only child. The Slingshot 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, 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 a national speed record in the flying quarter mile with a speed of . 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 the Slingshot manifolds. Early years 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 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 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