40 Year Article

1. SEMA
SPECIAL
SEMA Is 40
A Glimpse Into the Organization’s Founding and Growth
s SEMA celebrates its
A
40-year anniversary, it’s
only appropriate to take a
look at the history of the
association and its reasons
for being.
It began in 1963.
Bobby Vodnik drove a Chrysler Hemi-
powered dragster to Top Eliminator at the
NHRA Nationals, racing to a speed of
175.75 mph in the quarter-mile.
Parnelli Jones won the Indianapolis 500.
He qualified with a lap speed of 151.153
mph on the 2.5-mile track.
And a group representing 13 speed
equipment manufacturers got together
to organize the Speed Equipment
Manufacturers Association, or SEMA.
Today, Top Fuel dragsters routinely
achieve more than 300 mph in NHRA
competition; Kenny Bernstein holds the
speed record at 332 mph. In 1996, Arie
Luyendyk qualified for the Indy 500 with
a lap speed of 236.986 mph, the fastest
■ The “early days” scene at Bell Auto Parts. Johnny Glew, a long-time employee of Roy Richter
to date. is working behind the counter. The store’s interior, including the clock, was replicated for
This year, SEMA’s corporate member- the SEMA Speed Shop in the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
ship tops 4,700 companies, and the SEMA
Show—the flagship exposition of the auto- The Indianapolis 500 has been held every misconceptions about the earliest days,
motive aftermarket—is projected to have year since 1911, interrupted only by war. how the organization got its start and the
about 1,700 exhibiting companies. Retail SEMA’s beginning was humble, but, as reasons behind the creation of SEMA.
sales volume of the specialty aftermarket is history reveals, the early pioneers of the
more than $27 billion. organization couldn’t have imagined the The True Story
Drag racing has its roots on the dry impact their work would have on the auto- One might say that SEMA was born as
lakebeds of Southern California, circa 1930. motive aftermarket. There are a few a result of an industry that was destined to
56 SEMA NEWS August 2003

2. SEMA IS 40
■ Edelbrock was one of the charter member companies of SEMA. Pictured are Vic Senior and Vic Junior at age 14, today the CEO of Edelbrock Corp., located
in Torrance, California.
change motorsports in America, and it spent most of their spare time in the bar- Others were soon to follow, among them
actually started with the activities on the racks talking about cars and performance George Wight, who operated Bell Auto Parts
dry lakebeds of California’s Mojave Desert. during their tours of duty. Their interest (named for the city of Bell, California), Alex
It was in the late 1930s that enthusiasts— and activity prompted a surge of interest in Xydias with SoCal Speed Shop and many
not yet named hot rodders, but soon to be the rodding hobby, along with industry others. As Don Raleigh once said, “In those
identified as such—tested their homemade growth, and not just in California, but also days all you had to do was hang out a shin-
products designed to throughout the country. gle that said ‘speed shop,’ and you had a cus-
improve the perform- By the late 1940s, the GIs promised one tomer base.” Until a few years ago, Raleigh
ance of their vehicles; an
increase in top speed
demand for speed another that a car would
be a first priority when
operated a chain of his own stores in the east-
ern United States.
was the primary goal. equipment required a they got home, and a Although the industry became firmly
Their cars (today enthu- commitment among the hot rod was at the top of established, there were assorted problems.
siasts say their “rides”) each one’s list. Distribution was a key issue. Manufacturers
were the proverbial,
makers of the add-on By the late 1940s, the sold directly to retail outlets (speed shops)
stripped-down coupes products, and speed shops demand for speed and to consumers, the end-users of prod-
and roadsters of the era,
most of them Fords, but
sprang up across equipment required a
commitment among the
ucts, bypassing wholesalers.
Extending credit also was a problem.
old-timers are quick to the country. makers of the add-on The late Els Lohn described credit as “an
remind us that four- products, and speed absolute nightmare. The manufacturer had
cylinder Chevys were in the mix as well. shops sprang up across the country. The no way of checking out a new customer,
After World War II, when servicemen first, according to history, was Lee’s Speed such as a jobber or retailer. Later, ware-
returned home, they were eager to get back Shop in Los Angeles, owned and operated houses and a lot of companies got burned
into the speed trials. They had, after all, by Lee Chapel, himself a dry lakes racer. by non-payers.”
58 SEMA NEWS August 2003

