Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:57
By Jason Catullo

 

SEMA Show 2013, Products for Project VehiclesExhibitors looking to get their products on more display vehicles at the 2013 SEMA Show are invited to participate in the Products for Project-Vehicle Builders List.

  

Exhibitors of the 2013 SEMA Show have the opportunity to expand their reach at the Show by offering products to builders through the Products for Project-Vehicle Builders List. Builders continuously look for the key pieces and products to add visual spice to their builds. The list helps connect manufacturers looking for extra product exposure with the pros that create trendsetting vehicles that capture the imaginations of media and buyers from around the world.

This type of product-placement opportunity is so valuable that manufacturers often offer builders products for free or at greatly reduced rates. The intention of the list is to make builders aware of potential products available. All product-placement decisions and negotiations are the responsibility of the manufacturers and the builders. Participation in the list does not guarantee product placement at the 2013 SEMA Show.

To participate in the list, access the Products for Project-Vehicle Builders form.

The latest additions to the list will be included each week in SEMA eNews, when available. The list is open to exhibitors of the 2013 SEMA Show only and is intended to build awareness for SEMA Show exhibitors and their products.

For questions or additional information, contact Jason Catullo at jasonc@sema.org or call 909-978-6713.

Latest Additions

Engine/Underhood Components

ARB 4x4 Accessories: Snorkels, air compressors. Contact: Matt Glass, mglass@arbusa.com; 888-427-2872. Website: www.arbusa.com.

JDM Sport: Fuel-pressure regulator, turbos, Intercoolers, dress-up bolts, couplers, piping, engine dampeners, headers, short pipes, intakes (applications limited). Exhaust systems (limited applications), cat-back systems. Contact: Lee Ho, lee@jdmsport.com; 626-340-4717. Website: www.JDMSport.com.    

Exterior Components/Accessories

ARB 4x4 Accessories: Bullbars, lighting, roof racks, skid plates and differential covers. Contact: Matt Glass, mglass@arbusa.com; 888-427-2872. Website: www.arbusa.com.

Golight Inc.:
Portable or permanent mount remote control searchlights. Fixed mount LED lighting. Contact: Shawna Matson, shawna@golight.com; 800-557-0098. 

JDM Sport: Visors, lighting (applications limited), tow hooks, rear visor (applications limited). Contact: Lee Ho, lee@jdmsport.com; 626-340-4717. Website: www.JDMSport.com.        

Interior Components/Accessories

ARB 4x4 Accessories: Outback storage solution roller drawers; freezer fridges. Contact: Matt Glass, mglass@arbusa.com; 888-427-2872. Website: www.arbusa.com.

JDM Sport: Steering wheels, gauges, shift knobs and racing harnesses. Contact: Lee Ho, lee@jdmsport.com; 626-340-4717. Website: www.JDMSport.com.     

Suspension/Brake Components

ARB 4x4 Accessories: Suspension systems. Contact: Matt Glass, mglass@arbusa.com; 888-427-2872. Website: www.arbusa.com.

JDM Sport: 32-way coilover adjustable lowering spring system, lowering springs, lower control arms, subframe bar, camber kits, hydraulic e-brake system. Contact: Lee Ho, lee@jdmsport.com; 626-340-4717. Website: www.JDMSport.com.       

Other Products/Services

ARB 4x4 Accessories: Air compressors. Contact: Matt Glass, mglass@arbusa.com; 888-427-2872. Website: www.arbusa.com.

HP Tuners:
HP Tuners Interface, or HP Tuners Credits, for supported vehicles, including 2014 Silverado and C7 Corvette, and LSX swaps. Contact: Jay Payson, jay@hptuners.com; 661-644-4624. Website: www.hptuners.com.

Previous Submissions

Engine/Underhood Components

AEM Induction Systems: Cold air intake systems, intercooler systems (limited application), OE replacement air filters, exhaust systems (limited application), strut tower brace, modular tube bends, couplers, brackets, MAF pads. Contact: George Hsieh, georgeh@aemintakes.com; 951-826-4094. Website: www.aemintaks.com.

AIRAID Filter Co.: Cold air intake systems, premium air filters, and PowerAid throttle body spacers for most popular domestic and import cars, light trucks and SUVs. Contact: Trent McGee, trent@airaid.com; 602-652-9732. Website: www.airaid.com.

Auburn Gear: Auburn Gear offers its HP Series limited-slip differential, Pro-Series limited-slip differential, Race Series, and Ected MAX Locker, which is a selectable limited-slip to full locker. Contact: Justin Smith, Jrsmith@auburngear.com; 260-920-1359.

Diamond Eye Performance:
Performance diesel exhaust and accessories for Ford, Dodge and Chevy/GM, and performance gas exhaust for Nissan Titan, Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150 Eco-Boost. Contact: Tom Terjeson, tomt@diamondeyemfg.com; 800-635-9950. Website: www.diamondeyeperformance.com.

Doug Thorley Headers: American-made performance exhaust headers, mid-pipes and exhaust systems. Premium-quality products available for classic cars and trucks, LS motor swaps and late-model cars and trucks. Contact: Troy Mastell tmastell@dougthorleyheaders.com; 951-273-3609. Website: www.dougthorleyheaders.com.

Eastwood Co.: Underhood paints, engine paints, battery maintainers. Contact: Brian Huck, bhuck@eastwood.com; 610-705-5420. Website: www.eastwood.com.

Energy Suspension: Hyper-Flex polyurethane motor and transmission mounts, shifter bushings. Contact: Michael Santa Cruz, msantacruz@energysuspension.com; 949-361-3935, ext. 235. Website: www.energysuspension.com.

Hedman Hedders: Headers for classic 50s, 60s, 70s 80s American musclecars, street rods and trucks. C10/C20 truck and traditional, open-fender style street rod projects are of special interest to us. Contact: SEMA Project Vehicle Coordinator, mySEMAproject@hedman.com; 562-921-0404. Website: www.hedman.com.

K&N Engineering Inc.: High-flow intake systems, OE replacement air filters, high-performance oil filters for most vehicles and powersports applications. Contact: Lucio Tapia, luciot@knfilters.com; 951-826-4000, ext. 4350. Website: www.knfilters.com.

KRC Power Steering: Adjustable Assist Power Steering Pumps designed for racing & performance, front drive pulley kits and power steering pump and alternator mounting brackets. Contact: Roger Mealey, roger@krcpower.com; 770-422-5135. Website: www.krcpower.com.

Magnaflow: Performance exhaust systems, mufflers, tips, exhaust pipes, hot rod kits, glasspack, custom builder kits, diesel exhaust and catalytic converters. Contact: Kirsten Wright, kwright@magnaflow.com; 949-858-5900. Website: www.magnaflow.com

Magnuson Superchargers: Complete supercharger kits for most late-model domestic vehicles and resto-mod applications, including LSx, late-model HEMI, and Ford 4.6/5.0 engines. Contact: Matt Hately, matt.hately@magnusonproducts.com; 805-642-8833. Website: www.magnusonproducts.com.

ODYSSEY Battery by EnerSys: High-performance batteries. Contact: April Lowther, april.lowther@enersys.com; 610-208-1729.

Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge: Intakes, snorkels and exhaust systems for Jeep. Contact: Henk van Dongen, hvandongen@omix-ada.com; 770-614-6101. Website: www.Omix-ADA.com.

Performance Distributors (D.U.I.): High-performance and racing ignition systems; alternators and batteries. Contact: Steve Davis, PerfDist@aol.com; 901-396-5782.

Perma-Cool Products: Cooling components: fans, oil & transmission coolers, oil filter mounts and adapters etc. Contact: Kevin Doyle, kevind@perma-cool.com; 909-391-3000. Website: www.perma-cool.com.

ProCharger: Intercooled ProCharger supercharger systems. Contact: Cary Pangrac, cary.pangrac@procharger.com; 913-338-2886. Website: www.procharger.com.

Pypes Performance Exhaust: Performance exhaust systems, cat-back, diesel stack tips and accessories. Contact: Mike Zimmerman, mikez@pypesexhaust.com; 215-350-1969. Website: www.pypesexhaust.com.

Radium Engineering: Fuel system surge tanks, PCV catch cans, misc. unique fittings, fuel pumps. Contact: Aaron Suchy, aaron@radiumauto.com; 503-317-8322. Website: www.radiumauto.com.

Reikken: High-performance power cells, batteries and chargers. Contact: Patrick Szeman, pszman@yahoo.com; 260-348-7003.

SCT Performance: Complete line of Ford and GM vehicle performance programmers. Contact: Tim Roi, tim@sctflash.com; 407-774-2447, ext. 137.

Spectre Performance: High-performance air intake systems and air filters for musclecars and hot rods, as well as the most popular late-model domestic cars, light trucks and SUVs. Contact: Mike Morrow, mikem@spectreperformance.com; 951-826-4000, ext. 4038. Website: www.spectreperformance.com.

Standard Motor Products: Components offered: High performance/racing spark plug wire sets; also offering battery cables. We supply wire sets to three major NASCAR engine builders. Contact: Brad Hopper, bhopper@smpcorp.com; 913-441-6500, ext. 7168. Website: www.BlueStreakwire.com.

VP Racing Fuels: Official Fuel of the NHRA and 60 other sanctioned bodies of racing around the globe is looking for opportunities with key builders this year. We will REQUIRE dyno testing showing performance gains before and after for consideration for sponsorship. Products options will be our new VP101 - Street Legal Performance Unleaded, VP Vintage - Leaded Storage Fuel for Muscle Cars and Vintage vehicles, MS109 - Racing Performance Unleaded, VPC9 - Unleaded Storage Fuel, C85 - Ethanol Based Racing Fuel, and Leaded Racing Fuels - VPC16, VPQ16, VPC12, VP110, etc. Product info and tech sheets available online. Contact: Brian Fox, brian@foxmarketing.net; 717-577-6449. Website: www.vpracingfuels.com.

ExteriorComponents/Accessories

American Force Wheels: Dually wheels in 65 designs for all-terrain, mud-terrain, low-profile and big rig use and appearance. These wheels are custom manufactured in the USA from 6061 forged aluminum and high-quality materials. Sizes include 19” Direct Bolt-On, 19.5” Direct Bolt-On, 20”, 22”, 22.5”, 24”, 24.5” and 26” and are available in a 5-, 6-, 8- or 10-lug fitment. Super single wheels are available in a variety of applications and design configurations. Contact: Deyan Font, deyan@americanforcewheels.com; 786-345-6301. Website: www.americanforcewheels.com.

AnzoUSA: Projector headlights, LED taillights, LED light bars, LED pod lights, off-road HID lights. Contact: Shaun Callaway, shaun@anzousa.com; 909-590-8618. Website: www.anzousa.com.

A.R.E. Accessories LLC: A.R.E. truck caps and hard tonneau covers. Each cap is custom built and painted to meet the customer’s specifications. A.R.E. matches the vehicle identification number, paint code and uses a state-of-the-art factory painting system. There are more than a dozen types of truck caps and tonneau covers, as well as commercial units for fleets, that match every lifestyle and truck need. Contact: Shari Arfons, shari@mcculloughpr.com; 330-244-9980. Website: www.4are.com.

BASF-The Chemical Co.: BASF R-M Oynx HD Waterborne, Carizzma Candy and Flat, Glasurit, BASF FOOSE Colors, or LIMCO Jet Black single stage available for import, domestic, street rod, pro touring, trucks or European applications. BASF will provide primer, color and clear for selected project vehicles. Contact: Brian Fox, brian.fox@basfpaintnews.com; 717-577-6449. Website: www.basfrefinish.com, www.basfpaintnews.com, www.carizzmacolors.com.

BMF Wheels: BMF Wheels is offering wheels for SEMA project builders. There are seven wheel designs to choose from in 17-, 18-, 20-, 22- and 24-inch diameters. Contact: Blake Ramthun, blake@bmfwheels.com; 888-313-2580. Website: www.bmfwheels.com.

BOLT Locks: BOLT locks feature Breakthrough One-Key Lock Technology, which permanently programs the lock to a vehicle’s ignition key. When owners insert their ignition key into the BOLT Lock cylinder, spring-loaded plate tumblers move up and down to uniquely code the cylinder to that specific key. They are available for owners of Ford, GM, Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota and Nissan vehicles and deliver added security and convenience. Contact: Shari Afrons, shari@mcculloughpr.com; 330-244-9980. Website: www.boltlock.com.

