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THE HISTORY OF BELL AUTO PARTS | AMERICA'S FIRST SPEED SHOP

By Speedway Tech Team
3/15/2024
Add Article To List
Tags: Street, History, Hot Rod History, Model A


SOCAL’S FIRST HOT ROD SPEED SHOP

Dean Batchelor, in his book The All-American Hot Rod, says "First there was
George Wight, Then Lee Chapel, then Karl Orr and then everyone got into the
act." In 1923, an enterprising character named George Wight established an
auto-wrecking yard at 3633 East Gage Ave. in Bell near southeast Los Angeles. In
the twenties half of all the cars on the road were Model T Fords. There were
hundreds of companies making accessories and performance parts for the T Ford.
George would scavenge these junkyard hotrods for parts and developed a business
refurbishing and reselling early speed parts. It is also important to remember
that during this time that stripped down Model Ts were running on dirt tracks
all over the Los Angeles area and Legion Ascot Speedway was in its prime,
drawing huge crowds, just a few miles north near Alhambra.


OHV FLAT HEAD FORD HISTORY

In 1928 George built the original brick building. He would sell parts, offer
advice, take your race car on consignment and generally entertain the racing
community. He sold new and used Miller and Winfield carburetors, along with
overhead valve conversions for the new Model A built by George Riley and Crane
Gartz (CRAGAR). Crane had purchased the patterns and tooling for the Cragar head
from the Miller-Schofield Co. Late in 1932 the Cragar Corporation, Ltd. failed
after making a good name for itself in vintage drag racing. The name might have
been lost except for George Wight who made Crane an offer for the patterns and
inventory. George was much more than a horse trader. It wasn't long before he
had "improved" the Cragar head into a cross flow design for better breathing.
Bell Auto Parts was one of the most important hot rod speed shops in the country
when the war came, and all racing activity was put on hold. George died in 1943
and his widow kept the doors open throughout the war.


1945-1953 | ROY RITCHER AND THE ORIGINAL PARTS CATALOG



If there is a "Top Ten" for the personalities that had the greatest effect on
the development of racing in America Roy Richter would certainly be included.
Art Bagnall's book, Roy Richter, Striving for Excellence (out of print) is the
definitive work on Roy, his accomplishments, and Bell Auto Parts. This is a must
have for your library and if you see a copy used take it home with you. It was
the inspiration for this site and this pursuit.

Roy was a winning driver and an accomplished chassis and body builder. He built
some of the most beautiful midgets, sprints, and champ cars. He won the National
Championship with his "Richter Streamliner" (Rail and Tether Cars) that he
manufactured and sold before the war. He already had a strong reputation in
racing when he purchased Bell Auto Parts from George's widow in 1945.

Roy had a great sense for business, experience selling through the mail with his
tether cars and placed himself in the right place at the right time.

There was a huge burst of racing activity after the war. The HOPUP market (that
had really begun before the war) was exploding. There were many racers and
craftsmen that had developed speed parts. They made heads, cams, manifolds,
flywheels and other items. They would be successful if they could just "go to
market." Roy placed Bell Auto parts between these "manufacturers" and the huge
demand that was building. He signed up for many of these companies and became a
distributor for names like Iskenderian, Edelbrock and Wieand. In 1946 Roy
stapled up the first catalog of racing parts and "Racing's General Store" was
born.

The second huge effect that this strategic decision had was it made it easy for
small shops across the country to deal with one company and add a full line of
speed parts to their available inventory. Local racing got a huge boost and a
whole industry was born. By 1948, Bell Auto Parts had thousands of independent
dealers and was a national catalog business. The customer or reseller could
choose from some 10K items to support his racing interest. Roy and Bell Auto
Parts never stopped developing products in-house. The famous Bell steering wheel
and the "Dural" hand pumps are among the most recognizable. In the early 50's
the Cragar name was used on many parts, like transmission adaptors. In 1952 Roy
started a foreign car dealership for British cars. He sold MG, Austin Healy, and
Jaguar.


1954-1987 | BELL AUTO RACING HELMETS AND CRAGAR MAGS

It was really a success that changed the outlook for Bell Auto Parts. This came
in two waves. The first was the huge growth of the speed equipment and
aftermarket business, that Bell Auto Parts was instrumental in developing. It
became so big that more traditional ways of marketing and distribution were
needed. The multiple roles of Bell Auto Parts as a retail store, catalog store,
warehouse distributor and manufacturer were confusing for customers and
employees. In 1955, Roy Richter incorporated the Cragar Equipment Company,
reviving the old racing name George Wight had bought from Crane Gartz in 1933.
The Cragar name was used on most new parts that were developed. The second wave
of success was the explosive growth of two products, the Bell Auto racing helmet
and the Cragar SS wheel. In 1954 Roy began to manufacture the Bell Helmet. Bell
Auto Parts was already selling many Andersons and Cromwell (British) helmets
through its distribution network. Roy knew the potential for this business. This
is quite a story, and again, I will refer you to Art Bagnall's book Roy Richter,
Striving for Excellence to learn more. The Cragar SS wheel was not a copy but a
new innovative way to manufacture custom wheels. Roy's team created a strong and
attractive wheel suitable for racing. By 1964 the Bell Auto racing helmet
operation had moved to Long Beach and the Cragar wheel business moved to South
Gate, and it would soon move again to Compton. In 1965 the demands of these
manufacturing businesses were causing cash flow problems for Bell Auto Parts.
Then in 1967 Roy legally separated the businesses and created a holding company
called Roy Richter Enterprises. The businesses were later sold off. In 1971 the
Wynn Oil Company purchased control of Cragar Industries and Bell Helmets. Later
in 1978 the remaining companies were sold to long-time employees. Desert
Dynamics was sold to John Glew and Jot Thorne. The Bell Safety Distributorship
was purchased by Kenny Parks. He then started Bell Motorsports. Bell Auto Parts
and the remaining inventory was sold to Chuck Strader who ran the business from
a location in Huntington Beach for another 10 years. Through this, Roy was
dedicated to taking care of his team. He passed away much too soon in July of
1983.


BELL AUTO RACING HELMETS TODAY

Today, Speedway Motors proudly continues the racing legacy of Bell Auto Parts,
offering a range of Bell Auto racing helmets and safety equipment. As a brand
deeply rooted in racing, particularly in dirt and oval track disciplines,
Speedway Motors understands the importance of innovation while adhering to
evolving safety standards. Alongside these cutting-edge helmets, Speedway Motors
also pays homage to old-school racing nostalgia with vintage speed shop t-shirts
and vintage hot rod signs.





PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE

 * Bell KC7-CMR CMR-2016 Helmet
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