3. Eventually, more serious problems Rings, drew up SEMA’s first bylaws, using was thought that if uniform standards were
would emerge in the guise of governmen- the MAA documents as a guide. developed by the trade association for all
tal regulation, and calls for some form of Interesting bit of trivia: The first organi- sanctioning bodies, competitors would
product specifications were beginning to zational meeting of the Speed Equipment more readily accept them as a part of the
surface. The need for a trade group was Manufacturers Association was held at rules than if the sanctioning groups, such
glaringly evident. Revell headquarters in Los Angeles. Revell as NHRA and a few others, dictated the
Strange as it may seem, it wasn’t credit, wanted to have that advantage over rival specs,” recalls NHRA founder Wally Parks.
distribution or problem legislation that AMT, a model-car manufacturer also The program was put into place as the
prompted the formation of SEMA. It was seeking permission to use miniaturized “SEMA Specs Program.” A few ground
a total outsider, Henry Blankfort. decals in its kits. rules were made clear: SEMA did not at
Blankfort was a principal with Revell, a any time approve products, nor did the
company that manufactures model-car “Meets SEMA Specs” association test them; SEMA was the cata-
kits. He came in search of permission to The Speed Equipment Manufacturers lyst that brought the parties together to
use racing product manufacturers’ decals Association was incorporated in May achieve a set of specs for gear used in
in Revell’s model car kits. In a meeting 1963. The first president was Ed racing, a critical mission of the trade
with Dean Moon of Moon Equipment Iskenderian. Soon, the association group.
Co. and Roy Richter of Cragar addressed an important issue: product “As it turned out,” Spar explained, “the
Equipment, Blankfort and his associates specifications. whole thing with NHRA came together as
were shocked to learn that an association With the encouragement and help of a result of critical issues with regard to safety-
for the performance industry did not exist Jack Hart of the National Hot Rod related products” for the fledgling trade
to handle his request. Association, Bob Spar of B&M and Holly association and motorized racing sports.
At the time, in ’63, Revell was a member Hedrick of Schiefer Clutches, a SEMA
of MAA, the Model Association of specs program was made official in 1967. From Speed to Specialty
America, a group busy arguing against leg- Manufacturers of products in the program Then, in 1968, governmental regulation
islation to control glue sniffing. Revell were permitted to advertise, “Meets SEMA became a serious issue, prompting the offi-
offered the bylaws of MAA to performance Specs.” cers to change the name from “speed” to
industry leaders, and John Bartlett, an “At that time, racing organizations needed “specialty” for a better image. By the mid-
attorney and president of Grant Piston the benefit of product specifications, and it 1970s, regulation was a serious threat to