Brandmotion: Curb Alert Pro parking sensors. Contact: Geoff Dixon, gdixon@brandmotion.com; 734-619-1250, ext. 908. Website: www.brandmotion.com

CargoGlide: CargoGlide slide-out bed slides for trucks, vans, SUVs and work trucks. Quality engineered product with four models, offering 100% extension; three models with 70% extension, steel or aluminum. Contact: David McInturf, davidm@cargoglide.com; 877-525-9535. Website: www.cargoglide.com.

Continental Tire the Americas LLC: Tires available from both the Continental and General Tire lines. Contact: Sheri Herrmann, sheri.herrmann@conti-na.com; 704-583-8151. Website: www.continentaltire.com.

Convert-A-Ball Distributing: Cushioned ball mounts, interchangeable ball sets, fifth wheel to gooseneck adapters, cushioned towing accessories, including six-way multi-hitches, Pintle hitches, adjustable hitches, weight distribution hitches, swivel hitches and clevis hitches. Contact: Dennis Cheatham, info@convert-a-ball.net; 308-254-7115. Website: www.convert-a-ball.net.

Diversi-Tech (DT): Adjustable aluminum ball mounts, various sizes available from 4" to 10" drops, hand polished aluminum for mirror finish. Contact: Trevor Millar, tmillar@progressmfg.com; 877-523-9103. Website: www.diversi-tech.net.

Eastwood Co.: Paints: primers, base coat/clearcoat, single stage urethane paints, paint guns and all paint accessories used in painting projects. Glass polishing, headlight restoration, fender rollers. Contact: Brian Huck, bhuck@eastwood.com; 610-705-5420. Website: www.eastwood.com.

EGR Inc.: Full line of exterior accessories for trucks, SUVs and cars. Products include, but not limited to, No Drill Fender Flares, No Drill Hood Protectors, Side WindowVisors, and side steps. Contact: Bryan Speer, info@egrusa.com; 909-923-7075. Website: www.egrusa.com.

Fastway Trailer Products: Trailer accessories, Flip automatic tongue jack foot, weight distributing hitch with built in sway control (No- Chains), Zip coiled breakaway cable a trailer breakaway cable that won't drag. Tandem axle wheel chock. Contact: Trevor Millar, tmillar@fastwaytrailer.com; 877-523-9103. Website: www.fastwaytrailer.com.

Fusion Bumpers: Premium steel bumpers for fullsize Dodge, Ford and GM trucks. Contact: Johnny Ramirez, johnny.fusionbumpers@gmail.com; 877-208-0525. Website: www.fusionbumpers.com.

Go Rhino Products/Big Country: Dominator D4 sidesteps, OE Xtreme sidesteps, Rhino Charger bull bars, winch guards, Wrangler guards. Contact: Mike DeFord, mike@gorhino.com; 714-257-7392.

Husky Liners: Mud guards, quad caps bed-rail protection, 5th wheel tailgate, con-rack, Husky Shield paint protection film, Husky Shield Headlite guard. Contact: Tara Duncan, tduncan@huskyliners.com; 800-344-8759. Website: www.huskyliners.com

KC HiLiTES Inc.: Auxiliary lighting products. Contact: Ron Pryczynski, ron@kchilites.com; 928-635-2607. Website: www.kchilites.com.

Mackin Industries Inc.: Wheels for companies building SUV/crossover vehicles for SEMA show. RAYS is a premier manufacturer well known for top level racing wheels. The company has released a line of crossover/SUV wheels called HFULLCROSS. Contact: Edward Lee, elee@mackinindustries.com; 562-946-6820. Website: www.rays-msc.com/wheels/index.cgi?b=13

Masterbuilt: Cargo carrier; motorcycle carrier. Contact: Danny East, deast@masterbuilt.com; 706-2566-3909. Website: www.masterbuilt.com.

Monster Hooks Inc.: Recovery hooks rated at 20,000 lbs. (Mini Monster) and 45,000 lbs. (Monster). "Hex Flo Tips" diesel exhaust tips, D-Ring replacement "Monster Swivel Hook," new swivel hook mounts on all stock bumper tabs and factor 55 Fairlead. Contact: Marco Najarro: marco@monsterhooksinc.com; 408-313-0716. Website: www.monsterhooksinc.com.

MPC Group: Engineered three-piece, or performance light-weight one-piece, forged wheels. Contact: Masato Tsuchiya, Masato@mpcforged.com; 714-998-8462.

N-FAB: Nerf steps, rock rails, full replacement front bumpers, pre-runners, light bars, light brackets, rear runners and tire carriers. Contact: Doug Parks, doug@n-fab.com; 281-880-6322. Website: www.n-fab.com.

Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge: Bumpers, fender flares, hood catches, trim pieces, soft tops, skid plates and more for Jeep. Fender flares for trucks. Contact: Henk van Dongen, hvandongen@omix-ada.com; 770-614-6101. Website: www.Omix-ADA.com.

ORACLE Lighting: ORACLE Lighting SMD Headlight Halo Kits for Ford Raptor F150, GMC Sierra, Dodge Ram, and 2013 Dodge Charger. Professional installation service also available to confirmed display vehicles. Contact: Jonathan Barber, jonathan@oraclelights.com; 800-407-5776. Website: www.oraclelights.com.

Paramount Off-Road: Jeep/truck – Complete line of off-road front and rear bumpers, including fenders, rocker guards and sliders for Jeep JK/TJ. LED light bars and accessory lighting is available with vehicle-specific and universal mounting brackets. Lights include square, round and 50” combos. Contact: Victor Casillas, victorc@paramount-automotive.com. Website: www.paramount-automotive.com.

Paramount Restyling: Truck/SUV/Jeep/car and the new 2014 Silverado/Sierra/Tundra – Offering the latest in restyling and trim with a complete line of studded, billet and esh grilles with matching door/tailgate handles, and mirror covers in chrome or carbon fiber finish for most models through 2014. Contact: Victor Casillas, victorc@paramount-automotive.com. Website: www.paramount-automotive.com.

Paramount Workforce: Truck/SUV – Universal contractor racks and hitch-mounted accessories that include bed extenders, baskets and bike carriers for fullsize and compact trucks and SUVs. Contact: Victor Casillas, victorc@paramount-automotive.com. Website: www.paramount-automotive.com.

PIAA Corp. USA: Offroad lights, light bulbs and wiper blades. Contact: Justin MacLauchlan, justinm@piaa-usa.com; 503-489-6666.
Website: www.piaa.com.

Pro Comp/Smittybilt/Rubicon Express/G2 Axle & Gear: A set of LRG wheels available: 4 x 24x12 101 Series Wheels. 8x6.5 bolt pattern. Black/Milled. -44 Offset. Contact: Chloe Eady, ceady@procompusa.com; 310-900-3841. Website: www.lrgrims.com.

Retrax Truck Bed Covers: Complete line of retractable pickup bed covers. Contact: Andy Nephew, anephew@retrax.com; 701-746-5596. Website: www.retrax.com.

RAM Mounting Systems: Rugged vehicle mounts for mobile electronics. Single, double and triple suction cup mounts. Camera mounts, GoPro mounts and displays. Roll bar and rail mounts. Contact: Annie Bryant, annie.bryant@rammount.com; 206-763-8361.

Ranch Hand Truck Accessories: Front bumper replacements (traditional, bullnose, winch-ready), grille guards, back bumpers, running steps, steps, crossbox, headache rack systems for Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Ram, Toyota and certain products available for Jeep. Contact: Cherise Ratliff, cratliff@ranchhand.com; 361-594-4608. Website: www.ranchhand.com.

Rigid Industries: LED light bars, LED pod lighting, LED off-road lights, marine lighting. Contact: Taylor Anderson, Sponsorship@rigidindustries.com; 480-655-0100. Website: www.rigidindustries.com.

Scorpion Truck Bed Linings: Bed Liners, rocker panel protection, under coating, wheel well protection and full body sprays. Contact: Dana Mitchell, dana@alsliner.com; 800-999-6841. Website: www.scorpioncoatings.com.

Spyder Auto: L.E.D. taillights, CCFL projection headlights, light bar headlights. Contact: Mikey Lee, mikey@spyderauto.com; 626-934-8884. Website: www.spyderauto.com.

Steelmate Co. Ltd.: DIY TPMS with valve-cap external sensors/driving video recorder. Contact: Jane Lo, jane.lo@steel-mate.com.hk; 852-9651-4006. Website: www.steel-mate.com.

Surco Products Inc.: Roof & Hitch Mounted Basket Racks. All racks have custom adapters to adapt to any factory rack. We also can provide roof rails for any bare roof application. Contact: Osnat Surkin, osnatsurkin@surcoinc.com; 310-323-2520. Website: www.surcoinc.com.

TOFF Sprayed-on Bedliners: Sprayed-on bedliner. Contact: Jason Hamilton, jhamilton@toffliners.com; 214-716-1990. Website: www.toffliners.com.

TrailReady TR Products: Heavy-duty replacement front and rear bumpers, guards and winch mounts. Contact: Dorian Hartfield, dorian@truckaccessoriesnw.com; 888-910-2999. Website: www.trailready.com.

T-REX Grilles: T-REX Grilles offers a wide range of aftermarket grille styles—traditional Billet Grille Series, aggressive X-Metal Grille Series, performance-based Torch Series Grilles, luxurious Upper Class Grille Series and motorsports-inspired Sport Series Grille Series—all which provide the perfect solution for every style and taste. Thousand of applications available for trucks/SUVs/Jeeps/Autos, including the new 2014 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra/Toyota Tundra. After more than 16 years of cutting-edge design, development, fit and finish, the first stop for grilles is T-REX Grilles. Contact: Sponsorship Coordinator, info@trexbillet.com; 951-270-5388. Website: www.trexbillet.com.

TRIMAX: Innovative security products for performance trucks, trailer and tow, powersports and more, including: adjustable hitches in four styles, receiver locks, unattended-trailer locks, coupler locks, U-locks, chain and cable locks, door locks and padlocks. Contact: Jim Sentz, jim@trimaxlocks.com; 303-796-8500. Website: www.trimaxlocks.com.

Truck Accessories Group – Leer, Century, Pace Edwards, Raider: Pace Edwards Retractable tonneau cover. Leer fiberglass caps and tonneaus. Contact: Patricia Stewart, pstewart@truckgroup.com; 916-771-0196. Website: www.pace-edwards.com, www.leer.com.

Weld Racing: Truck, dually, trailer and street-performance wheels. Forged aluminum, precision-made wheels: 17- and 20-inch single rear wheel truck, 10 styles up to 20x14; 17-inch and 19.5 dually rear wheel truck, 10 styles; 16-inch trailer wheels to match truck and dually styles; 15-, 17-, 18- and 20-inch RTS line street wheels, 5 lug up to 20 x 17.5. Contact: Chris Bovis, cbovis@weldracing.com; 800-788-9353.

Westin Automotive Products: Nerf bars and running boards, grille guards and bull bars, light bars, winches (limited), winch mount trays, winch mount grille guards, wind deflectors and bug shields. Contact: Contact: Gabriela Cortes, gcortes@Westinautomotive.com; 626-960-6762 ext. 451. Website: www.westinautomotive.com.

Whistler: Tire-pressure monitoring system. Contact: JD Davis, jddavis@whistlergroup.com; 479-464-3522. Website: www.whistlergroup.com.

Vossen: 19–23 -inch luxury/sport concave wheels. We offer our class-leading CV wheels and our new one-piece, lightweight forged Vossen Precision Series. Contact: Mike Forsythe, mike@vossenwheels.com; 305-463-7778. Website: www.vossenwheels.com.

Interior Components/Accessories

BEDSLIDE/Takit Inc.: BEDSLIDE is simply a better way to access your truck bed by turning it into an easy-access drawer. The BEDSLIDE rolls all of your cargo out to you—saving time, effort and back pain. Available for SEMA project pickups, vans, SUVs and Jeeps. Contact: Jake Plappert, jake@takit.com; 239-340-9608. Website: www.bedslide.com.

