In 1896, Bradford, Pennsylvania was like any other small town - except it was home to the Holley family. It was during this time that George and Earl Holley took an interest in motorcycle racing.
At nineteen years of age, George designed and built the Runabout. The Runabout, a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a single cylinder engine, could impressively reach speeds of 30 miles per hour.
This invention of the Runabout shifted the Holley brothers' interest from motorcycles to the emerging automotive industry. George and Earl founded the Holley Motor Company and introduced the Motorette in 1903, which inspired Henry Ford to request Holley to produce a carburetor for his Model T. The carburetor, called the Iron Pot, quickly became an automotive success and became standard on Ford vehicles as well as the curved-dash Oldsmobile.
By 1907, 600 Motorettes had been produced in Bradford. Currently, three Motorettes are known to exist, including a completely restored model on display at the Holley corporate headquarters. By the end of '07, the Holley brothers had redirected their manufacturing efforts to carburetors and ignition systems for Buick, Ford, Pierce-Arrow, and Winton. The company's name changed to The Holley Brothers Company as a result.
The change in direction influenced George and Earl to relocate their headquarters from Bradford to Detroit, Michigan. Late in 1907, the doors opened to the first Holley plant in the Detroit area. Thanks to the booming automotive industry and a diversified industrial approach (due to World War I), the company changed its name to The Holley Carburetor Company in January of 1918.
In 1927, Holley created an aviation division to develop carburetors which could be found on aircraft belonging to Curtiss-Wright, American Airlines, Pan-American Airlines, as well as the armed forces of the United States. By 1933, Holley was manufacturing ignition devices and fuel pumps. During World War II, nearly half of the vehicles in the United States armed forces bore the Holley name in the form of carburetors and fuel metering devices.
In 1948, Holley entered the automotive aftermarket, supplying carburetor repair kits and authentic Holley parts to garages and service stations. Kentucky and Tennessee became home to new plants, in order to meet ever-growing production requirements. By 1951, Holley had relocated its headquarters just north of Detroit in Warren, Michigan.
The following year, a new 250,000 square foot manufacturing plant was opened in Bowling Green, KY. Holley's product development continued and led to the first modular carburetor, the 4150, in 1957. After introduction, the 4150 quickly became standard equipment on the 1957 Ford Thunderbird. By 1965, the 100,000,000th carburetor came off the Holley assembly line.
1968 would see the merger of Holley with Colt Industries. Under the Colt Industries banner, the Holley original equipment and aftermarket business continued to thrive and expand. The Holley Replacement Parts division was created in 1979 to meet customer demand and to promote continued growth of the company. This divisional approach allowed more emphasis to be placed on the development, promotion and sales for the replacement and performance aftermarket. Expanded product lines were added to an already broad carburetor and performance product line, which included: electrical and ignition components, intake manifolds, fuel pumps and Mickey Thompson performance products. Fuel Injection systems and components would soon be added to this list as well. As Holley became the automotive performance leader of the world, the 1980's saw the opening of the Remanufacturing plant in Springfield, TN.
In 1994, Holley underwent major changes. The original equipment division was sold to Borg-Warner, which led to the relocation of Holley Replacement Parts' headquarters to Bowling Green, KY. At this time, the company's name became Holley Performance Products.
Over the next several years the Holley name was placed on Hirel Technologies Fuel Injection, Weiand Automotive Industries, Lunati, Hooker Headers, Flowtech Exhaust, Earl's Performance Plumbing, and NOS. These acquisitions have allowed customers to purchase any performance product, all made with the Holley approach to quality.