Huffaker Engineering has been more successful, over a longer period of time, and in more forms of motorsport, than any other American racecar manufacturer. Who else has built winning sports racers, production cars, Trans-Am sedans, Formula cars and Indy racers besides Joe Huffaker and his son, Joe. Their engines powered amateur and semi-pro drivers to hundreds of club racing victories and dozens of SCCA National Championships. Starting with specials and svelte front-engined Formula Juniors, the Huffakers left their mark on Jaguars, MGs, DeTomasos, Pontiacs, Jensens, Triumphs, Ferraris and even Cobra replicas. And they are still at it today, with two more trophies for victories in the 2002 SCCA Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. It’s time to take a look back at this high-performance institution and see how it came to be the long-haul champ of American racing.
Marston Healey
Joe Huffaker began his automotive career building dirt-track cars in California. His family moved to California when he was 18, and he was immediately interested in the burgeoning hot rod movement. He soon went to work building dirt-track midgets with Al Stein. After getting his degree from the College of Marin, he started building his own dirt-track roadsters. Roadster racing was extremely popular after WWII, with pre-war bodies (usually Model T Ford) bolted to Ford or Chevy frame rails. Huffaker’s cars were raced by greats Bob Sweikert and Bob Veith. He later ran an appliance repair shop and then a Montgomery Ward service center.