Brandmotion: Infinity Frameless rearview mirrors, and Infinity Frameless mirror with Homelink. Contact: Geoff Dixon, gdixon@brandmotion.com; 734-619-1250, ext. 908. Website: www.brandmotion.com

CargoGlide: CargoGlide slide-out bed slides for trucks, vans, SUVs and work trucks. Quality engineered product with four models, offering 100% extension; three models with 70% extension, steel or aluminum. Contact: David McInturf, davidm@cargoglide.com; 877-525-9535. Website: www.cargoglide.com.

Eastwood Co.: Sound deadening material, interior dye, paints, trim restoration solutions and much more. Contact: Brian Huck, bhuck@eastwood.com; 610-705-5420. Website: www.eastwood.com.

Edge Products Inc./Superchips: Full line of tuning and monitoring products for '96–up vehicles. Contact: Jim McGinn, jmcginn@powerteq.com; 770-846-0327. Website: www.powerteq.com.

Husky Liners: Custom molded Floor Liners, All-weather Floor Mats, GearBox interior storage. Contact: Tara Duncan, tduncan@huskyliners.com; 800-344-8759. Website: www.huskyliners.com.

Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge: Floor liners, interior trim, seats, grab handles and more for Jeep. Floor liners for trucks. Contact: Henk van Dongen, hvandongen@omix-ada.com; 770-614-6101. Website: www.Omix-ADA.com.

RAM Mounting Systems: Rugged, mobile electronic mounts. Vehicle drill and no-drill laptop mounts. Vehicle tablet mounts for iPads, Samsung Galaxy and many more. Vehicle camera and GoPro mounts. Vehicle smartphone, (iPhone, Samsung and more) handheld GPS mounts. Single, double and triple suction cup mounts. Contact: Annie Bryant, annie.bryant@rammount.com; 206-763-8361.

Retro Manufacturing LLC: Radios, seatbelts, antennas, kick panels, power antennas, and speakers. Contact: Michael Robbins, mrobbins@retrosoundusa.com; 909-364-1372. Website: www.retrosoundusa.com.

ScanGauge-Linear Logic LLC: ScanGauge2, ScanGaugeE or ScanGaugeD. More than just a OBDII scan tool, the ScanGauge product line provides real-time feedback about driving style, more than 15 standard digital gauges, built-in trip computers, performance features and much more. Contact: Joey Snyder, joey.snyder@linear-logic.com; 480-656-4089. Website: www.ScanGauge.com.

Scorpion Truck Bed Linings: Interior heat and sound control, interior non-slip, easy to clean liners. Contact: Dana Mitchell, dana@alsliner.com; 800-999-6841. Website: www.scorpioncoatings.com.

Steelmate Co. Ltd.: TPMS with professional internal sensors/parking assist system/car alarm/motorcycle alarm. Jane Lo, jane.lo@steel-mate.com.hk; 852-9651-4006. Website: www.steel-mate.com.

Quiet Ride Solutions: Firewall insulator panels, AcoustiShield thermal acoustic automotive insulation kits (pre-cut, ready to install), molded truck headliner kits. See website for availability. Contact: Timothy Cox, timcox@quietride.com; 209-321-1454. Website: www.quietride.com.

Rigid Industries: Interior accent lighting. Contact: Taylor Anderson, Sponsorship@rigidindustries.com; 480-655-0100. Website: www.rigidindustries.com.

Takata Racing: 50-state legal two-inch or three-inch four-point harness, or cam-lock equipped four-point or six-point SFI FIA HANS harnesses for import, off-road, domestic, American muscle, European or race car applications. NEW Racing seat line include Street Pro LE, Race LE, or Drift LE. Takata shoulder comfort pads available in two-inch or three-inch for all enthusiasts. Contact: Brian Fox, fox@takataracing.com; 717-577-6449. Website: www.takataracing.com, www.schrothracing.com.

Vizualogic: Vizualogic's new Android SmartLogic headrest/tablet system: Kit would include "2" Perfect Match Replacement or Active Headrests. (We match the color, grain, and stitch of the factory headrest) with IR headphone option, "2" 7" five point capacitive touch screen tablets with Wi-Fi capabilities, front-facing camera, wireless FM modulator. Vehicle must be opened and attended to throughout the duration of the 2013 SEMA Show. System could also be used as an in-dash or console mount. Please submit complete build list, including renderings and/or pictures to walt@vizualogic.com. Contact: Walt Detlefsen, walt@vizualogic.com; 951-272-1996.

Westin Automotive Products: Floor mats and cargo mats, tool boxes and headache racks. Contact: Julie De Anda, JDeAnda@westinautomotive.com; 626-960-6762 ext. 450. Website: www.westinautomotive.com.

Wet Okole Hawaii: Seat covers – Wet Okole manufactures custom-fit, waterproof Neoprene seat covers for most of today's vehicles. More than 40 colors and several styles to choose from. Standard, Solid, Piping, RealTree Camos. Contact: Steven Grew, steven.grew@wetokole.com; 714-434-9000. Website: www.wetokole.com.

Whistler: High-performance laser radar detectors; power inverters. Contact: JD Davis, jddavis@whistlergroup.com; 479-464-3522. Website: www.whistlergroup.com.

XS Power Batteries: Power wire (0, 2, 4, and 8 gauge), batteries and chargers, along with with billet battery hold-downs. Contact: Nathan Way, nathan@xspowerbatteries.com; 888-497-7693. Website: www.4xspower.com.

Suspension/Brake Components

BDS Suspension: Complete suspension lifts kits for trucks and Jeeps. Contact: Kent Wyatt, kwyatt@bds-suspension.com, 517-279-2135, ext.135. Website: www.bds-suspension.com.

Dobinson USA: Coils, shock absorbers, torsion bars, leaf springs and bushings. Contact: David Otero, sales@dobinsonusa.com; 305-261-5424.

Eastwood Co.: Chassis paint, rust removal, blasting, powder coating, brake flaring tools, brake kits, hand and brake tools. Contact: Brian Huck, bhuck@eastwood.com; 610-705-5420. Website: www.eastwood.com.

Eibach Springs Inc.: Pro-Kit springs, Sportline springs. Contact: Ryan Hoegner, rhoegner@eibach.com; 951-256-8300. Website: www.eibach.com.

Energy Suspension: Hyper-Flex polyurethane control-arm bushings, sway bar and end-link bushings, leaf-spring and shock-eyelet bushings, cab and body mounts, bump stops and master kits for most popular car and truck applications. Contact: Michael Santa Cruz, msantacruz@energysuspension.com; 949-361-3935, ext. 235. Website: www.energysuspension.com.

Firestone Industrial Products: Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs kits and components, R4Tech suspension system, air accessory kits and component (air compressors, air tanks, gauges, etc). Contact: Todd Green, greentodd@fsip.com; 317-818-8661. Website: www.fsip.com.

Hellwig Products Co. Inc.: Hellwig Products designs and manufacturers products for better vehicle handling and load support. The products available include sway bars, helper springs and air. Contact: Melanie White, mwhite@hellwigproducts.com; 559-734-7451. Website: www.hellwigproducts.com.

JKS Manufacturing: Suspension solutions and accessories for late model Jeep vehicles. Contact: Kent Wyatt, kwyatt@truck-master.com; 517-278-7144, ext. 135. Website: www.jksmfg.com.

KW Automotive North America Inc.: Suspension-lowering components for trucks and SUVs, including spindles, complete kits, shock absorbers, anti-sway bars, etc. Contact: George Ciordas, george.ciordas@kwautomotive.com; 559-875-0222. Website: www.belltech.com.

Maxtrac Suspension: Lift, level, and lowering kits for trucks and SUVs. Contact: Bob Sager, bob@maxtracsuspension.com; 714-630-0363. Website: www.maxtracsuspension.com.

MGP Caliper Covers: Standard, licensed and custom caliper covers. Custom paint and engraving options are also available for select candidates. Contact: Ben Wong, ben.wong@calipercovers.com; 877-995-0003. Website: www.calipercovers.com.

Omix-ADA/Rugged Ridge: Lift kits, brake kits and drivetrain products for Jeep. Contact: Henk van Dongen, hvandongen@omix-ada.com; 770-614-6101. Website: www.Omix-ADA.com.

QA1: Shocks, struts, coil-over kits, control arms, k-members, sway bars, strut tower braces, torque arms, rod ends, ball joints and many other suspension components for a variety of applications. Contact: Kaitlyn Nelson, knelson@qa1.net; 952-985-5675. Website: www.QA1.net.

ReadyLift Suspension: Lift, leveling, off-road suspension kits, including control arms, steering kits, long-/mid-travel and off-road bumpers and components for pickups and SUVs. Contact: Steve Robinson, steve@readylift.com; 702-410-2300. Website: www.readylift.com

742 Marketing: Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ harness bar available in four different colors. Contact: Jeff Maldonado, info@seven42.com; 323-490-9440. Website: www.742marketing.com.

Timbren Industries Inc.: Suspension Enhancement System kit for Truck, Van, SUV or Jeep. Allows vehicle to haul or tow heavy loads without the vehicle sagging or squatting. Available also for off-road use to absorb bounce and shock. Takes the place of the factory bump-stop. Simple bolt in installation. Contact: Andrew Hodgson, ahodgson@timbren.com; 905-444-9004. Website: www.timbren.com.

Zone Offroad Products: Suspension lifts, body lifts, and accessories for trucks and Jeeps. Contact: Kent Wyatt, kwyatt@truck-master.com; 888-998-9663, ext. 2135. Website: www.zoneoffroad.com.

Wheels & Tires

Atturo Tire: Atturo Tires - AZ800, Trail Blade M/T and A/T. Contact: Michael Mathis, mmathis@atturo.com; 847-265-6146. Website: www.Atturo.com.

American Force Wheels: Dually wheels in 65 designs for all-terrain, mud-terrain, low-profile and big rig use and appearance. These wheels are custom manufactured in the USA from 6061 forged aluminum and high-quality materials. Sizes include 19” Direct Bolt-On, 19.5” Direct Bolt-On, 20”, 22”, 22.5”, 24”, 24.5” and 26” and are available in a 5-, 6-, 8- or 10-lug fitment. Super single wheels are available in a variety of applications and design configurations. Contact: Deyan Font, deyan@americanforcewheels.com; 786-345-6301. Website: www.americanforcewheels.com.

BMF Wheels: BMF Wheels is offering wheels for SEMA project builders. There are seven wheel designs to choose from in 17-, 18-, 20-, 22- and 24-inch diameters. Contact: Blake Ramthun, blake@bmfwheels.com; 888-313-2580. Website: www.bmfwheels.com.

Mackin Industries Inc.: Wheels for companies building SUV/crossover vehicles for SEMA show. RAYS is a premier manufacturer well known for top level racing wheels. The company has released a line of crossover/SUV wheels called HFULLCROSS. Contact: Edward Lee, elee@mackinindustries.com; 562-946-6820. Website: www.rays-msc.com/wheels/index.cgi?b=13

Vossen: 19–23 -inch luxury/sport concave wheels. We offer our class-leading CV wheels and our new one-piece, lightweight forged Vossen Precision Series. Contact: Mike Forsythe, mike@vossenwheels.com; 305-463-7778. Website: www.vossenwheels.com.

Other Products/Services

BOLT Locks: 1) The Padlock 2.0 is a chrome plated 5/16-inch hardened steel, spring loaded shackle lock inside a crush-resistant body shell. A stronger double ball bearing locking mechanism, it is the perfect lock for commercial and industrial applications. The automotive grade stainless steel lock keeps out weather and debris, ensuring a longer usage life. 2) The Receiver Lock is an auto-return spring and automatically locks when the key is removed. The solid stainless steel pin is durable and keeps out elements and debris. The six-plate tumbler sidebar prevents picking and bumping, guaranteeing your gear will be kept safe on your vehicle. 3) The Cable Lock is a six foot 1/4-inch coiled cable with a 1/16-inch black vinyl coating. The flexible cable is able to pin and loop over many items for added handiness and to keep items protected from picking and bumping. 4) BOLT also has Trailer Spare Tire Locks which fits the steel rim wheel to a studded mount. The locks are made with an electronic nickel plated carbon steel pin or shaft assembly for strength and durability. 5) The Toolbox Latch Retrofit Kit features a solid zinc core and an automotive-grade cylinder with patented six-plate tumbler sidebar to prevent picking and bumping. A stainless steel lock shutter keeps out grime and wetness. Contact: Shari Afrons, shari@mcculloughpr.com; 330-244-9980. Website: www.boltlock.com.

