Ralph Eckler. Photo courtesy Eckler Industries.
When Ralph Eckler fabricated a one-piece hood for the crash-damaged 1960 Chevrolet Corvette in his father’s Moline, Illinois, gas station, he had no way of knowing that his fiberglass molding efforts would be the start of a business empire. From humble beginnings, Eckler’s Corvette has grown to become one of the largest suppliers in the industry, today delivering restoration parts and accessories for a range of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche models under various divisions. On Saturday, April 23, company founder Ralph Eckler died of a heart attack in Merritt Island, Florida, aged 74.
Shortly after Eckler fabricated his original one-piece Corvette front end, he began to receive inquiries from other Corvette owners wanting the same part. Demand drew him into building other fiberglass components for Corvettes, and the business quickly expanded. A Mississippi River flood in the early 1970s destroyed inventory and a few customer cars, nearly bringing an end to the operation in Illinois. Looking for a location where he could indulge in his passion for Corvettes (and his second passion, fishing), Eckler moved the Eckler’s Corvette operation south, to Titusville, Florida.
The customization craze of the mid-1970s added more customers and more requests, prompting Eckler’s Corvette to produce everything from fender flares and spoilers to full body kits (in Can-Am wide-body and shooting brake configurations). Later, he negotiated a deal with GM allowing Eckler’s to reproduce discontinued parts for Corvettes, necessary for the restoration and preservation of the cars.
Ralph Eckler retired from the business that bears his name in 1997, and for his life-long dedication to the Corvette community, Eckler was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Great Hall in 2011. In 2013, he began a new business restoring and resto-modding vintage Corvettes, but challenging market conditions meant the new business never enjoyed the success of his original endeavor.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/26wUVS3
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