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 horsepower for the engine. The manifold was tested for quality at the Rosamond dry lakes (occupied today by Edwards Air Force Base), which was a testing ground for Edelbrock and many other car clubs and racing associations. After stripping off the fenders and hubcaps, on November 16, 1941, Edelbrock drove the car in 7.41 seconds at a speed of 121.45 mph (195.45 km/h), achieving a national speed record in the flying quarter mile. 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 he sold commercially and marked the beginning of the company as it is known today. Edelbrock ultimately manufactured 100 of the Slingshot manifolds.
Read more about this topic: Edelbrock