CargoGlide: CargoGlide slide-out bed slides for trucks, vans, SUVs and work trucks. Quality engineered product with four models, offering 100% extension; three models with 70% extension, steel or aluminum. Contact: David McInturf, davidm@cargoglide.com; 877-525-9535. Website: www.cargoglide.com.

Energy Suspension: Universal and custom polyurethane applications. Contact: Michael Santa Cruz, msantacruz@energysuspension.com; 949-361-3935, ext. 235. Website: www.energysuspension.com.

Fastway Trailer Products: Trailer accessories, Flip automatic tongue jack foot, weight distributing hitch with built in sway control (No- Chains), Zip coiled breakaway cable a trailer breakaway cable that won't drag. Tandem axle wheel chock. Contact: Trevor Millar, tmillar@fastwaytrailer.com; 877-523-9103. Website: www.fastwaytrailer.com.

Fuel Tool: Larger gasoline tank and transfer system that would allow the user to access gasoline from the vehicle's gas tank and transfer it out into any gas-powered equipment, eliminating the need for gas cans. Excellent for trucks, SUVs, Jeeps, vans, etc. Contact: Mike McAvey, mikemcavey@fueltool.com; 201-956-2350. Website: www.fueltool.com.

Hornblasters Inc.: Loudest train horn kits ever made. On board air systems, air horns, and air suspension kits. Contact: Rigo, Rigo@HornBlasters.com; 813-783-8058, ext. 305. Website: www.HornBlasters.com.

Quiet Ride Solutions: Underhood cover with insulation. Special vehicle-theme molding available. Contact: Timothy Cox, timcox@quietride.com; 209-321-1454. Website: www.quietride.com.

Scorpion Truck Bed Linings: High-build polyurethane and polyurea coatings.. Contact: Dana Mitchell, dana@alsliner.com; 800-999-6841. Website: www.scorpioncoatings.com.

SCT Performance: Custom-tuning assistance for project vehicles with unusual engine- and/or power-adder combinations. Contact: Tim Roi, tim@sctflash.com; 407-774-2447, ext. 137.

742 Marketing: We specialize in feature and booth vehicle outfitting. Are you in need of show/race/off-road vehicles to represent you at the 2013 SEMA Show? We have you covered. Contact: Jeff Maldonado, info@seven42.com; 323-490-9440. Website: www.742marketing.com.

Takata Racing: New Takata tow straps for race cars or show vehicles. Available in green and black, with Takata logo embroidered. Contact: Brian Fox, fox@takataracing.com; 717-577-6449. Website: www.takataracing.com, www.schrothracing.com.

VIAIR Corp.: Comprehensive line of air compressors and accessories for both the on- and off-road markets. Leader in 12-volt and 24-volt air compressors in the sport air suspension, on-board air and mobile pneumatics segments. Wurton LED off-road light line, including LED lighting, LED light bars, LED pod lighting and LED off-road lights. Contact: Joe Maynard, joem@viaircorp.com; 949-585-0011. Website: www.viaircorp.com, www.wurton.com

Wavetrac Differentials: Wavetrac differential. Contact: Dana Clark, info@wavetrac.net; 949-362-8700. Website: www.wavetrac.net.

Whistler: Diagnostic inspection camera. Contact: JD Davis, jddavis@whistlergroup.com; 479-464-3522. Website: www.whistlergroup.com.

XS Power Batteries: Starting batteries, power wire, billet hold-downs, and chargers. Contact: Nathan Way, nathan@xspowerbatteries.com; 888-497-7693. Website: www.4xspower.com.

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:56
 chevy

The shooters at KGP Photography just got their best look yet at GM's new heavy-duty pickups, thanks to this convoy of lightly disguised test trucks. The heavy vinyl camouflage that previously covered every inch of GM's prior HD pickup prototypes is now gone, in favor of body-hugging graphic camouflage. Only the front fascia utilizes a vinyl bra covering.

As the convoy whipped by in haste, trying to get back to the safety of the Proving Grounds gate, KGP shooters managed to snap shots of a GMC 2500 HD, GMC HD Denali, Chevy Silverado 2500 and 3500 HD Dualie—all in Crew Cab configurations.

The standard grille on the Sierra 2500 will have a new three-slot design, which differentiates it from the Sierra 1500 pickups that have already been unveiled. The Sierra HD models will maintain the single light cluster that is found on the 1500 models. The chrome mesh grille on the GMC HD Denali is truly a massive thing, and the chrome is carried through to the front and rear bumpers, door handles and chrome running boards.

The HD Chevy Silverados get more sedate grille work than their GMC counterparts, with their simple, horizontal slats. As on the Silverado 1500 models, the Silverado HDs get stacked headlights, split by a thick center crossbar that continues across the grille.

It appears that the same strategy taken by the recently released light-duty pickups—cautiously evolved exterior designs on the outside, with a thorough and thoughtful rethink of many of the truck's functional pieces—spread throughout the new models. Whether these changes are enough will be found out soon enough, when the HD pickups are finally released. January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit seems like the most logical debut, although a stand-alone reveal is also a distinct possibility to help cut through the auto show noise.

 chevy

KGP Photography

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:56
 chevy

The shooters at KGP Photography just got their best look yet at GM's new heavy-duty pickups, thanks to this convoy of lightly disguised test trucks. The heavy vinyl camouflage that previously covered every inch of GM's prior HD pickup prototypes is now gone, in favor of body-hugging graphic camouflage. Only the front fascia utilizes a vinyl bra covering.

As the convoy whipped by in haste, trying to get back to the safety of the Proving Grounds gate, KGP shooters managed to snap shots of a GMC 2500 HD, GMC HD Denali, Chevy Silverado 2500 and 3500 HD Dualie—all in Crew Cab configurations.

The standard grille on the Sierra 2500 will have a new three-slot design, which differentiates it from the Sierra 1500 pickups that have already been unveiled. The Sierra HD models will maintain the single light cluster that is found on the 1500 models. The chrome mesh grille on the GMC HD Denali is truly a massive thing, and the chrome is carried through to the front and rear bumpers, door handles and chrome running boards.

The HD Chevy Silverados get more sedate grille work than their GMC counterparts, with their simple, horizontal slats. As on the Silverado 1500 models, the Silverado HDs get stacked headlights, split by a thick center crossbar that continues across the grille.

It appears that the same strategy taken by the recently released light-duty pickups—cautiously evolved exterior designs on the outside, with a thorough and thoughtful rethink of many of the truck's functional pieces—spread throughout the new models. Whether these changes are enough will be found out soon enough, when the HD pickups are finally released. January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit seems like the most logical debut, although a stand-alone reveal is also a distinct possibility to help cut through the auto show noise.

 chevy

KGP Photography

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:56
 chevy

The shooters at KGP Photography just got their best look yet at GM's new heavy-duty pickups, thanks to this convoy of lightly disguised test trucks. The heavy vinyl camouflage that previously covered every inch of GM's prior HD pickup prototypes is now gone, in favor of body-hugging graphic camouflage. Only the front fascia utilizes a vinyl bra covering.

As the convoy whipped by in haste, trying to get back to the safety of the Proving Grounds gate, KGP shooters managed to snap shots of a GMC 2500 HD, GMC HD Denali, Chevy Silverado 2500 and 3500 HD Dualie—all in Crew Cab configurations.

The standard grille on the Sierra 2500 will have a new three-slot design, which differentiates it from the Sierra 1500 pickups that have already been unveiled. The Sierra HD models will maintain the single light cluster that is found on the 1500 models. The chrome mesh grille on the GMC HD Denali is truly a massive thing, and the chrome is carried through to the front and rear bumpers, door handles and chrome running boards.

The HD Chevy Silverados get more sedate grille work than their GMC counterparts, with their simple, horizontal slats. As on the Silverado 1500 models, the Silverado HDs get stacked headlights, split by a thick center crossbar that continues across the grille.

It appears that the same strategy taken by the recently released light-duty pickups—cautiously evolved exterior designs on the outside, with a thorough and thoughtful rethink of many of the truck's functional pieces—spread throughout the new models. Whether these changes are enough will be found out soon enough, when the HD pickups are finally released. January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit seems like the most logical debut, although a stand-alone reveal is also a distinct possibility to help cut through the auto show noise.

 chevy

KGP Photography

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:56
Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:44

 George Barris
George Barris
 Wade Kawasaki (right)
Wade Kawasaki (right)
 Joe Schubeck
Joe Schubeck
 Eric Grant (right)
Eric Grant (right)
  

SEMA News—August 2013

PEOPLE
By Mike Imlay and Carr Winn

Four Who Made a Difference

George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck Enter SEMA’s Hall of Fame

Often, those who truly make a difference never really set out to do so. They’re simply pursuing a dream, a passion. And yet, through sheer perseverance, innovation, dedication and a high dose of excellence, they somehow suddenly find themselves changing everything, revolutionizing an industry and inspiring a legion of followers.

Since 1969, the SEMA Hall of Fame has celebrated outstanding people who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or our trade association’s growth.

The bar for induction is deliberately set high. Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience with the specialty-equipment industry. Their influence must be at least national in scope. And finally, nominees must demonstrate technical achievement, unquestioned integrity and extraordinary leadership in advancing the industry.

This year’s inductees certainly fulfill all those criteria and more. George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck have each in their own way made monumental impacts on not only the aftermarket but on the broader automotive culture as well. SEMA News is proud to present their stories and achievements in the following pages. It’s impossible to imagine what ourindustry would be like today without their many and varied contributions.

It’s one thing to be successful in the automotive specialty-equipment industry; it’s quite another to make a positive, lasting impact.

George Barris

Legendary Vehicle Customizer

Is there a movie, television series or celebrity that George Barris hasn’t customized a car for?

That’s the question you have to ask when visiting his shop in North Hollywood, California. Every inch of the place is packed with photos and memorabilia from countless stars he has known and the Hollywood vehicles he has built for them over the course of his 60-plus-year career.

Remember K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider?” The General Lee from “Dukes of Hazard?” The “Munsters” coach and the “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup? Those are just a few of his many iconic creations. Then there’s also one of six Batmobiles he built for the ’60s “Batman” television series still sitting in his showroom. (The first of the group, which Barris customized from a ’55 Lincoln Futura concept car, went for $4.62 million at auction earlier this year.)

But it’s not his cars that Barris is most proud of; it’s the relationships he’s forged.

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
  
“I’m a people guy,” he smiled. “People to me are more important.”

Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.

Barris was born in Chicago, but his mother died when he was only three, leading him and his brother to move in with an uncle in Sacramento, California.

“When I went to school, I wanted to do cars,” he recalled, “so I went to Roseville High where they regretfully sent me to the metal class to make drainpipes. I didn’t want to make drainpipes. So I quit. Next I went to San Juan High School. Same thing. I said I wanted to design and make cars. They said, ‘We’ll put you in cooking class.’ I quit. I went and hung around a body shop. They taught me how to weld with an acetylene torch….”

Barris quickly put his shop skills to work, customizing his first car at age 14—a ’32 Ford with cat’s-eye taillights. He did eventually make his way back to high school for his diploma. Then, after his brother completed military service, the two resettled in Lynwood, California, where Barris opened his first custom shop.

“I got really strong into aftermarket parts, but I did not only do car parts; I did toys,” he said, explaining that he designed and constructed model cars for Revell and other toymakers in advance of real-life vehicle debuts. “Then, when I got married, my dear wife, who has since passed away, was very energetic about marketing,” he said, “so I learned how to be a marketing wizard along with creating and designing cars.”

And what is George’s favorite all-time innovation?

“I really don’t have one, because each one was a different challenge,” he answered modestly. “And I love challenges.”

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.  Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
    
Moreover, Barris has always drawn heavily on specialty equipment to meet his challenges. In fact, if he faults today’s customizers for anything, it’s in forgetting their aftermarket roots.

