Frank Huszar
A veteran of the motion picture industry where he worked in every capacity from grip stuntman, Frank Huszar was always interested in fast cars and even hopped up a few for movie stars. At his five-acre ranch in LA’s San Fernando Valley, he constantly tinkered with cars and word quickly spread among the youthful hot rodders of the area that the “Old Man” was building race cars. The group that hung around Frank’s place evolved into the “Throttle Merchants” car club the early 50s. A place to legally race their creations was needed and Frank was instrumental in the founding of San Fernando Drag Strip, one of the first purpose-built facilities in the country. Opening day was August 14, 1955 with Huszar serving as strip manager by unanimous decision of the Valley Timing Association. In 1959, Frank retired from MGM Studios and spent hours building race cars in his garage. Demand for his products led to the formation of Race Car Specialties in 1962 in partnership with Roy Steen. From the beginning through his retirement in 1980, RCS built well over 100 dragsters, funny cars, exhibition cars, and jet/rocket cars. Frank insisted the company initial stood for Reliability, Confidence, and Safety. Among Frank’s products were the legendary cars of: Tommy Ivo, The Surfers, The Freight Train, George Bolthoff, the Dead-End Kids, and Waterman & Hampshire. In 1977 at the age of 69, Frank made a pass at over 250 mph in a rocket powered funny car he built for Fred Goeske. Frank passed away in 1987.