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65-430: 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. Vic Edelbrock Sr. was born in a small farming community of Eudora, Kansas in 1913. After

130-905: 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 engines . 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. The five-building corporate facility occupies over 400,000 square feet (37,000 m). In 1990, Edelbrock built

195-570: 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 extracting one horsepower per cubic-inch from a 283 cid small-block Chevy that was equipped with his newly designed Cross Ram Manifold. This breakthrough led him to begin producing manifolds for Pontiac and Chrysler engines. Another critical turning point in

260-651: A 73,000-square-foot (6,800 m) 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. 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. In 2000, Russell Performance Plumbing,

325-597: A billion-pound industry", BBC News , December 2020. The Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones set up the first mail-order company in 1861. Starting off as an apprentice to a local draper in Newtown, Wales , he took over the business in 1856 and renamed it the Royal Welsh Warehouse, selling local Welsh flannel . The establishment of the Uniform Penny Post in 1840, and the extension of

390-601: A chance and not marry her fiancé. Vic and Katie married in June 1933, just eight weeks after meeting. He opened a repair garage on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills . The business experienced growth in 1934 and relocated to the corner of Venice Boulevard and Hoover in Los Angeles . Bobby Meeks was hired as an assistant at the age of 15 and would continue to work for Edelbrock his entire life. Between 1934 and

455-518: A chance and not marry her fiancé. Vic and Katie 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

520-637: A company that manufactures fittings and hoses , 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 revenues 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) acquired Edelbrock Corporation. In January 2021,

585-493: A direct-to-consumer e-commerce website. Vic Edelbrock Otis Victor Edelbrock, Sr. (August 16, 1913 – November 11, 1962) was an American automotive aftermarket performance parts engineer , racer and is considered one of the founders of the American hot rod movement Victor, known as "Vic", established Edelbrock Corporation in Beverly Hills in 1938 and is the father to Otis Victor Edelbrock, Jr. , who

650-423: 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

715-424: A job as an auto mechanic. In order to earn some extra money to open his own repair shop, Vic 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 Vic bumped into a 19-year-old Irish girl named Katherine (Katie) Collins, who was working as a day maid. Despite the fact that Katie was engaged, Vic managed to convince her to give him

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780-458: A mail-order operation. Thus J.C. Penney entered the mail order catalogue business. J.C. Penney, a latecomer in catalogue operations, was different from many of its competitors because it had a large retail store base before launching into the mail-order business. The first J.C. Penney catalogue was mailed the next year in 1963. Customers could order from the catalogue inside J.C. Penney stores in eight states. The J.C. Penney Catalog Distribution Center

845-438: A national speed record in the flying quarter mile with a speed of 121.45 mph (195.45 km/h). 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 that he sold commercially and marked the beginning of the company as it is known today. Edelbrock ultimately manufactured 100 of

910-471: A printed catalogue. Year Mail Order Catalogues were founded The objective of the direct marketing industry is to alter the sales distribution chain, in other words [bypass] the wholesaler and the retailer and go directly to the customer, reducing therefore tariffs and taxes. In the European Union, a " VAT union " is in force: the merchant selling to a buyer in a different EU member country adds

975-405: A remarkable feat because Offenhausers had a significant power advantage over all the other engines. 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 ,

1040-535: A seed catalogue, which he mailed to his customers to inform them of his prices. Catalogues spread to British America , where Benjamin Franklin is believed to have been the first cataloguer. In 1744 he produced a catalogue of scientific and academic books. In 1833, Antonio Fattorini started a mail order watch club in Bradford, which would eventually transform into Empire Stores. Pryce-Jones could only dream of

1105-502: A variety of means, usually via a postal service and the internet. Sometimes supermarket products do mail order promotions, whereby people can send in the UPC plus shipping and handling to get a product made especially for the company. In 1498, the publisher Aldus Manutius of Venice printed a catalogue of the books he was printing. In 1667, the English gardener William Lucas published