“The custom industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “Every show I go to is expanding. But we’re losing aftermarket parts—and by that I mean bolt-ons. Most everyone nowadays is chopping tops and so forth. They’re not putting on a bolt-on bumper, a headlight or something like that. They make everything now. The industry and SEMA need to continue to make it easier for the enthusiast not only to home-build, but shop-build a vehicle.”

Barris has promoted grassroots customizing with many how-to articles for Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and related magazines. And he’s still pushing fresh design trends for new cars, including hybrids. Despite a long list of international accolades, Barris considered induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame a special honor.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of associations, and I’ve gotten a lot of awards from the movie industry, but SEMA is my world,” he said. “I’m a car guy.”

Eric Grant

First SEMA Executive Director

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.
  
At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a “car guy” per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the ’50s and ’60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

“I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan,” recalled Grant. “I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960.

I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level.”

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who has degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

“Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965,” he said. “They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles.

I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal.”

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.  
  
Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers to service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

“When we did that, it just opened the floodgates,” he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

“We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania,” he quipped. “The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge.”

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. “They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles,” he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto safety arm for its
industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. He is now retired and living in San Diego.

Wade Kawasaki

From Gas Jockey to Aftermarket Executive

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those musclecars of the day with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store mainly from Scandinavia, searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena, California.

Kawasaki remembers their humble beginnings. “We used one bedroom as an office, our front porch as a loading dock and the living room as a warehouse, and packed product on our dining room table,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I used to make storage racks and little tunnels that I set up all around the house so we could walk through. Our home was filled to the top with automotive and marine products.

“In 1988, Rose joined our business full time, and we moved the business into our first warehouse. I fondly remember Rose typing invoices with our infant son in a Snugli on her lap, while I made numerous trips to the airport delivering freight in my Blazer.”

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Hoping for advice on operating his small but rapidly growing business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the newly established Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Through these volunteer efforts he was selected by his peers as Young Executive of the Year, the Chairman’s Service Award and SEMA’s Person of the Year. In 1996, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with his peers at member companies; he was interacting with legends of our industry and future mentors Brian Appelgate, Harry Hibler and Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of our work together in [SEMA] leadership—especially when I served as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. “Each day I get to enjoy my passion for performance vehicles, collaborate with people who I truly enjoy being with and whom I consider some of my closest friends,” he said. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected and tuned in to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, providing training for SEMA council leadership, facilitating the onboarding of newly elected members of SEMA’s Board of Directors or being called upon as a speaker during SEMA Show Education Day, he continues to generously donate his time to the association.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. They reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the entire family is active at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. His wife Rose runs their company and serves as the chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. They have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was also featured in several TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame (HOF), the entire family was beyond proud. “I’ve heard HOF members speak about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki. “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment for me. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I was totally speechless,” laughed Kawasaki.

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It is advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: “Become a lifelong learner, commit to something you’re truly passionate about and you can accomplish some really amazing things.”

“Gentleman Joe” Schubeck

Innovator of the Lakewood Scattershield Bellhousing

 Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.
  
Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Still in high school, Schubeck learned of a speed shop that just opened in Lakewood, Ohio, and soon met the owner, fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris. Jack couldn’t find the time to finish a dragster he had started and ultimately Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck’s fantasy of being a drag racer was about to come true…and his maiden voyage down the quarter-mile strip in Akron, Ohio, was against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up for what I thought was going to be a solo run, but then held me there while they brought up the Arfons’ ‘Bologna Slicer’ in the left lane, I was nervous, to put it mildly,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get away first and stay way over to the right, I’m going to be the sliced bologna they’re talking about.’”

Schubeck failed to shift his two-speed transmission into high gear and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out his flathead engine.

By his third year racing, Schubeck met Joe Scarpelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I built my own tubular chassis in 1958 explained Schubeck. “Our success created sales, so in 1959 I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

 Joe Schubeck 
  
One of the most difficult pieces to construct for the chassis was the aluminum Direct Drive bellhousing. So he went in search of a better way that would eliminate all the welding it took to produce the part. While visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a new metal fabrication process called Hydroforming.

Through persistence, he found open time on a machine that would make the part that he had designed. Using a special die and some circular flat aluminum plate, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing, just 24 seconds after the operator had hit the button. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris, now running “Rush Sales,” knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

Harris theorized that if the housing would contain a flywheel explosion, then Schubeck would be sitting on a multi-million dollar product. Turns out he was right. Making the housing using ductile ¼-in. steel in place of aluminum proved to be the secret, and in-house testing proved that it held the shrapnel from an exploding flywheel.

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he and his partner Bill Steiskal had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks. Lakewood Chassis Company had now transitioned into Lakewood Industries.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, i.e., Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now, I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to trade shows and setting up distributors to sell merchandise and all the challenges that go with producing and selling a product—that was a life changer for me.”

In addition to his business success, he also found a way to stay in touch with the dragstrip crowd. Much to his surprise, George Hurst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special Exhibition Funny Car they built and named the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile. It featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 hp. Initially, Schubeck was not interested in piloting the vehicle, but George had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid a few photographs down on the table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’ve hired for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And then George said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and as part of your pit crew, she’ll be there to take your top hat and white gloves as you get into the car.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentleman Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included formal long tails and even the bow tie was fireproof. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer of the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, after 50 years, his Lakewood Bellhousing innovation is still saving lives at tracks all across the country.

 

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:44

 George Barris
George Barris
 Wade Kawasaki (right)
Wade Kawasaki (right)
 Joe Schubeck
Joe Schubeck
 Eric Grant (right)
Eric Grant (right)
  

SEMA News—August 2013

PEOPLE
By Mike Imlay and Carr Winn

Four Who Made a Difference

George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck Enter SEMA’s Hall of Fame

Often, those who truly make a difference never really set out to do so. They’re simply pursuing a dream, a passion. And yet, through sheer perseverance, innovation, dedication and a high dose of excellence, they somehow suddenly find themselves changing everything, revolutionizing an industry and inspiring a legion of followers.

Since 1969, the SEMA Hall of Fame has celebrated outstanding people who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or our trade association’s growth.

The bar for induction is deliberately set high. Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience with the specialty-equipment industry. Their influence must be at least national in scope. And finally, nominees must demonstrate technical achievement, unquestioned integrity and extraordinary leadership in advancing the industry.

This year’s inductees certainly fulfill all those criteria and more. George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck have each in their own way made monumental impacts on not only the aftermarket but on the broader automotive culture as well. SEMA News is proud to present their stories and achievements in the following pages. It’s impossible to imagine what ourindustry would be like today without their many and varied contributions.

It’s one thing to be successful in the automotive specialty-equipment industry; it’s quite another to make a positive, lasting impact.

George Barris

Legendary Vehicle Customizer

Is there a movie, television series or celebrity that George Barris hasn’t customized a car for?

That’s the question you have to ask when visiting his shop in North Hollywood, California. Every inch of the place is packed with photos and memorabilia from countless stars he has known and the Hollywood vehicles he has built for them over the course of his 60-plus-year career.

Remember K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider?” The General Lee from “Dukes of Hazard?” The “Munsters” coach and the “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup? Those are just a few of his many iconic creations. Then there’s also one of six Batmobiles he built for the ’60s “Batman” television series still sitting in his showroom. (The first of the group, which Barris customized from a ’55 Lincoln Futura concept car, went for $4.62 million at auction earlier this year.)

But it’s not his cars that Barris is most proud of; it’s the relationships he’s forged.

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
  
“I’m a people guy,” he smiled. “People to me are more important.”

Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.

Barris was born in Chicago, but his mother died when he was only three, leading him and his brother to move in with an uncle in Sacramento, California.

“When I went to school, I wanted to do cars,” he recalled, “so I went to Roseville High where they regretfully sent me to the metal class to make drainpipes. I didn’t want to make drainpipes. So I quit. Next I went to San Juan High School. Same thing. I said I wanted to design and make cars. They said, ‘We’ll put you in cooking class.’ I quit. I went and hung around a body shop. They taught me how to weld with an acetylene torch….”

Barris quickly put his shop skills to work, customizing his first car at age 14—a ’32 Ford with cat’s-eye taillights. He did eventually make his way back to high school for his diploma. Then, after his brother completed military service, the two resettled in Lynwood, California, where Barris opened his first custom shop.

“I got really strong into aftermarket parts, but I did not only do car parts; I did toys,” he said, explaining that he designed and constructed model cars for Revell and other toymakers in advance of real-life vehicle debuts. “Then, when I got married, my dear wife, who has since passed away, was very energetic about marketing,” he said, “so I learned how to be a marketing wizard along with creating and designing cars.”

And what is George’s favorite all-time innovation?

“I really don’t have one, because each one was a different challenge,” he answered modestly. “And I love challenges.”

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.  Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
    
Moreover, Barris has always drawn heavily on specialty equipment to meet his challenges. In fact, if he faults today’s customizers for anything, it’s in forgetting their aftermarket roots.

“The custom industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “Every show I go to is expanding. But we’re losing aftermarket parts—and by that I mean bolt-ons. Most everyone nowadays is chopping tops and so forth. They’re not putting on a bolt-on bumper, a headlight or something like that. They make everything now. The industry and SEMA need to continue to make it easier for the enthusiast not only to home-build, but shop-build a vehicle.”

Barris has promoted grassroots customizing with many how-to articles for Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and related magazines. And he’s still pushing fresh design trends for new cars, including hybrids. Despite a long list of international accolades, Barris considered induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame a special honor.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of associations, and I’ve gotten a lot of awards from the movie industry, but SEMA is my world,” he said. “I’m a car guy.”

Eric Grant

First SEMA Executive Director

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.
  
At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a “car guy” per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the ’50s and ’60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

“I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan,” recalled Grant. “I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960.

I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level.”

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who has degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

“Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965,” he said. “They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles.

I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal.”

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.  
  
Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers to service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

“When we did that, it just opened the floodgates,” he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

“We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania,” he quipped. “The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge.”

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. “They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles,” he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto safety arm for its
industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. He is now retired and living in San Diego.

Wade Kawasaki

From Gas Jockey to Aftermarket Executive

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those musclecars of the day with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store mainly from Scandinavia, searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena, California.

Kawasaki remembers their humble beginnings. “We used one bedroom as an office, our front porch as a loading dock and the living room as a warehouse, and packed product on our dining room table,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I used to make storage racks and little tunnels that I set up all around the house so we could walk through. Our home was filled to the top with automotive and marine products.

“In 1988, Rose joined our business full time, and we moved the business into our first warehouse. I fondly remember Rose typing invoices with our infant son in a Snugli on her lap, while I made numerous trips to the airport delivering freight in my Blazer.”

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Hoping for advice on operating his small but rapidly growing business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the newly established Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Through these volunteer efforts he was selected by his peers as Young Executive of the Year, the Chairman’s Service Award and SEMA’s Person of the Year. In 1996, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with his peers at member companies; he was interacting with legends of our industry and future mentors Brian Appelgate, Harry Hibler and Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of our work together in [SEMA] leadership—especially when I served as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. “Each day I get to enjoy my passion for performance vehicles, collaborate with people who I truly enjoy being with and whom I consider some of my closest friends,” he said. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected and tuned in to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, providing training for SEMA council leadership, facilitating the onboarding of newly elected members of SEMA’s Board of Directors or being called upon as a speaker during SEMA Show Education Day, he continues to generously donate his time to the association.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. They reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the entire family is active at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. His wife Rose runs their company and serves as the chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. They have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was also featured in several TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame (HOF), the entire family was beyond proud. “I’ve heard HOF members speak about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki. “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment for me. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I was totally speechless,” laughed Kawasaki.

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It is advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: “Become a lifelong learner, commit to something you’re truly passionate about and you can accomplish some really amazing things.”

“Gentleman Joe” Schubeck

Innovator of the Lakewood Scattershield Bellhousing

 Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.
  
Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Still in high school, Schubeck learned of a speed shop that just opened in Lakewood, Ohio, and soon met the owner, fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris. Jack couldn’t find the time to finish a dragster he had started and ultimately Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck’s fantasy of being a drag racer was about to come true…and his maiden voyage down the quarter-mile strip in Akron, Ohio, was against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up for what I thought was going to be a solo run, but then held me there while they brought up the Arfons’ ‘Bologna Slicer’ in the left lane, I was nervous, to put it mildly,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get away first and stay way over to the right, I’m going to be the sliced bologna they’re talking about.’”

