Where was Youtube when we needed it?
The intent of most new product launches is to be spectacular. You know, create an indelible impression that a particular innovation is needed by consumers. Build demand. A burning desire to own one of the things. Stuff like that. Especially when something believed to be revolutionary comes along.
Well, there was a time in the unfolding of Edelbrock history when such an event occurred, emboldened by the idea that a “launch” would provide the necessary energy to quickly capture market share through an identity with something already known to consumers. And while the idea eventually met with resounding success, events along the way to that benchmark proved both interesting and amusing…the latter of which we’ll attempt to describe for you.
Here’s the background. Edelbrock was about to introduce an intake manifold concept (principally for low rpm, high torque, fuel economy engines in the RV/towing/street vehicle market) that combined the best features of single-plane and two-plane design. It was to be known as a single-plane/two-plane concept, abbreviated into S.P. 2-P. Simple enough.
Concurrently was the emerging success of the movie Star Wars Episode IV, populated by a variety of commercially-exploitable characters that included a meter-high droid dubbed
R2-D2. You remember him. Small plastic models of the little guy were invading everything from McDonald’s meals containers to Cracker Jack boxes. So it was a no-brainer that Edelbrock reckoned having an R2-D2 present in its SEMA Show display introducing the new S.P. 2-P. manifold would be a smash success. Looking back, anything relative to “smash” was prophetic.
But there was a problem. Well, actually three. When I contacted the movie production company to see what might be done about a rental, I was informed (1) a sequel to Star Wars was in the making so nothing was available, (2) none of the five or six droids they’d used were radio-controlled (as we'd thought), using little people inside the props to provide activation, and (3) Universal Studios wasn’t in the business of renting their properties.
Hot rodders aren’t easily discouraged, though. After conferring with Vic, we (the R&D crew) received his blessing to “build” our own meter-high R2-D2 replica…in the form of S.P. 2-P. Now we had our own problem. Only four weeks remained before the SEMA Show and the only “plans” we had on hand were two bubble gum cards depicting the real R2-D2. That was it.
We virtually shut down the R&D department to anything intake-manifold related. A complete set of plans were drawn and parts collection commenced. Assembly literally began while drawings were still being made. Days turned into nights, nights turned into weekends. And as our own version of the little droid took shape, he also began to take on a personality. The replication was remarkable. We were producing the first R2-D2 that was fully radio-controlled and self-propelled…and you need to focus on that last statement because it became one of the focal points of the story.
Not only was S.P. 2-P. self-propelled, he was replete with a gear box, power supply and 6-inch o.d. rubber-ringed drive wheels that would create traction beyond expectations, even on slick surfaces. He tipped the scales approaching 120 pounds, ready to roll.
