Schiefer Manufacturing

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Schiefer set up shop in a service station in San Diego. As his passion for the speed and performance industry grew, so did Schiefer's involvement in the West Coast hot-rodding scene. According to Carl, his father was an avid dry-lakes racer. "He built engines with his buddy Vic Edelbrock Sr.," the younger Schiefer said. "Out of that, he developed a flywheel and clutch company." During the late '40s, the gas station eventually evolved into the office of Schiefer Manufacturing.

The majority of his research was carried out on his Ford flathead-powered "T." His never-ending search for more power and durability from his performance parts led Schiefer to produce the first lightweight, ribbed-type cast-aluminum flywheels. The flywheels would not distort or warp even under the harshest of operating conditions. Word of Schiefer's new product spread quickly and, as is often the case with a successful entrepreneur, one successful design was followed by another.

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Schiefer set up shop in a service station in San Diego. As his passion for the speed and performance industry grew, so did Schiefer's involvement in the West Coast hot-rodding scene. According to Carl, his father was an avid dry-lakes racer. "He built engines with his buddy Vic Edelbrock Sr.," the younger Schiefer said. "Out of that, he developed a flywheel and clutch company." During the late '40s, the gas station eventually evolved into the office of Schiefer Manufacturing.

The majority of his research was carried out on his Ford flathead-powered "T." His never-ending search for more power and durability from his performance parts led Schiefer to produce the first lightweight, ribbed-type cast-aluminum flywheels. The flywheels would not distort or warp even under the harshest of operating conditions. Word of Schiefer's new product spread quickly and, as is often the case with a successful entrepreneur, one successful design was followed by another.

As horsepower numbers continued to rise, so did the number of exploding flywheels. Schiefer's answer to the problem was a copper and steel spray coating. The patented process covered the contact area of the pressure plate and aluminum flywheel and provided an improved coefficient of friction and increased wear resistance.

Schiefer's continuous experimentation led to his next product development, called the Albro. The Albro was a forged-aluminum flywheel that was developed along with a new bonded-bronze clutch facing. Around 1956, with the assistance of Bud Bragdon, Schiefer Manufacturing started mass-producing clutches that were guaranteed to be explosion proof. As word of the indestructible nature of Schiefer's components spread, they quickly became the products of choice for hardcore drag racers.

Schiefer Manufacturing continued to grow during the '60s. Under the elder Schiefer's guidance, the company became the largest manufacturer of specialty drivetrain components in the world.

They were then purchased by Hurst Performance Inc.

Subject ID: 10322

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Subject ID: 10322