Schubeck failed to shift his two-speed transmission into high gear and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out his flathead engine.

By his third year racing, Schubeck met Joe Scarpelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I built my own tubular chassis in 1958 explained Schubeck. “Our success created sales, so in 1959 I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

 Joe Schubeck 
  
One of the most difficult pieces to construct for the chassis was the aluminum Direct Drive bellhousing. So he went in search of a better way that would eliminate all the welding it took to produce the part. While visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a new metal fabrication process called Hydroforming.

Through persistence, he found open time on a machine that would make the part that he had designed. Using a special die and some circular flat aluminum plate, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing, just 24 seconds after the operator had hit the button. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris, now running “Rush Sales,” knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

Harris theorized that if the housing would contain a flywheel explosion, then Schubeck would be sitting on a multi-million dollar product. Turns out he was right. Making the housing using ductile ¼-in. steel in place of aluminum proved to be the secret, and in-house testing proved that it held the shrapnel from an exploding flywheel.

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he and his partner Bill Steiskal had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks. Lakewood Chassis Company had now transitioned into Lakewood Industries.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, i.e., Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now, I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to trade shows and setting up distributors to sell merchandise and all the challenges that go with producing and selling a product—that was a life changer for me.”

In addition to his business success, he also found a way to stay in touch with the dragstrip crowd. Much to his surprise, George Hurst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special Exhibition Funny Car they built and named the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile. It featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 hp. Initially, Schubeck was not interested in piloting the vehicle, but George had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid a few photographs down on the table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’ve hired for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And then George said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and as part of your pit crew, she’ll be there to take your top hat and white gloves as you get into the car.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentleman Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included formal long tails and even the bow tie was fireproof. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer of the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, after 50 years, his Lakewood Bellhousing innovation is still saving lives at tracks all across the country.

 

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:44

 George Barris
George Barris
 Wade Kawasaki (right)
Wade Kawasaki (right)
 Joe Schubeck
Joe Schubeck
 Eric Grant (right)
Eric Grant (right)
  

SEMA News—August 2013

PEOPLE
By Mike Imlay and Carr Winn

Four Who Made a Difference

George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck Enter SEMA’s Hall of Fame

Often, those who truly make a difference never really set out to do so. They’re simply pursuing a dream, a passion. And yet, through sheer perseverance, innovation, dedication and a high dose of excellence, they somehow suddenly find themselves changing everything, revolutionizing an industry and inspiring a legion of followers.

Since 1969, the SEMA Hall of Fame has celebrated outstanding people who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or our trade association’s growth.

The bar for induction is deliberately set high. Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience with the specialty-equipment industry. Their influence must be at least national in scope. And finally, nominees must demonstrate technical achievement, unquestioned integrity and extraordinary leadership in advancing the industry.

This year’s inductees certainly fulfill all those criteria and more. George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck have each in their own way made monumental impacts on not only the aftermarket but on the broader automotive culture as well. SEMA News is proud to present their stories and achievements in the following pages. It’s impossible to imagine what ourindustry would be like today without their many and varied contributions.

It’s one thing to be successful in the automotive specialty-equipment industry; it’s quite another to make a positive, lasting impact.

George Barris

Legendary Vehicle Customizer

Is there a movie, television series or celebrity that George Barris hasn’t customized a car for?

That’s the question you have to ask when visiting his shop in North Hollywood, California. Every inch of the place is packed with photos and memorabilia from countless stars he has known and the Hollywood vehicles he has built for them over the course of his 60-plus-year career.

Remember K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider?” The General Lee from “Dukes of Hazard?” The “Munsters” coach and the “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup? Those are just a few of his many iconic creations. Then there’s also one of six Batmobiles he built for the ’60s “Batman” television series still sitting in his showroom. (The first of the group, which Barris customized from a ’55 Lincoln Futura concept car, went for $4.62 million at auction earlier this year.)

But it’s not his cars that Barris is most proud of; it’s the relationships he’s forged.

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
  
“I’m a people guy,” he smiled. “People to me are more important.”

Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.

Barris was born in Chicago, but his mother died when he was only three, leading him and his brother to move in with an uncle in Sacramento, California.

“When I went to school, I wanted to do cars,” he recalled, “so I went to Roseville High where they regretfully sent me to the metal class to make drainpipes. I didn’t want to make drainpipes. So I quit. Next I went to San Juan High School. Same thing. I said I wanted to design and make cars. They said, ‘We’ll put you in cooking class.’ I quit. I went and hung around a body shop. They taught me how to weld with an acetylene torch….”

Barris quickly put his shop skills to work, customizing his first car at age 14—a ’32 Ford with cat’s-eye taillights. He did eventually make his way back to high school for his diploma. Then, after his brother completed military service, the two resettled in Lynwood, California, where Barris opened his first custom shop.

“I got really strong into aftermarket parts, but I did not only do car parts; I did toys,” he said, explaining that he designed and constructed model cars for Revell and other toymakers in advance of real-life vehicle debuts. “Then, when I got married, my dear wife, who has since passed away, was very energetic about marketing,” he said, “so I learned how to be a marketing wizard along with creating and designing cars.”

And what is George’s favorite all-time innovation?

“I really don’t have one, because each one was a different challenge,” he answered modestly. “And I love challenges.”

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.  Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
    
Moreover, Barris has always drawn heavily on specialty equipment to meet his challenges. In fact, if he faults today’s customizers for anything, it’s in forgetting their aftermarket roots.

“The custom industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “Every show I go to is expanding. But we’re losing aftermarket parts—and by that I mean bolt-ons. Most everyone nowadays is chopping tops and so forth. They’re not putting on a bolt-on bumper, a headlight or something like that. They make everything now. The industry and SEMA need to continue to make it easier for the enthusiast not only to home-build, but shop-build a vehicle.”

Barris has promoted grassroots customizing with many how-to articles for Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and related magazines. And he’s still pushing fresh design trends for new cars, including hybrids. Despite a long list of international accolades, Barris considered induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame a special honor.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of associations, and I’ve gotten a lot of awards from the movie industry, but SEMA is my world,” he said. “I’m a car guy.”

Eric Grant

First SEMA Executive Director

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.
  
At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a “car guy” per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the ’50s and ’60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

“I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan,” recalled Grant. “I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960.

I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level.”

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who has degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

“Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965,” he said. “They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles.

I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal.”

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.  
  
Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers to service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

“When we did that, it just opened the floodgates,” he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

“We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania,” he quipped. “The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge.”

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. “They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles,” he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto safety arm for its
industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. He is now retired and living in San Diego.

Wade Kawasaki

From Gas Jockey to Aftermarket Executive

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those musclecars of the day with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store mainly from Scandinavia, searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena, California.

Kawasaki remembers their humble beginnings. “We used one bedroom as an office, our front porch as a loading dock and the living room as a warehouse, and packed product on our dining room table,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I used to make storage racks and little tunnels that I set up all around the house so we could walk through. Our home was filled to the top with automotive and marine products.

“In 1988, Rose joined our business full time, and we moved the business into our first warehouse. I fondly remember Rose typing invoices with our infant son in a Snugli on her lap, while I made numerous trips to the airport delivering freight in my Blazer.”

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Hoping for advice on operating his small but rapidly growing business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the newly established Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Through these volunteer efforts he was selected by his peers as Young Executive of the Year, the Chairman’s Service Award and SEMA’s Person of the Year. In 1996, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with his peers at member companies; he was interacting with legends of our industry and future mentors Brian Appelgate, Harry Hibler and Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of our work together in [SEMA] leadership—especially when I served as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. “Each day I get to enjoy my passion for performance vehicles, collaborate with people who I truly enjoy being with and whom I consider some of my closest friends,” he said. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected and tuned in to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, providing training for SEMA council leadership, facilitating the onboarding of newly elected members of SEMA’s Board of Directors or being called upon as a speaker during SEMA Show Education Day, he continues to generously donate his time to the association.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. They reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the entire family is active at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. His wife Rose runs their company and serves as the chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. They have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was also featured in several TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame (HOF), the entire family was beyond proud. “I’ve heard HOF members speak about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki. “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment for me. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I was totally speechless,” laughed Kawasaki.

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It is advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: “Become a lifelong learner, commit to something you’re truly passionate about and you can accomplish some really amazing things.”

“Gentleman Joe” Schubeck

Innovator of the Lakewood Scattershield Bellhousing

 Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.
  
Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Still in high school, Schubeck learned of a speed shop that just opened in Lakewood, Ohio, and soon met the owner, fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris. Jack couldn’t find the time to finish a dragster he had started and ultimately Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck’s fantasy of being a drag racer was about to come true…and his maiden voyage down the quarter-mile strip in Akron, Ohio, was against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up for what I thought was going to be a solo run, but then held me there while they brought up the Arfons’ ‘Bologna Slicer’ in the left lane, I was nervous, to put it mildly,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get away first and stay way over to the right, I’m going to be the sliced bologna they’re talking about.’”

Schubeck failed to shift his two-speed transmission into high gear and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out his flathead engine.

By his third year racing, Schubeck met Joe Scarpelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I built my own tubular chassis in 1958 explained Schubeck. “Our success created sales, so in 1959 I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

 Joe Schubeck 
  
One of the most difficult pieces to construct for the chassis was the aluminum Direct Drive bellhousing. So he went in search of a better way that would eliminate all the welding it took to produce the part. While visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a new metal fabrication process called Hydroforming.

Through persistence, he found open time on a machine that would make the part that he had designed. Using a special die and some circular flat aluminum plate, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing, just 24 seconds after the operator had hit the button. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris, now running “Rush Sales,” knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

Harris theorized that if the housing would contain a flywheel explosion, then Schubeck would be sitting on a multi-million dollar product. Turns out he was right. Making the housing using ductile ¼-in. steel in place of aluminum proved to be the secret, and in-house testing proved that it held the shrapnel from an exploding flywheel.

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he and his partner Bill Steiskal had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks. Lakewood Chassis Company had now transitioned into Lakewood Industries.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, i.e., Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now, I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to trade shows and setting up distributors to sell merchandise and all the challenges that go with producing and selling a product—that was a life changer for me.”

In addition to his business success, he also found a way to stay in touch with the dragstrip crowd. Much to his surprise, George Hurst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special Exhibition Funny Car they built and named the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile. It featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 hp. Initially, Schubeck was not interested in piloting the vehicle, but George had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid a few photographs down on the table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’ve hired for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And then George said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and as part of your pit crew, she’ll be there to take your top hat and white gloves as you get into the car.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentleman Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included formal long tails and even the bow tie was fireproof. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer of the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, after 50 years, his Lakewood Bellhousing innovation is still saving lives at tracks all across the country.

 

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:44

 George Barris
George Barris
 Wade Kawasaki (right)
Wade Kawasaki (right)
 Joe Schubeck
Joe Schubeck
 Eric Grant (right)
Eric Grant (right)
  

SEMA News—August 2013

PEOPLE
By Mike Imlay and Carr Winn

Four Who Made a Difference

George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck Enter SEMA’s Hall of Fame

Often, those who truly make a difference never really set out to do so. They’re simply pursuing a dream, a passion. And yet, through sheer perseverance, innovation, dedication and a high dose of excellence, they somehow suddenly find themselves changing everything, revolutionizing an industry and inspiring a legion of followers.

Since 1969, the SEMA Hall of Fame has celebrated outstanding people who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or our trade association’s growth.

The bar for induction is deliberately set high. Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience with the specialty-equipment industry. Their influence must be at least national in scope. And finally, nominees must demonstrate technical achievement, unquestioned integrity and extraordinary leadership in advancing the industry.

This year’s inductees certainly fulfill all those criteria and more. George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck have each in their own way made monumental impacts on not only the aftermarket but on the broader automotive culture as well. SEMA News is proud to present their stories and achievements in the following pages. It’s impossible to imagine what ourindustry would be like today without their many and varied contributions.

