After being in business in the Los Angeles area for almost 50 years, pioneering racing transmission and torque converter guru Marv Ripes is packing his tool box and moving up to Vancouver, Washington.

Ripes has joined forces with long-time racer and A-1 customer Alan Bowdish and will start a new chapter in his career with the establishment of A-1 Performance Transmissions & Converters. The new entity will be headquartered at 6211 NE 88th in Vancouver, located across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. Also making the move is Carlos Cabrera, who has been A-1’s primary converter builder for 30 years. 

Over the years Ripes has been responsible for many “firsts” in drag racing, including building the first Powerglide to win an NHRA National event (John Barkley – Stock Eliminator at the 1968 Winternationals), the first S/S and Stock wins with an 8” converter, the first redesigned Powerglide gear ratios, the first 2-piece PG aluminum bellhousing, the first dual-solenoid exhausts for a PG trans brake, the first freewheeling “Safety Drive” 7 and 8-inch converters, the first exclusive use of mechanical diodes in converters, and along with Dave Smith of ProTrans, the first successful 3-speed transmissions in Comp Eliminator. His converter designs remain ultra competitive, having helped Dave Smith’s son, Darren, win the NHRA 2007 points championship in Super Stock. Other racers who have recently won with A-1 converters include Jimmy DeFrank (S/S at Phoenix), Steve Williams (S/C at Phoenix), Jim Cowan (Comp at Pomona), and LODRS winners Frank Cervelli and Grant Lewis.

Tagged with the nickname “2-Speed” years ago, Ripes also enjoyed quite a bit of success behind the wheel, winning several NHRA National events and a Division VII Championship.

Marv will continue to respond to the phone number he’s had since the 1970s (818-884-6222) and expects to be up and functioning at the new facility in a few weeks. The firm’s new website address is www.A-1perf.com.