READY TO MAKE AWESOME STUFF AGAIN There was a time when nearly every cool pro street car you saw at an event had at least some super-trick machined and anodized aluminum Performance Engineering parts under the hood. While the hiatus was hard for us to swallow, we are thrilled to say owner and founder Jim Tolson (center) is back in business and has even developed some new parts to complement his classic line of cup washers, fasteners, and other trick pieces. Joining Tolson in the PE facility is machine shop tech Conley (left) and production manager James (right).
PERFORMANCE
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n the first heyday of pro street, there were some items that were almost essential for any car. Mickey Thompson Sportsmans on Weld Drag Lites (and later Pro Stars) fit my list. Anodized Moroso valve covers and air cleaners did, too. Some sort of “Pro Street” lettering in the upper
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left of the windshield was a must, as well. And not long after those staples, along came the Performance Engineering cup washer. Although the anodized aluminum cup washer was eventually recreated by a number of manufacturers, the very first one came from the mind and mill of Jim Tolson in his small Oklahoma-based shop. “My interest began at an early age for cars, motorcycles, or anything that had the possibility of going faster,” Tolson said. “In the early ’80s I had an industrial 2016
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machine shop and I also had a drag boat and wanted to dress up the engine. I decided to make some washers for the Allen bolts,” he added. The result eventually turned into what we now know as cup washers. They served two purposes: the larger base served to widene the holding surface of a normal Allen bolt, and of course, the piece acted as a washer, too. But there was more. “My boat and trailer were blue, so I sent the parts I’d made off to the plater to have them anodized to match.
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When I got those parts back, I really got excited, because I knew that I had hit on something special,” he said. Business skyrocketed from there. Seemingly overnight, everyone had to have the cool anodized aluminum cup washers on their build. “It was like almost everyone who saw the boat wanted some for their own projects. I started out making hundreds at a time. It went to thousands within weeks… and grew from there. Before I knew it, I was off and running,” Tolson said.
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Re-ENGINEERED Legendary speed parts company back in business
What started out as a fun idea for his own boat rapidly turned into the Performance Engineering Company, a flourishing business built to supply hundreds of speed shops and hot rodders across the country with functional and good looking machined aluminum fasteners and parts. The product line rapidly expanded. PE added Cup Caps to their offerings to totally conceal the bolt head. Then machined dipstick handles, air cleaner nuts, and knurled carb and valve cover studs followed, along with unique two-piece valve
covers. PE was a street machining phenomenon. “One day, my dad, who was one of the most practical men I’ve ever known, and certainly not a car guy, walked into the shop,” Tolson recalled. “He walked around and talked to all the guys, and kept picking up the different parts and looking everything over. He finally came over to me, gave me a big hug, and said, ‘Son, I’m so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished here…but I gotta tell you. I don’t know one person who would buy any of this s#!& !!,” Tolson
recalled said with a hearty laugh. Tolson’s father obviously didn’t frequent street machining circles, because people DID want to “…buy that s#!&.” Case in point, when I was 12 years old I asked my parents for two things for Christmas: a pair of chrome Moroso valve covers with matching air cleaner for the ’72 Nova my dad was letting me help him build…and the blue anodized Performance Engineering hardware (knurled valve cover hold downs and an air cleaner nut) to bolt it
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BROOKS photos provided
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all down. I was thrilled on Christmas morning to see that familiar yellow and red plastic skinned packaging with my beautiful hardware inside. As other competitors saw how popular the products were, it was only a matter of time before copycats would emerge. Over time, demand dwindled and Tolson eventually moved on to other pursuits. Performance Engineering closed the doors in the late ’90s. Last year we began looking for Performance Engineering and soon discovered nary a trace of the once-sole source for SAE cup washers. A myriad of companies now produce a similar product in metric sizes, but we were unable to find anyone anywhere who still made a cup washer to fit a standard/ non-metric Allen bolt. Undeterred, we scoured the internet for new old stock PE parts, finding a large stash
with Tubbed reader Ron Stroup that we promptly purchased. But it wasn’t enough for what we needed. We called several machine shops about manufacturing some new parts, only to find out the astronomical cost associated with shortrun/one-off CNC machining. We eventually contacted a manufacturer in China and had some samples made, but we were not satisfied with the quality. We had plans for other parts and pieces, too. After all, the theme of our build is old school meets new school. The PE parts would have been a perfect complement to many of the high tech parts and pieces on our ride. But sadly, they were no more. Until they were once more. “After years of retirement, I’ve realized that the interest I had as a young man is still as strong as ever,” Tolson said. “My wife and I go occasionally
to car shows, and we never fail to run into a lot of the same old crowd, and some with the same Performance Engineering parts on their cars,” he said. The market has changed dramatically since the 1990s during the peak years of PE’s first run. “There are very few warehouses that that stock speed parts and hardly any one shops that way. It’s all internet so, we decided to give it go again,” he said. That’s right kids...you read it here first. Performance Engineering is back with a number of classic products already in production with a number of new items and more in the development process, as well. You’ll see as many PE parts and pieces as we can manage to squeeze onto Project aPocalypSe Horse in the coming months. Tolson already crafted a gaggle of cool shoulder washers for
LIKE NO OTHER The fit and finish of Performance Engineering products is unsurpassed, and the attention to detail is unlike anything you’ll find in cheap Chinese rip-offs. The convenient cup washer bolt kits come with high-quality fasteners and detailed and colorful cup washers for intakes, water pumps, thermostat housings, timing chain covers, and oil pans. They still come neatly shrink packed in the familiar red and yellow packaging we lusted for at swap meets and speed shops back in the day.
HIGHER TECH PE products have always added a high tech look to hot rods, street machines, and pro streeters. However, unlike years past, many of the new pieces are CNC machined for precision fit. That said, the hand mills are still used, and all are manned by American craftsmen who aren’t just working at a job, they are creating products with passion. One look and you’ll notice the difference.It shows.
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our button-headed Allen fasteners that will secure the carbon fiber work on the car—a product we are hoping sees production for larger size bolts in the future—and we are busy looking over the build to see where else we can add a dash of function and a splash of color. Be sure to check out
Performance Engineering’s new website at www. performanceengineering. us in the next few weeks and months for new stuff, including valve covers, carburetor linkage plates, fuel pump block-off plates, as well as cup washer and bolts kits for popular foreign and domestic cars and motor cycles.
“Thank you in advance for your interest and support,” Tolson added graciously. “It’s good to be back!” We couldn’t agree more, Jim. It’s great to have you back!
CLASSIC LOOKS PLUS NEW DESIGNS PE has brought back staples of their product line like their famous Cup Caps that completely conceal a cup washered Allen bolt, but they have also designed new itemss like their cool Spike Caps. Other products like their valve cover and air cleaner holddowns have been updated, too.
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PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING www.performanceengineeringparts.com 918.243.5588
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