4. SEMA IS 40
Charter Member Companies of SEMA
and the Founders/Owners
American Racing Equipment Jim Ellison
Ansen Automotive Engineering* Louie Senter
B&M Automotive Products* Bob Spar
CAE Racing Products Jim Culbertson
Chuchua’s 4-Wheel Drive Brian Chuchua
Cragar Equipment* Roy Richter
Crankshaft Co. Huey Holik
Edelbrock Equipment Co. Vic Edelbrock
Eelco Manufacturing & Supply* Els Lohn
Enginetics Ruth Wilson
Grant Industries* John Bartlett
■ Alex Xydias founded So-Cal Speed Shop. Pictured is the first shop, located in
Burbank, California. Halibrand Engineering Ted Halibrand
Hedman Manufacturing Co. Bob Hedman
Hurst-Campbell Inc. George Hurst
the survival of the industry. Peril swinging generation’s preoccupa- Inglewood Tire Co. Bill Krech
came in the form of California’s no tion with speed.” Officers at the
Ed Iskenderian Racing Cams* Ed Iskenderian
modifications law, implications of time not only agreed, but were
the Clean Air Act, vehicle inspection also unanimous in their feeling J.E. Engineering Bill Pendleton
procedures, off-road land use, noise that the word specialty better Milodon Engineering* Don Alderson
pollution and emissions control (the described the market that was
Moon Equipment Co.* Dean Moon
start of catalytic converters). The list rapidly expanding in scope to
grew virtually unabated. include what was then defined as Offenhauser Sales Fred Offenhauser
It was necessary for SEMA to hire custom products and today Potvin Equipment Chuck Potvin
its first attorney to represent the asso- referred to as restyling—embrac-
Schiefer Manufacturing Co.* Paul Schiefer
ciation in Washington, D.C. Earl ing the full gamut, from custom
Kitner was the first corporate coun- wheels to leather interiors. Scott Engineering
sel, soon replaced It wasn’t Segal Automotive Al Segal
by Eric Grant. It was in 1970 that the name until 1976 Shelby American Carroll Shelby
SEMA hired Grant of the association was changed that SEMA
away from the got a taste of Spalding Products Tom Spalding
California Air to Specialty Equipment Market legislative suc- Speed-A-Motive Harold Osborne
Resources Board Association to more appropri- cess, thanks to Thomas Automotive Products Bill Thomas
(ARB), assuming Russ Deane
he’d have the
ately describe the mix of and his col- Traction Master Co. Maury Leventhal
inside track on reg- companies involved and their leagues in Trans Dapt* Willie Garner
ulatory matters— activities, embracing Washington, W&H Engineering Bob Wyman
California was D.C. The
emerging as the distribution and retailing. court accepted
Weber Speed Equipment* Harry Weber
problem state. SEMA’s vol- Weiand Power & Racing* Phil Weiand
Russ Deane followed years later as untary parts self-certification Dempsey Wilson Racing Cams* Dempsey Wilson
SEMA corporate counsel. program under the Clean Air
Henry Blankfort Group Henry Blankfort
More trivia: It was Kitner who Act, thereby allowing the indus-
asked for the name change from try to continue to produce and
“speed” to “specialty,” saying, “a sell emissions-related parts. (The *The founding companies of SEMA, the Speed
name change would assist greatly in victory also ensured that vehicle Equipment Manufacturers Association, 1963.
our representation. Elderly bureau- manufacturers couldn’t void
crats are not likely to appreciate the new-car emissions warranties
60 SEMA NEWS August 2003

5. because performance parts were used on and growth. Noel Carpenter produced an then on, booth sales and attendance
the vehicle.) industry-wide exposition (initially a increased dramatically.
Further change—the product of chance for the speed equipment manufac- “Unlike other trade shows of this kind,
growth and expansion—occurred in the turers to showcase new products) in 1965 the SEMA Show has always been a buy-
1970s, when dealers and distributors were and ’66. However, the shows were not and-sell arena—manufacturers come with
brought into the membership ranks and sponsored by SEMA, although SEMA did order books in hand. The success of the
were allowed positions on the SEMA receive a split of profits in 1966. A check show is measured by the amount of
Board of Directors. It from Carpenter in the business that is done,” stated Louie
was in 1970 that the The first show was held amount of $535 was Senter, founder of Ansen Automotive
name of the association deposited in the SEMA Engineering, one of the original member
was changed to under the cold and damp account following the companies of SEMA.
Specialty Equipment grandstands of Dodger ’66 show. The SEMA Show was so successful in
Market Association to It was in 1967 that Anaheim that the exposition outgrew the
more appropriately
Stadium in Los Angeles, SEMA arranged with facility. During Leo Kagan’s term as presi-
describe the mix of awaiting the completion of Bob Petersen of Petersen dent, the show moved to Las Vegas in 1977.
companies involved the Anaheim Convention Publishing Co. to pro- Words of praise have repeatedly hailed the
and their activities, duce the first SEMA SEMA Show and its value to the overall auto
embracing distribution Center, where the exposition Show. It was under the industry. A line from an editorial about the
and retailing. was moved in 1968. guise of Hot Rod SEMA Show in Car & Driver magazine said
By 1978, about half Industry News (Alex it best: “The gathering is a sensitive barome-
of the SEMA membership, more than Xydias, editor), and Dick Wells produced ter of the automotive business.”
1,500 businesses, were located east of the the event as an employee of Petersen’s So, as SEMA celebrates 40 years of
Mississippi River. Special Events Division. existence, members are reminded of the
The first show was held under the cold history of the industry and the associa-
The Barometer and damp grandstands of Dodger Stadium tion. While many regard the annual
of the Industry in Los Angeles, awaiting the completion of SEMA Show as SEMA the association,
The annual SEMA Show is certainly a the Anaheim Convention Center, where the reasons for being extend far beyond
major factor in the association’s vitality the exposition was moved in 1968. From the trade show.