Just read that Holley decided to shut down Hilborn department. Don Enriques and 2 others were all that came to Holley after the purchase and were a wealth of knowledge that will now be gone. Very, very sad news!
@402BOSSMAN purchased a huge stash of Hilborn castings and small parts, I bet he’s learned much from Don Enriquez and Gene Adams. They are still around but he’ll carry the torch too. Hilborn users will be in good hands.
What a bummer. What was Holleys point in buying Hilborn in the first place? They bought Hilborn at the tail end of 2019. So just as the move was finished, the last picture hung...filing cabinets organized, they pull the plug? Or was Holley simply eliminating a compe***or to their injection setups? I hope somebody like 402bossman ends up with all the serial number info... the importance of the ability to look up serial numbers for historical importance can't be overstated.
I am betting that they bought it for the rights to the name, mechanical injection is not a money maker but I bet they will market some type of E.F.I. that is made off shore under the Hilborn name. Holley is a corporate investment group now and all about the $$$$.
There is alot in the works over here, have some faith, we'll see how things shake out. Regardless if Hilborn gets scooped up again or not I'll still be doing my part to service, repair, and modernize this stuff to help carry on the legacy where I can!
Other current discussion: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hilborn-gone-but-not-forgotten.1311100/ In that one it's mentioned that https://www.smithbergracing.com/ has a lot of the spare parts for older Hilborn systems and can do repairs.
Glad to have had Hilborn systems set up by Hilborn in Cali. They were the easiest to ask questions, get info on how to, or what to buy.
Shame that they are gone. I picked up a hilborn fuel injection. It was like $200 at an auction and it would fit a V8 motor. Contacted hilborn and they gave me all of the information for this unit. It was purchased in 1957, they gave me the buyers name, address, all of the specs. for this unit. It fit a 1957 Maserati. It is sad that that info is now gone.
The history isn't gone. Its in safe keeping right now. May be difficult to get someone to look up history for a short time.
Serial number 115, think it’s from 1957 or so. Casting is not 265-c . Casting is cpc-1, tried contacting Don Enrique’s at Holley but never received a reply. I’m not sure if he is still there.
Nick, is there info on these old 2 ports, or is it just info on stack injectors? It does have a 224 stamped into it. I got it many years ago with a old Cragar 4-71 blower.
So here it is. My friend Stuart Hilborn, whom's fuel injectors are on both my blown boat, and my stack injected boat, p***ed in 2013. The company was bought by Holley, in 2019, and then.......in 2024, Holley's bean counters, ( who are so obviously NOT gearheads or Hotrodders or Racer's in any sense of the word, DISSOLVED the company, gone, BAM, no more. Holley's top execs had a responsibility to at least sell the Hilborn brand and company to soeone who knew how important this product was, and still is. Holley has lost all respect with me as a company. I've personally driven to Hilborn's Fuel Injection Engineering building many times. I received personal attention to my needs and gotten great service from Don Enriquez and Ernie. Whatever you needed or wanted to do, they were interested in helping you . How in God's name does Holley decide to eliminate that company???? It only took them a few short years to wipe them out, indicating they never intended to make a flagship brand of the most legendary company in fuel injection. Kent Enderle, and I believe Pete Jackson were at one time employees, and learned from Mr. Hilborn. Kinsler and Enderle are still at it , god bless them, and the market, though ever changing, is there. I am so pissed at the turn of events . Another company absorbed by a large conglomerate, which will never be the same, and has performed a huge dis-service to the very community it professes to serve... Stuart Hilborn and I at Irvine boat drags
I'm not embedded in the world of big corporate money so I don't quite understand what they accomplished. Is there some kind of financial motivation (tax related) to pull the plug on a company that was obviously well known, had to have been a sizeable purchase cost to begin with. Still shaking my head!
Corporate greed, stupidity, ignorance, mainly greed and power, what ever you want to call it. It's happening in all aspects in the us and beyond.
I have a feeling and hope that 402 BOSSMAN is gonna insure that this doesn’t fade away. He’s been most helpful even in things not Hilborn. And invested considerably in this venture. Material and otherwise.
Hello, Once after the Los Angeles compound got too small, the whole company moved into a large, on top of a hill, with ocean views in Southern Orange County. It was an immaculate place with the tallest brick wall as a base, covering a supported wall of concrete to hold up the tall cliff. As anyone who noticed the sign FUEL INJECTION ENGINEERING, questions always popped up. What was that? Who is it and what do they do? At the time, the whole area was unincorporated land. No city had claims to the industrial area ( next door, but down at street level at the base of the tall cliff, was the famous Clark Surfboard Foam factory.) and few homes just starting to get built in tyh4e surrounding hillsides. But the postal address was South Laguna. That is funny in that, South Laguna was approximately 8 miles away, but the postal services extended to this unincorporated portion of empty land. Today, it is a multi story condominium project located across the street from a popular Costco building, on one of the busiest streets in all of South Orange County. (leading to the I-5 freeway and across the freeway, the old Mission Viejo Mall.) The original cliff top location was as tall as the 3rd floor of the new condo complex, overlooking the I-5 freeway South. The tall brick wall was immaculate. As was the view and surrounding green gr***y hills. Hilborn stayed there until the mid 2000s when they opened a larger facility in Aliso Viejo, CA just a few miles from the original OC shop location. Jnaki But, at the time of popularity, they were a local business high on top of that commanding hill/cliff location. The parking lot looked like a car show of race cars, almost everyday. It was a fun place to go, just for that purpose. YRMV
When I was hunting for the original sales records for the slant six prototype injection unit that was used on the Dragmaster Dart Six C-Dragster the lady I was talking to said that alot of the original wood castings were destroyed in a warehouse fire around 1984. Was that when they moved? I hope that all the remaining sales & build records can be saved. I got the ones for my specific unit but there were only 11 others made and I have been trying to track them down. Luckily I have the opportunity to buy one of the production units out of Australia. Holley ****s now. They are too busy buying other companies so they are using their customers as the quality control department especially on the ****py sniper systems.
"... alot of the original wood castings were destroyed in a warehouse fire around 1984. Was that when they moved?" Hello, They had a fire at the Crown Valley location. But, stayed at that location for many years to come. Aliso Viejo did not start until 1982, although it was still a rolling hills area with no one around. But, it was a planned community based on the nearby Mission Viejo tract of homes built by the same company. The industrial area was not fully developed until the mid 90s. By the time the company moved there, it was pretty much developed with the industrial area well built out. So, no, they did not move to the Aliso Viejo location until a few years (Mid 2000, around 2004) Then they stayed there prior to moving East. Jnaki The new building was pretty nice and much larger than the cl***ic brick building of old. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
