per- ties,” Meeks said gently, silently ed to having parts passed through the ward to the reactions of customers haps the biggest was how they remembering his mentor, “Vic senior bathroom window so other racers after reading about the one-time Edel- extracted startling horsepower from instilled the competitive spirit in me, wouldn’t know they were rebuilding brock and Holley partnership in the Ford flathead engines: using nitro we set records in any sport we got into the engines in the motel room.