1170-466: Is a publication containing a list of general merchandise from a company. Companies who publish and operate mail order catalogues are referred to as cataloguers within the industry. Cataloguers buy or manufacture goods then market those goods to prospects (prospective customers). Cataloguers may "rent" names from list brokers or cooperative databases . The catalogue itself is published in a similar fashion as any magazine publication and distributed through

1235-672: Is generally considered to be the one who pulled it all together and made the volatile fuel work. Until 1955, Edelbrock made parts only for the Ford Motor Company .. 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 (now referenced by the retronym Gen I as to distinguish between generations of the said Chevrolet engine) in 1955. Chevrolet delivered three small block engines to Edelbrock for experimentation. He used one engine for testing on

1300-752: Is the earliest still surviving mail-order business, established by Alfred Hammacher in New York City in 1848. Offering mechanic's tools and builder's hardware, its first catalogue was published in 1881. T. Eaton Co. Limited was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. The first Eaton's catalogue was a 34-page booklet issued in 1884. As Eaton's grew, so did the catalogue. By 1920, Eaton's operated mail order warehouses in Winnipeg, Toronto and Moncton to serve its catalogue customers. Catalogue order offices were also established throughout

1365-723: The Princess of Wales and royal households across Europe. He also began exporting drapery to the US and British colonies , amassing 200,000 customers around the UK and the world. One of his most popular products was the Euklisia Rug , the forerunner of the modern sleeping bag, which Pryce-Jones exported around the world, at one point landing a contract with the Russian Army for 60,000 rugs. By 1880, he had more than 100,000 customers in

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1430-878: The Slingshot manifolds. During World War II, Edelbrock's machinist skills were put to work in the Todd Shipyards in Long Beach , hand fabricating and welding aircraft parts. The Office of Defense Transportation placed a ban on auto racing during the war, but Edelbrock discreetly 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. To deal with

1495-492: The railway network , helped Pryce-Jones to eventually turn his small rural concern into a company with global renown. Customers were able to order by mail for the first time—this following the creation of the modern postal service and the invention of the postage stamp ( Penny Black ) where there was a charge of one penny for carriage and delivery between any two places in the United Kingdom irrespective of distance—and

1560-428: 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 . Unhappy with the performance of that manifold, Edelbrock designed his own, nicknamed The Slingshot . Most importantly,

1625-477: The CRA 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. Edelbrock's team toured the dirt track racing circuit of Southern California with flathead guru Bobby Meeks tuning the cars. Many famous drivers were part of

1690-631: The Columbia Record Club, the magazine subscription card, and the American Express Customer Rewards program. With the invention of the Internet, a company's website became the more usual way to order merchandise for delivery by mail. Unless the retailer provides a paper catalogue from which to order, that is if the products are mainly presented to and searched for by the customer on a web site or mobile app,

1755-524: The Edelbrock team, including Walt Faulkner (first rookie to win pole at the Indy 500), Bill Vukovich (Indy 500 winner in ’53 and ’54), Rodger Ward (Indy 500 winner in ’59 and ’62), Cal Niday , Perry Grimm , Danny Oakes , Harry Stockman and Bill Zaring . A major claim to fame for Edelbrock was beating all the Offenhauser -powered midget cars that had dominated midget car racing for several years;

1820-652: The Internet, in some cases with a PDF or tablet application which allows shoppers to browse an electronic catalog that resembles a paper one very closely, though by the late 2010s this has become increasingly rare, and product information is presented in a format designed for the Web and mobile apps, rather than a PDF. Rising paper, printing, and postage costs have caused some traditional catalogue merchants, such as Bloomingdale's , to suspend their printed catalogues and sell only through websites. Also, while some Internet merchants are or were also catalogue merchants, many have never had