It’s one thing to be successful in the automotive specialty-equipment industry; it’s quite another to make a positive, lasting impact.

George Barris

Legendary Vehicle Customizer

Is there a movie, television series or celebrity that George Barris hasn’t customized a car for?

That’s the question you have to ask when visiting his shop in North Hollywood, California. Every inch of the place is packed with photos and memorabilia from countless stars he has known and the Hollywood vehicles he has built for them over the course of his 60-plus-year career.

Remember K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider?” The General Lee from “Dukes of Hazard?” The “Munsters” coach and the “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup? Those are just a few of his many iconic creations. Then there’s also one of six Batmobiles he built for the ’60s “Batman” television series still sitting in his showroom. (The first of the group, which Barris customized from a ’55 Lincoln Futura concept car, went for $4.62 million at auction earlier this year.)

But it’s not his cars that Barris is most proud of; it’s the relationships he’s forged.

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
  
“I’m a people guy,” he smiled. “People to me are more important.”

Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.

Barris was born in Chicago, but his mother died when he was only three, leading him and his brother to move in with an uncle in Sacramento, California.

“When I went to school, I wanted to do cars,” he recalled, “so I went to Roseville High where they regretfully sent me to the metal class to make drainpipes. I didn’t want to make drainpipes. So I quit. Next I went to San Juan High School. Same thing. I said I wanted to design and make cars. They said, ‘We’ll put you in cooking class.’ I quit. I went and hung around a body shop. They taught me how to weld with an acetylene torch….”

Barris quickly put his shop skills to work, customizing his first car at age 14—a ’32 Ford with cat’s-eye taillights. He did eventually make his way back to high school for his diploma. Then, after his brother completed military service, the two resettled in Lynwood, California, where Barris opened his first custom shop.

“I got really strong into aftermarket parts, but I did not only do car parts; I did toys,” he said, explaining that he designed and constructed model cars for Revell and other toymakers in advance of real-life vehicle debuts. “Then, when I got married, my dear wife, who has since passed away, was very energetic about marketing,” he said, “so I learned how to be a marketing wizard along with creating and designing cars.”

And what is George’s favorite all-time innovation?

“I really don’t have one, because each one was a different challenge,” he answered modestly. “And I love challenges.”

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.  Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
    
Moreover, Barris has always drawn heavily on specialty equipment to meet his challenges. In fact, if he faults today’s customizers for anything, it’s in forgetting their aftermarket roots.

“The custom industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “Every show I go to is expanding. But we’re losing aftermarket parts—and by that I mean bolt-ons. Most everyone nowadays is chopping tops and so forth. They’re not putting on a bolt-on bumper, a headlight or something like that. They make everything now. The industry and SEMA need to continue to make it easier for the enthusiast not only to home-build, but shop-build a vehicle.”

Barris has promoted grassroots customizing with many how-to articles for Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and related magazines. And he’s still pushing fresh design trends for new cars, including hybrids. Despite a long list of international accolades, Barris considered induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame a special honor.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of associations, and I’ve gotten a lot of awards from the movie industry, but SEMA is my world,” he said. “I’m a car guy.”

Eric Grant

First SEMA Executive Director

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.
  
At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a “car guy” per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the ’50s and ’60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

“I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan,” recalled Grant. “I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960.

I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level.”

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who has degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

“Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965,” he said. “They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles.

I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal.”

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.  
  
Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers to service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

“When we did that, it just opened the floodgates,” he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

“We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania,” he quipped. “The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge.”

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. “They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles,” he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto safety arm for its
industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. He is now retired and living in San Diego.

Wade Kawasaki

From Gas Jockey to Aftermarket Executive

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those musclecars of the day with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store mainly from Scandinavia, searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena, California.

Kawasaki remembers their humble beginnings. “We used one bedroom as an office, our front porch as a loading dock and the living room as a warehouse, and packed product on our dining room table,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I used to make storage racks and little tunnels that I set up all around the house so we could walk through. Our home was filled to the top with automotive and marine products.

“In 1988, Rose joined our business full time, and we moved the business into our first warehouse. I fondly remember Rose typing invoices with our infant son in a Snugli on her lap, while I made numerous trips to the airport delivering freight in my Blazer.”

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Hoping for advice on operating his small but rapidly growing business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the newly established Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Through these volunteer efforts he was selected by his peers as Young Executive of the Year, the Chairman’s Service Award and SEMA’s Person of the Year. In 1996, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with his peers at member companies; he was interacting with legends of our industry and future mentors Brian Appelgate, Harry Hibler and Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of our work together in [SEMA] leadership—especially when I served as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. “Each day I get to enjoy my passion for performance vehicles, collaborate with people who I truly enjoy being with and whom I consider some of my closest friends,” he said. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected and tuned in to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, providing training for SEMA council leadership, facilitating the onboarding of newly elected members of SEMA’s Board of Directors or being called upon as a speaker during SEMA Show Education Day, he continues to generously donate his time to the association.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. They reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the entire family is active at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. His wife Rose runs their company and serves as the chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. They have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was also featured in several TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame (HOF), the entire family was beyond proud. “I’ve heard HOF members speak about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki. “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment for me. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I was totally speechless,” laughed Kawasaki.

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It is advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: “Become a lifelong learner, commit to something you’re truly passionate about and you can accomplish some really amazing things.”

“Gentleman Joe” Schubeck

Innovator of the Lakewood Scattershield Bellhousing

 Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.
  
Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Still in high school, Schubeck learned of a speed shop that just opened in Lakewood, Ohio, and soon met the owner, fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris. Jack couldn’t find the time to finish a dragster he had started and ultimately Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck’s fantasy of being a drag racer was about to come true…and his maiden voyage down the quarter-mile strip in Akron, Ohio, was against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up for what I thought was going to be a solo run, but then held me there while they brought up the Arfons’ ‘Bologna Slicer’ in the left lane, I was nervous, to put it mildly,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get away first and stay way over to the right, I’m going to be the sliced bologna they’re talking about.’”

Schubeck failed to shift his two-speed transmission into high gear and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out his flathead engine.

By his third year racing, Schubeck met Joe Scarpelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I built my own tubular chassis in 1958 explained Schubeck. “Our success created sales, so in 1959 I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

 Joe Schubeck 
  
One of the most difficult pieces to construct for the chassis was the aluminum Direct Drive bellhousing. So he went in search of a better way that would eliminate all the welding it took to produce the part. While visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a new metal fabrication process called Hydroforming.

Through persistence, he found open time on a machine that would make the part that he had designed. Using a special die and some circular flat aluminum plate, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing, just 24 seconds after the operator had hit the button. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris, now running “Rush Sales,” knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

Harris theorized that if the housing would contain a flywheel explosion, then Schubeck would be sitting on a multi-million dollar product. Turns out he was right. Making the housing using ductile ¼-in. steel in place of aluminum proved to be the secret, and in-house testing proved that it held the shrapnel from an exploding flywheel.

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he and his partner Bill Steiskal had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks. Lakewood Chassis Company had now transitioned into Lakewood Industries.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, i.e., Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now, I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to trade shows and setting up distributors to sell merchandise and all the challenges that go with producing and selling a product—that was a life changer for me.”

In addition to his business success, he also found a way to stay in touch with the dragstrip crowd. Much to his surprise, George Hurst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special Exhibition Funny Car they built and named the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile. It featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 hp. Initially, Schubeck was not interested in piloting the vehicle, but George had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid a few photographs down on the table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’ve hired for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And then George said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and as part of your pit crew, she’ll be there to take your top hat and white gloves as you get into the car.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentleman Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included formal long tails and even the bow tie was fireproof. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer of the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, after 50 years, his Lakewood Bellhousing innovation is still saving lives at tracks all across the country.

 

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 08:44

 George Barris
George Barris
 Wade Kawasaki (right)
Wade Kawasaki (right)
 Joe Schubeck
Joe Schubeck
 Eric Grant (right)
Eric Grant (right)
  

SEMA News—August 2013

PEOPLE
By Mike Imlay and Carr Winn

Four Who Made a Difference

George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck Enter SEMA’s Hall of Fame

Often, those who truly make a difference never really set out to do so. They’re simply pursuing a dream, a passion. And yet, through sheer perseverance, innovation, dedication and a high dose of excellence, they somehow suddenly find themselves changing everything, revolutionizing an industry and inspiring a legion of followers.

Since 1969, the SEMA Hall of Fame has celebrated outstanding people who have enhanced the stature of, or significantly contributed to, the industry and/or our trade association’s growth.

The bar for induction is deliberately set high. Candidates must have at least 10 years of experience with the specialty-equipment industry. Their influence must be at least national in scope. And finally, nominees must demonstrate technical achievement, unquestioned integrity and extraordinary leadership in advancing the industry.

This year’s inductees certainly fulfill all those criteria and more. George Barris, Eric Grant, Wade Kawasaki and Joe Schubeck have each in their own way made monumental impacts on not only the aftermarket but on the broader automotive culture as well. SEMA News is proud to present their stories and achievements in the following pages. It’s impossible to imagine what ourindustry would be like today without their many and varied contributions.

It’s one thing to be successful in the automotive specialty-equipment industry; it’s quite another to make a positive, lasting impact.

George Barris

Legendary Vehicle Customizer

Is there a movie, television series or celebrity that George Barris hasn’t customized a car for?

That’s the question you have to ask when visiting his shop in North Hollywood, California. Every inch of the place is packed with photos and memorabilia from countless stars he has known and the Hollywood vehicles he has built for them over the course of his 60-plus-year career.

Remember K.I.T.T. from “Knight Rider?” The General Lee from “Dukes of Hazard?” The “Munsters” coach and the “Beverly Hillbillies” pickup? Those are just a few of his many iconic creations. Then there’s also one of six Batmobiles he built for the ’60s “Batman” television series still sitting in his showroom. (The first of the group, which Barris customized from a ’55 Lincoln Futura concept car, went for $4.62 million at auction earlier this year.)

But it’s not his cars that Barris is most proud of; it’s the relationships he’s forged.

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
  
“I’m a people guy,” he smiled. “People to me are more important.”

Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.

Barris was born in Chicago, but his mother died when he was only three, leading him and his brother to move in with an uncle in Sacramento, California.

“When I went to school, I wanted to do cars,” he recalled, “so I went to Roseville High where they regretfully sent me to the metal class to make drainpipes. I didn’t want to make drainpipes. So I quit. Next I went to San Juan High School. Same thing. I said I wanted to design and make cars. They said, ‘We’ll put you in cooking class.’ I quit. I went and hung around a body shop. They taught me how to weld with an acetylene torch….”

Barris quickly put his shop skills to work, customizing his first car at age 14—a ’32 Ford with cat’s-eye taillights. He did eventually make his way back to high school for his diploma. Then, after his brother completed military service, the two resettled in Lynwood, California, where Barris opened his first custom shop.

“I got really strong into aftermarket parts, but I did not only do car parts; I did toys,” he said, explaining that he designed and constructed model cars for Revell and other toymakers in advance of real-life vehicle debuts. “Then, when I got married, my dear wife, who has since passed away, was very energetic about marketing,” he said, “so I learned how to be a marketing wizard along with creating and designing cars.”

And what is George’s favorite all-time innovation?

“I really don’t have one, because each one was a different challenge,” he answered modestly. “And I love challenges.”

 Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed.  Indeed, Barris has known—and built cars for—an extensive roster of legendary customers: Clark Gable, James Dean, Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and the entire Rat Pack. The names go on. Given all his achievements, it’s interesting that his high-school principal considered him least likely to succeed. 
    
Moreover, Barris has always drawn heavily on specialty equipment to meet his challenges. In fact, if he faults today’s customizers for anything, it’s in forgetting their aftermarket roots.

“The custom industry is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “Every show I go to is expanding. But we’re losing aftermarket parts—and by that I mean bolt-ons. Most everyone nowadays is chopping tops and so forth. They’re not putting on a bolt-on bumper, a headlight or something like that. They make everything now. The industry and SEMA need to continue to make it easier for the enthusiast not only to home-build, but shop-build a vehicle.”

