SEMA Heritage: Mr. Supercharger

The next big fad is GMC superchargers,” wrote LeRoi “Tex” Smith in the June 1964 issue of Rod & Custom magazine.

The title was well earned. Beatty was one of hot rodding’s pioneers—a longtime dry-lakes and Bonneville racer who “has been working hard with the GMC blower since 1947,” said Tex. His blown motors—first for flathead Fords and later for Oldsmobiles—were potent and led to opening his own business, Tom Beatty Automotive Engineering, which specialized in supercharger components.