1885-685: 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 . In 2021, Edelbrock partnered with Ilmor to build engines for the Superstar Racing Experience . Using the Ilmor 396 as a base, Edelbrock provides components such as the camshaft and ignition coils. Eighty years after Vic Edelbrock Sr. manufactured

1950-462: The UK alone and his success was rewarded in 1887 with a knighthood. In 1845, Tiffany's Blue Book was the first mail-order catalogue in the United States. In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward of Chicago produced a mail-order catalogue for his Montgomery Ward mail order business. By buying goods and then reselling them directly to customers, Aaron Montgomery Ward was consequently removing

2015-545: The VAT of his own country to the price, and the buyer pays no additional tax. A buyer for resale may deduct that VAT, just as with purchases made within their own country. Up until June 21, 2018, mail order retailers in the United States operated with the advantage of not being required to collect state sales tax , unless the retailer's business had a physical presence in the customer's state . Instead, most states required

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2080-474: The car to the Bonneville Salt Flats , and went 121.42 MPH weeks before America joined World War II. During the war, Vic's machinist skills were put to work welding in the Long Beach shipyards and hand fabricating aircraft parts. First Vic worked at the Todd Shipyards , then later Edelbrock went to work for Len Saulter , machining parts from newly developed exotic metals. This work

2145-509: The company was announced that its headquarters would be relocated to the Memphis, Tennessee region . The Edelbrock logo is prevalent in NASCAR but the company does not sponsor a racing team. Instead it 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

2210-642: The company was producing a 532-page catalogue with the largest variety of items that anybody at the time could have imagined. "In 1893, the sales topped 400,000 dollars. Two years later they exceeded 750,000 dollars." In 1906 Sears opened its catalogue plant and the Sears Merchandise Building Tower . And by that time, the Sears catalogue had become known in the industry as "the Consumers' Bible". In 1933, Sears, Roebuck and Co. produced

2275-405: The company's history was the 1964 decision to build a four-barrel intake manifold for the small-block Chevrolet. 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. In 1962, cancer claimed

2340-552: The country, with the first opening in Oakville in 1916. Richard Warren Sears started a business selling watches through mail order catalogues in Redwood Falls, Minnesota , in 1888. By 1894, the Sears catalogue had grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines , bicycles , sporting goods , automobiles (produced from 1905–1915 by Lincoln Motor Car Works of Chicago, not related to the current Ford Motor Company brand of

2405-411: The creation of a powerful global network that came to include everything from mail order, to telemarketing and social media. Mail order changed the worldwide marketplace by introducing the concept of privacy and individuality into the retail industry. Today, the mail order catalogue industry is worth approximately 100 billion dollars and generates over 2 trillion in incremental sales. Sir John Moores

2470-409: The customer, such as a home address, but occasionally the orders are delivered to a nearby retail location for the customer to pick up. Some merchants also allow the goods to be shipped directly to a third party consumer, which is an effective way to send a gift to an out-of-town recipient. Some merchants delivered the goods directly to the customer via their travelling agents. A mail order catalogue

2535-450: The enormous amount of mail he was receiving by 1946 Edelbrock created the company's first catalog , Edelbrock Power and Speed Equipment , with the help of Robert E. "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

2600-406: 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 for drag racers , including NHRA sportsman categories. Since 2002, Edelbrock has been the title sponsor of

2665-610: 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 at impromptu repair work. Soon after, he found work in a local repair shop, working as an auto mechanic . 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

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2730-481: The first Flathead Ford intake manifold, the Edelbrock company now designs and manufactures camshaft and lifter kits, carburetors, crate engines, cylinder heads, electronic fuel injection, engine blocks, engine dress-up, fuel pumps, intake manifolds, nitrous oxide injection, power packages, superchargers, top end kits, valvetrain, and water pumps. The company relies on online and catalog resellers along with traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. In 2018, Edelbrock launched

