In 1962 Gary Hooker designed a header for his new 409 Chevrolet. He immediately found a demand for this header from other racers in the area. It was not long before Gary had hired employees and was operating Hooker Headers out of a building in South Ontario, CA. The Hooker philosophy was simple - make real, useable power by balancing the intake and exhaust pressure waves. This efficiently expelled all the burnt gases while drawing in the maximum fresh charge of fuel and air. The Hooker team would sometimes spend twice as much time developing a header to find 10% better performance. Slogans such as Hooker - When Only The Best Will Do or Hooker Headers - Do It Right The 1st Time were often used. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s Hooker dominated the drag race scene with nearly all NHRA Pro Stock (Super Stock) racers winning with Hooker Headers. Famed racers such as Bill Grumpy Jenkins, Bob Glidden and Sox & Martin were regulars in Hooker publicity campaigns. Hooker straight-thru glass pack mufflers were also launched in the early '70s, known as the Hookermuffler. In the 1970s and 80s, Hooker even dabbled in making such things as bicycles, skateboards, ski's, wheels, motorcycle parts, and fiberglass bolt-ons for trucks and vans, known as California Glass. This branching led to more non-race header and exhaust applications for trucks, vans, motor homes, and economy cars. Hooker had headers for nearly anyone that could benefit from the mileage and performance improvements seen from un-corking your exhaust. Hooker also became famous for engine swap headers for those swapping a big block into a Vega, or maybe a small block Chevy into a Jeep. In the early '90s Hooker developed its Metallic Ceramic Thermal Barrier Coating as an optional finish on its headers. The heat displacement properties and additional life it adds to headers make it one of Hooker's most popular features still today. The '90s also saw the development of the Aerochamber Muffler; the most advanced muffler of its time. It is still the most advanced muffler on the market. Hooker still holds tight to the claim of the winningest header in drag racing history. Hooker still leads the way in design and technology with products like engine swap headers for putting a late model LS engine into early iron. And, Hooker still leads the way in coating processes with the recent introduction of Darksides black ceramic.
