Customer Reviews

Edelbrock: Made in USA

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<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is an epic story of a family and a business which, for 70 years, have influenced a uniquely American hobby, hot rodding, and one of our country's quintessential businesses, the high-performance automotive aftermarket.

Through extensive research, rich style and deep understanding of and reverence for the hot rod experience, Author Tom Madigan, provides more than just a profile of the Edelbrocks and their company. It's a wonderful story of automotive culture and history. Not only is it a fascinating sketch of not only how a family business developed, but the reader learns how the car hobby influenced the direction that business took and how the Edelbrock Equipment Company and, later, the Edelbrock Corporation, influenced the direction the hot rod hobby took.

<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is a people story, too--not just of the book's namesakes but other famed hot rod personalities, too. Wally Parks, Alex Xydias, Bob Peterson, Fran Hernandez, Bobby Meeks, Murray Jensen, Ed Iskenderian, Ed Pink, "Racer" Brown, Bob D'Olivo, Zora Arkus-Duntov, Jim McFarland, Rodger Ward, Tom Medley, Benny Parsons, Smokey Yunick, Junior Johnson, and many others all have parts in this book.

This work is a "manual" on how to build a successful American business. It tells how one generation of a family started a performance parts business in back of a Gilmore service station near the corner of Hoover and Venice in Los Angeles and how the next made that into a hundred-million dollar, world-wide enterprise.

The book is illustrated with a mix of black-and-white and color photos. Its imagery is timeless and beautifully presented, making it not only a wonderful reading experience but intensely pleasing visually, as well. The photography from the 30s, 40s and 50s is outstanding. Clearly a significant amount work went into restoring, enhancing and retouching old photos.

Weaknesses? Well, there are a few. There is an annoying lack of date information in some parts of it. Several times, I found myself reading an interesting discussion of some event then wondering when it happened. There are places where the first mention of important characters is only by last name. Vic Edelbrock Jr.'s lifelong friend, Jerry Herbst, is first introduced to readers simply by surname. Same is true of famed race car builder Bob Joehnick. This name issue had me suspecting that the original manuscript must have been far, far longer and that the Herculean process of editing that to a marketable size might have let a few little problems slip through.

Towards the end of the lengthy project that resulted in<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u>, the book was no secret. For a number of months prior to its publication, it had the car hobby abuzz. That Vic Edelbrock Jr. commissioned and funded the project was, also, no secret. While the cost is known only to Mr. Edelbrock, Mr. Madigan and executives at Tehabi Books, it's obvious upon just skimming this work that a large sum must have been invested. For that kind of money, Vic could have made this book his family's own, private, 324-page, self-appreciating shrine, but he didn't. Yes, the Edelbrocks are the main characters but their portrayal is little more than what they deserve. There's much more in this book about the dawn and growth of hot rodding as a hobby and a sport, about the automotive performance aftermarket industry that grew along with it and the people, Edelbrocks and others, who made it all happen.

<u>Edelbrock: Made in USA</u> is a lot in one book. An amazing chronicle of American ingenuity, tenacity and success? You bet. Intriguing biography? Indeed. A fascinating business book? You bet. Absolutely. A captivating story about fast cars? Uh-huh. A book worth reading? Totally.

A part of this book is an interesting history of a company that has been an important part of the speed equipment industry in the U.S. for decades. It shows the relationships and interactions among the well known companies and people in the industry during the post-war period. It also gives readers a glimpse at the symbiotic relationship between the speed equipment industry and Peterson Publishing, i.e. Hot Rod Magazine.

Unfortunately that history is buried in a family scrapbook of personal events and countless testimonials about either what a great person Vic Edelbrock Sr. was or what a deserving heir and brilliant manager Vic Jr. is.

It seems to have been written for the people who were part of the west coast hot rod scene in the 1950's and not for the general reader of automotive history.

What a facinating history of one of the greats in the Hot Rod industry. What I appreciated the most was the integrity of the man and that his son continued his legacy! I was a fan from the get go and loved the history and the photos to support it. Some of my old heros came back to life like Bill Vukovich and Roger Ward. These are greats from the past and I didn't know how they were affected by Vic Edlebrock. What a great story. This is a great country and Vic Edelbrock proved it. I would reccomend this to anyone who loves cars and the history of racing in this country!

Edelbrock has a great history, this nicely laid out heavy hardcover goes into detail on Edelbrocks racing Activities, Cars, Even Racing Boats, The Family, Lots of great pictures. Pictures/info About My Favorite in the book The Vic Edelbrock # 614 1963 CORVETTE Z06(BLUE CAR) which is still raced at vintage events. Really cool Book.

This book brought back many memories as well as answering a lot of questions that weren't really important but that I had always wondered about over the years. In 1949 when I was 17 or so and building an A/V8 roadster in Iowa, I ordered a dual manifold and heads from Edelbrock and they showed up in a plain box and wrapped in the LA newspaper. My decision was based on what little information I could glean from "Hot Rod Magazine" and the "SCTA News". Vic Senior's stuff seemed to be the best available and I was well satisfied with it's preformance. This book only reaffirmed this belief and proved that Edelbrock still stood for product quality and an honest business enviroment. The only criticism I have is that toward the end it was beginning to sound like an "infomercial" but since Edelbrock was paying the bill, I understand. This book brought to life my many "Hot Rod Heroes" whom I always wanted to know better but never could. Getting to know the Edelbrock family life story was a bonus too.

Great insight into one of the people who made hot rodding what it is today. Excellent photos and history of hot rodding.

This book is for a car Guy that can read the photos are great and show what it was like before boyd and some of the others were around.Great book

Great account of Vic Edelbrock, his family and his business accomplishments. Great photographs, many of which I had not seen before, and stories not previously published. I reccomend it!

EDELBROCK: MADE IN THE USA may seem like the singular history of one car company; but it's more: it tells of a consortium of hot rodders, racers and car buffs who got together under the leadership of one Vic Edelbrock Sr, whose innovations fueled the early days of the auto industry and racing circuits. His hot rods were to revolutionize American auto sports, change the face of auto racing, and set new goals and standards in midget, drag racing and other competitions. Black and white and plenty of color photos from pro racing circuits, vintage racing series, and Edelbrock's shops trace his increasing involvement in the world of vintage auto racing. Such racing built the Edelbrock name and made classic cars a part of American culture. EDELBROCK: MADE IN THE USA is much more than one man's biography and much more than the history of his company: it traces the influences and changes through decades of auto production and auto sports and is a 'must' for any who would understand classic autos and their foundations.

...but that's as is should be.

You won't go more than a page or two without being told what a great guy Vic Sr. was, and what a great guy his son is...there is a ton of repetition of that theme.

But to that I say - "So what, they deserve it."

And hand in hand with the self congratulation, the author also always has a good word for the many other hot rod and speed equipment pioneers of the day. Always a good word for everyone. Hooray for that.

The book also has many cool pictures and long, well written captions that themselves tell, and reinforce the story.

The challenges Vic Sr. took on, the passion he brought to his work, and the team he built to get him to his goals are wonderful to learn.

When you read this book you will be right there in Los Angeles in the late 40s and early 50s. I mean, right there. You will smell the smells in his shop, feel the emotion and pressure to perform, and find yourself rooting for Edelbrock's success every step of the way.

And if you have ever built your own business from scratch - well you will appreciate the Edelbrock accomplishments just that much more.

If you love hot rodding and history, if you love a story told with passion and understanding, if you want to read about an entire grass roots industry that forms right before your eyes - well, this is the book for you.