Who Was EMPI?

EMPI was a venture of Joe Vittone in the mid 1950s for supplying aftermarket parts and accessories. What prompted Mr. Vittone to form EMPI is a interesting story. Mr. Vittone operated a successful VW dealership in Riverside, CA, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. He discovered that there was a need to rebuild cylinder heads for the 25hp and 36hp engines then in production. The VW factory stated that if repair was needed, a new replacement head should be used.

So the guys there at Economotors came up with a tool to replace the valve guides in the cylinder heads. The tool was an instant hit, allowing VW rebuilders and dealers to save a lot of money by rebuilding worn cylinder heads. They created European Motor Prodcuts Incorporated, EMPI for short, to sell and distribute the new tool. They soon branched out into the high performance and accessory market for VWs. They changed the name of the company to reflect on the technical quality of their products to Engineered Motor Products Incorporated.

The high performance products included the legendary 1.4 ratio rocker assemblies, 88mm slipper piston/cylinder sets, lightweight aluminum and magnesium road wheels, centrifugal advance ignition distributors, and aftermarket carbs. They also campaigned the legendary Inch Pincher drag race car in the NHRA. EMPI was growing to be a large company.

As any smart company, you have to adapt to the market and this is what EMPI did with the Imp and Sportster series. They had seen the popularity of Bruce Meyer's Manx and decided to offer their own car in the buggy market. Many people today feel the Imp was one of the best engineered fiberglass buggies ever offered.