Barris has promoted grassroots customizing with many how-to articles for Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Car Craft and related magazines. And he’s still pushing fresh design trends for new cars, including hybrids. Despite a long list of international accolades, Barris considered induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame a special honor.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of associations, and I’ve gotten a lot of awards from the movie industry, but SEMA is my world,” he said. “I’m a car guy.”

Eric Grant

First SEMA Executive Director

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.
  
At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part. A lawyer by trade, he couldn’t be classified as a “car guy” per se. Yet his profound impact on the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s earliest years cannot be disputed. After all, he was SEMA’s very first executive director—and how that came to be involved an incredible twist of fate.

In the ’50s and ’60s, local, state and federal governments were increasingly regulating emissions and vehicle performance parts to address air quality and safety concerns. The aftermarket felt threatened, and yet the industry surprisingly tapped one of the most ardent regulators to lead SEMA. That was Grant. He turned out to be the right man for the job at exactly the right time, ushering in a period of tremendous association growth.

“I got involved with government regulations at cabinet level for California’s then-governor Ronald Reagan,” recalled Grant. “I was with what is now known as the California Air Resources Board, but at that time it was the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board. I got involved in 1960.

I had four years with the local air pollution control district in Los Angeles, which is now known as the South Coast Air Basin. I was selected by the county board of supervisors to represent Southern California at the state level.”

He also served under President Johnson at the federal level to help establish the precursor to what has now become the Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant, who has degrees in law and engineering, was a staunch advocate of air-quality standards. But he also believed in the specialty-equipment industry’s ability to meet those standards.

“Representatives of SEMA came to me sometime between 1963 and 1965,” he said. “They were most concerned that the laws that were being put together were going to restrict the ability of the aftermarket to produce parts for motor vehicles.

I sat down with Willie Garner, Dean Moon and a whole bunch of other people and said, ‘Look, I’ve already put in the law, but if you can build a better product, you’re going to be legal.”

 At first glance, Eric Grant may seem an unlikely SEMA Hall of Fame candidate. He never owned a garage, never built a performance vehicle, never manufactured or even sold an automotive part.  
  
Somehow, there was a meeting of the minds, with the industry representatives realizing they needed someone like Grant at SEMA’s helm and Grant realizing the good that SEMA could do for automotive issues. By 1968, he found himself leaving his government responsibilities to direct SEMA, which had only about 25 to 30 members at the time.

As executive director, he was instrumental in changing the name of what was then known as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association to the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association. A bylaws change also opened SEMA to the entire range of aftermarket businesses, from manufacturers to distributors and from retailers to service providers. (That inclusiveness would eventually lead to the organization’s Specialty Equipment Market Association moniker, which is still in use today.)

“When we did that, it just opened the floodgates,” he stated proudly, noting that SEMA had grown to more than 500 member companies by the time he left. But the early years were not easy.

“We were faced with legal challenges by the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and a bunch of wackos in Pennsylvania,” he quipped. “The challenges we faced were keeping the aftermarket legal. Because I had the experience writing the laws, I was able to exercise knowledge.”

Detroit also proved less than friendly to the young trade association. “They didn’t want anyone messing around with their vehicles,” he remembered.

Under Grant, however, SEMA met those obstacles head on, setting best practices and product standards for its membership that met and often surpassed the automakers’ specifications. Meanwhile, the association also forged a strong alliance with the National Hot Rod Association, acting as a de facto safety arm for its
industry friend.

After his stint as executive director ended in 1973, Grant continued several years with SEMA as its legal council and governmental affairs officer. He is now retired and living in San Diego.

Wade Kawasaki

From Gas Jockey to Aftermarket Executive

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old. The year was 1970, and he was working at his father’s Shell gas station, which Kawasaki describes as a window into what was coming in his life. “Just filling up those musclecars of the day with gas, washing their windows and checking their oil—I got to look under their hoods,” he explained. “That was cool stuff!”

Fast forward to 1978, and Kawasaki was working as a counterman for the Retail Speed Shop and Accessories Centers chain. From this vantage point, he observed a steady influx of customers from overseas. Enthusiasts were walking into the store mainly from Scandinavia, searching for American musclecar parts. In an effort to better serve those customers, Kawasaki suggested that his employer start an export department, but his boss saw no need and thought that if people wanted to buy parts, they’d come into the stores.

Although his effort was initially rejected, the idea eventually spawned a business plan. In 1987, Kawasaki and his wife Rose, started their own company—Exports International—in their two-bedroom house in Gardena, California.

Kawasaki remembers their humble beginnings. “We used one bedroom as an office, our front porch as a loading dock and the living room as a warehouse, and packed product on our dining room table,” said Kawasaki. “We literally had 4x8 plywood sheets that I used to make storage racks and little tunnels that I set up all around the house so we could walk through. Our home was filled to the top with automotive and marine products.

“In 1988, Rose joined our business full time, and we moved the business into our first warehouse. I fondly remember Rose typing invoices with our infant son in a Snugli on her lap, while I made numerous trips to the airport delivering freight in my Blazer.”

 Wade Kawasaki was pumping gas at the corner of Venice and Vermont in Downtown Los Angeles when he was just 10 years old.
  
Hoping for advice on operating his small but rapidly growing business, Kawasaki joined SEMA. As a member of the association, he took advantage of every member benefit available, including global shipping incentives, marketing opportunities and the most important tool—networking. It was former SEMA Vice President Don Turney who encouraged him to get actively involved, beginning with an effort to try to organize SEMA’s younger professionals.

His volunteer work with the newly established Young Executives Network was only the beginning. Through these volunteer efforts he was selected by his peers as Young Executive of the Year, the Chairman’s Service Award and SEMA’s Person of the Year. In 1996, Kawasaki was elected to the SEMA Board of Directors. Suddenly, he wasn’t just networking with his peers at member companies; he was interacting with legends of our industry and future mentors Brian Appelgate, Harry Hibler and Corky Coker.

“Here’s a guy from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who I would probably never have met, in a segment of the industry that I knew very little about—vintage tires,” said Kawasaki. “And because of our work together in [SEMA] leadership—especially when I served as secretary/treasurer for the Board—it’s led to this opportunity to work with Corky.”

At present, Kawasaki is the executive vice president of Coker Group, which includes 11 different companies. And despite his success, he remains humble about his ongoing career, stating simply that it is a tremendous blessing. “Each day I get to enjoy my passion for performance vehicles, collaborate with people who I truly enjoy being with and whom I consider some of my closest friends,” he said. He even admits that he’s enjoying things far too much to consider retirement.

Kawasaki also remains as committed as ever to SEMA, insisting that there’s always a need to stay connected and tuned in to the industry. Whether he’s serving as a sponsor/organizer for the annual SEMA Show Prayer Breakfast, providing training for SEMA council leadership, facilitating the onboarding of newly elected members of SEMA’s Board of Directors or being called upon as a speaker during SEMA Show Education Day, he continues to generously donate his time to the association.

In addition to SEMA, Kawasaki also enjoys spending time with his family. They reside in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, where the entire family is active at Rolling Hills Covenant Church. His wife Rose runs their company and serves as the chair of the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network. They have two children, Timothy and Alyssa. Timothy also seems to have picked up the automotive bug and currently works as the materials manager at Wheel Vintiques. Alyssa also has a love for cars and was recently chosen to do a radio commercial for the Ford Focus. Based on the success of the radio spot, she was also featured in several TV commercials.

Even though his family is clearly no stranger to success, when SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting contacted Kawasaki to announce that he had been selected to enter the Hall of Fame (HOF), the entire family was beyond proud. “I’ve heard HOF members speak about getting that call from Chris,” said Kawasaki. “It was pretty much a heart-stopping moment for me. I am rarely at a loss for words, but I was totally speechless,” laughed Kawasaki.

Certainly things have changed since he was pumping gas at that Shell station, but all of his success originates from a simple life lesson. It is advice he hopes future generations will take to heart: “Become a lifelong learner, commit to something you’re truly passionate about and you can accomplish some really amazing things.”

“Gentleman Joe” Schubeck

Innovator of the Lakewood Scattershield Bellhousing

 Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.
  
Turning the pages of Petersen’s Hot Rod magazine, Joe Schubeck fell in love with drag racing. At age 13, he read all the articles written by Wally Parks, and those stories ignited a lifelong passion.

Still in high school, Schubeck learned of a speed shop that just opened in Lakewood, Ohio, and soon met the owner, fellow drag-racing enthusiast Jack Harris. Jack couldn’t find the time to finish a dragster he had started and ultimately Schubeck “inherited” the dragster and started working on it immediately. Just before his high-school graduation, Schubeck’s fantasy of being a drag racer was about to come true…and his maiden voyage down the quarter-mile strip in Akron, Ohio, was against the Arfons brothers.

“They lined me up for what I thought was going to be a solo run, but then held me there while they brought up the Arfons’ ‘Bologna Slicer’ in the left lane, I was nervous, to put it mildly,” said Schubeck. “Arfons had a really big engine, and it looked like a locomotive next to me. When I looked over, all I saw were the blades of his propellers spinning next to my head, and I thought, ‘If I don’t get away first and stay way over to the right, I’m going to be the sliced bologna they’re talking about.’”

Schubeck failed to shift his two-speed transmission into high gear and ultimately lost his first race. Afterward, he met the entire Arfons family and realized two things: Drag racing was incredibly fun, and he needed to swap out his flathead engine.

By his third year racing, Schubeck met Joe Scarpelli, an expert on Chrysler Hemi engines from Cleveland, Ohio. The two decided to build a Double A gas dragster with a blown Chrysler Hemi, and that’s when things took off.

“I built my own tubular chassis in 1958 explained Schubeck. “Our success created sales, so in 1959 I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

 Joe Schubeck 
  
One of the most difficult pieces to construct for the chassis was the aluminum Direct Drive bellhousing. So he went in search of a better way that would eliminate all the welding it took to produce the part. While visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a new metal fabrication process called Hydroforming.

Through persistence, he found open time on a machine that would make the part that he had designed. Using a special die and some circular flat aluminum plate, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bellhousing, just 24 seconds after the operator had hit the button. It was a tremendous product, and his old friend Jack Harris, now running “Rush Sales,” knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into grandstands, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators.

Harris theorized that if the housing would contain a flywheel explosion, then Schubeck would be sitting on a multi-million dollar product. Turns out he was right. Making the housing using ductile ¼-in. steel in place of aluminum proved to be the secret, and in-house testing proved that it held the shrapnel from an exploding flywheel.

The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he and his partner Bill Steiskal had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of the new steel bellhousings on trucks. Lakewood Chassis Company had now transitioned into Lakewood Industries.

“All the manufacturers that I read about through Petersen’s magazines, i.e., Iskenderian, Edelbrock, now, I was a player with them,” Schubeck said. “Going to trade shows and setting up distributors to sell merchandise and all the challenges that go with producing and selling a product—that was a life changer for me.”

In addition to his business success, he also found a way to stay in touch with the dragstrip crowd. Much to his surprise, George Hurst reached out to Schubeck with a unique opportunity to pilot a special Exhibition Funny Car they built and named the Hurst Hairy Oldsmobile. It featured two blown nitro-burning engines, slicks on all four corners and boasted at least 5,000 hp. Initially, Schubeck was not interested in piloting the vehicle, but George had a trick up his sleeve.

“George laid a few photographs down on the table and said, ‘I want you to see the new girl I’ve hired for Miss Golden Shifter,’” Schubeck said. “She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And then George said, ‘Her name is Linda Vaughn, and as part of your pit crew, she’ll be there to take your top hat and white gloves as you get into the car.’”

Schubeck was sold on the project, and Jim Dietz agreed to craft a fire suit befitting of the nickname “Gentleman Joe.” The tuxedo-like suit included formal long tails and even the bow tie was fireproof. For two final seasons, Joe Schubeck was back where he started, rocketing down local dragstrips.

As a former member of the SEMA Board of Directors and a pioneer of the SEMA Safety Committee, Schubeck’s dedication to drag racing is truly inspiring. It is the association’s privilege to now invite him to take his place in the Hall of Fame alongside fellow legends in the specialty-equipment industry. He always wanted to sit behind the wheel of a dragster but was willing to sacrifice his racing career. As a result, after 50 years, his Lakewood Bellhousing innovation is still saving lives at tracks all across the country.