2795-639: The first companies to use an engine dynamometer , Edelbrock moved to a 5,000 sq ft shop in 1949 to develop more manifolds, cylinder heads and racing pistons . In the early 1950s, he continued to dominate the dry lakes and expanded his racing to the Bonneville Speedway . After the war, the California Roadster Association (CRA) was formed to run auto races with roadsters that raced on oval track and attempted land speed records on dry lakes. After World War II ,

2860-439: The first of its famous Christmas catalogues known as the " Sears Wishbook ", a catalogue featuring toys and gifts and separate from the annual Christmas catalogue. From 1908 to 1940, Sears also sold kit houses by mail order, selling 70,000 to 75,000 such homes, many of which are still lived in today. By creating a direct marketing industry through the mail order catalogue, Pryce Pryce-Jones and Aaron Montgomery Ward enabled

2925-414: The goods were delivered throughout the UK via the newly created railway system. In 1861, Pryce-Jones hit upon a unique method of selling his wares. He distributed catalogues of his wares across the country, allowing people to choose the items they wished and order them via post; he would then dispatch the goods to the customer via the railways, promising next-day delivery . It was an ideal way of meeting

2990-565: The homely folk of this country help them to obtain some of the profits made by manufacturing and trading... to save money on things they must have. This Catalogue is our Ship... staffed by an All-British crew... You won't find sleepy, old-fashioned goods carried in the LITTLEWOODS ship. Only the newest of the new goods—honest, British-made merchandise." With the success of the catalogue business, Moores moved his business four times to larger buildings in 1932. Moores sailed to America to look at

3055-410: The impact his entrepreneurial vision would have on the world when he was selling Welsh flannel to Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale in the late 1800s. Jones is credited as being the pioneer of a global mail order industry now worth about £75bn. Forget the internet and delivery drivers, Pryce-Jones used the superhighway of the day—the railway and parcel post. —"The mail-order pioneer who started

3120-466: The legendary Gilmore Stadium using his secret blend of nitromethane . Edelbrock and Ward followed up the win by travelling to Orange Show Stadium in San Bernardino and winning the following night. This feat was never duplicated in the history of midget racing. The wins propelled Ward's career and Edelbrock Corporation. Nitro is now banned from almost all forms of dirt track racing (due to

3185-531: 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 Jr., who had graduated with a degree in business from USC in 1958, became president and chief executive officer, a position he held until 2010. The company joined SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association) as

3250-631: The middlemen at the general store and to the benefit of the customer, lowering the prices drastically. His first catalogue was a single sheet of paper with a price list, 8 by 12 inches, showing the merchandise for sale and ordering instructions. Montgomery Ward identified a market of merchant-wary farmers in the Midwest. Within two decades, his single-page list of products grew into a 540-page illustrated book selling over 20,000 items. From about 1921 to 1931, Ward sold prefabricated kit houses , called Wardway Homes, by mail order. Hammacher Schlemmer

3315-528: The needs of customers in isolated rural locations who were either too busy or unable to get into Newtown to shop directly. This was the world's first mail order business, an idea which would change the nature of retail in the coming century. The further expansion of the railways in the years that followed allowed Pryce Jones to greatly expand his customer base and his business grew rapidly. He supplied his products to an impressive variety of famous clientele, including Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria ,

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3380-465: The new manifold allowed two Stromberg 97 carburetors to be used, eliminating a bottleneck that limited the engine's horsepower . The manifold was tested for quality at the Muroc dry lake (occupied today by Edwards Air Force Base ), which was a testing ground for Edelbrock and many other car clubs and racing associations. On November 16, 1941, after stripping off the fenders and hubcaps, Edelbrock set

3445-485: The operations of Montgomery Ward and Sears and Roebuck. By 1936, the business had hit the 4 million pound mark, making Moores a millionaire a second time over, by mail order. James Cash Penney started his first retail store in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming. By 1925, J.C. Penney had 674 stores generating sales of $ 91 million. In 1962 J.C. Penney bought Wisconsin based General Merchandise Company with discount stores and

3510-401: The position of president of the company and held it until 2010. ạ Mail-order catalog Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: Then, the products are delivered to the customer. The products are usually delivered directly to an address supplied by

3575-408: The region's dirt roads made Vic an expert in impromptu repair work. Soon after, he found work in a local repair shop, working as an auto mechanic . Vic also picked up extra cash running moonshine for local bootleggers In 1931, the Great Depression hit Kansas, and Edelbrock decided to follow his two older brothers and emigrate to California . Initially, he lived with his brother Carl and took

3640-412: The required high maintenance costs). However, nitromethane is now the industry standard as fuel in all top fuel dragsters and funny cars in drag racing . Vic achieved an industry first in 1958 by getting one horsepower per cubic inch from a 283 Chevy small-block with the new Cross Ram manifold. In 1962, cancer claimed the life of Vic at the age of 49. His son, Vic Jr., just 26 at the time, assumed

3705-432: The same name ) and a host of other new items. Organizing the company so it could handle orders on an economical and efficient basis, Chicago clothing manufacturer Julius Rosenwald became a part-owner in 1895. By the following year, dolls , refrigerators , stoves and groceries had been added to the catalog. Sears, Roebuck and Co. soon developed a reputation for high quality products and customer satisfaction. By 1895,

3770-402: The start of World War II , the small repair garage relocated three more times. Vic, Jr. was born in 1936. Two years later in 1938, he purchased a project car, a 1932 Ford Roadster hot rod . For this car, Victor designed and manufactured the first product to feature the Edelbrock name, the Slingshot manifold, which essentially launched the new business known as Edelbrock . Edelbrock took

3835-427: The term "mail order" is rarely used to describe the ordering of goods over the Internet. It is more usual to refer to this as e-commerce or online shopping. Online shopping allows more detailed information (including audio and video) to be presented, and allows for faster ordering than by mailed form (though phone orders are also common for mail-order catalogues). Most traditional mail order companies now also sell over

3900-787: 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. This feat was never duplicated in the history of midget racing. Edelbrock was not the only racer in that era to experiment with nitromethane; fellow racers Joaquin Arnett and Tony Capanna had tried it in their hot rods, as well. Edelbrock, however,

3965-652: Was a British businessman and philanthropist most famous for the founding of the Littlewoods retail company that was located in Liverpool , England . Moores became a millionaire through the creation of the Littlewood Pool, one of the best-known names in sports gambling in England. In January 1932, Moores was able to disengage himself sufficiently from the pools to start up Littlewoods Mail Order Store. This

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4030-480: Was categorized as critical to the war effort and would keep Vic from being drafted for the remainder of the war. A major source of Edelbrock's fame in automotive racing was as a car owner. Offenhauser motors had a great power advantage over all of the other engines. Rodger Ward used Edelbrock's V8-60 "shaker" midget car on August 10, 1950 to break the Offenhauser-equipped winning streak at

4095-739: Was followed on July 6, 1937 by the opening of the first Littlewoods department store in Blackpool . By the time World War II started there were 25 Littlewoods stores across the UK and over 50 by 1952. The first Littlewoods catalogue was published in May 1932 with 168 pages. Its motta was: "We hoist our Flag in the Port of Supply, and right away we sail to the Ports of Demand—the Homes of the People. We intend to help

4160-560: Was from 1962 to 2010 president and was CEO of the Edelbrock Corporation until 2017. Vic Sr. was born in 1913 in Eudora, Kansas , a small farming community in northeast Kansas. After the family grocery store burned down in 1927, Vic 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

4225-513: Was located in Milwaukee. Catalogues through the ages Mail order had always relied on the innovative technique of selling products directly to the consumer at appealing prices, but the term " direct marketing " was only coined in 1967, by Lester Wunderman — considered to be the father of contemporary direct marketing. He was behind the creation of the toll-free 1-800 number and numerous mail order based loyalty marketing programs including

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