Jeffrey E Schwartz

Last updated

Jeff Schwartz
Jeff Schwartz Performance.jpg
Schwartz in 2017
Born (1958-06-12) June 12, 1958 (age 66)
Bemidji, Minnesota, United States
Occupation(s)Customizer of ProTouring Custom Cars and Manufacturer of G-Machine Chassis, Owner of Schwartz Performance, Founder of the Schwartz Motocross History Museum
Website schwartzperformance.com schwartzmuseum.org

Jeff Schwartz is an American protouring car builder/designer and former professional road racer who brought to market the first Bolt-in Muscle Car Chassis for GM A-body cars. [1] In his modified and equipped cars, Schwartz is a six-time winner of the Car Craft Magazine's Real Street Eliminator competition with his fifth and sixth win at the ProAm Invitational in Milwaukee, WI in 2015. [2] [3] [4] In 2013, Schwartz won "Popular Hot Rodding Magazine's Muscle Car of the Year" with his 1981 Twin Turbo TransAm [5] and was voted Car Craft Magazine's "Pro-Builder of the Year" with Jake Wallace's Twin Turbo 1967 Chevy Malibu. [6] [7] In 2017, Schwartz and his crew won his second Car Craft Pro-Builder Award with a right hand drive 1970 Cuda. [8] [9] He is the owner of Schwartz Performance in Harvard, IL, the founder of the Schwartz Motocross History Museum in McHenry County, IL and the father of two children.

Contents

Racing

Jeffrey Elmer Schwartz was born on June 12, 1958, in Bemidji, Minnesota, to Dale Elmer Schwartz and Patricia (Leseman) Schwartz. [10] A lifelong automobile and motorcycle enthusiast, Schwartz subscribed to Hot Rod Magazine and learned to weld when he was 12 years old. He went on to become an accomplished machinist with an extensive career in manufacturing and product design. Spending most of his career managing automotive parts and equipment manufacturing plants, Schwartz raced whenever possible. [11]

Schwartz started his racing career as a Motocross rider in the 1970s. Competing in an average of 36 American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) sanctioned events per year, Schwartz won awards on Puch and Monark motorcycles that were modified and equipped with his own custom designed long travel suspension systems. His competitive automobile racing began in 1979 when Schwartz won the National Council of Corvette Club Midwest Regional Championship both in Overall Points and Speed in his first year of competition. In the 80's, his professional road racing put Schwartz in control of various race cars from four and six-cylinder front-wheel-drive Sport Compacts to V8-powered GT1 Corvettes and IMSA Camaros. [12] Throughout the 1982 Central Division race season, Schwartz was inspired by Jerry Hansen, the father of TV Host and personality Courtney Hansen, to adopt a more refined racing style noting Hanson's aggressive but smooth style. Schwartz continued on to win numerous races, including the June Sprints, setting a new Showroom Stock B record at Road America, [13] set 5 SCCA National Track records and be named the 1982 SCCA Chicago Region "Rookie Driver of the Year". [14]

His 1982 SCCA year was highlighted by earning Pole Position at the SCCA National Championship Run offs [15] in which Schwartz, as Tom Mulhern wrote, "turned some heads with his performance, especially considering he was the only rookie in the field of 18 drivers from across the country" [16] but lost due to mechanical failure. [17] He was featured in several Goodyear Tire magazine ads and in 1983 moved to IMSA Pro Races, setting fastest race laps, leading and finishing on the podium at several events and receiving more public exposure. [18] Late 1983, Schwartz earned a spot in the Renault Elf Winfield Racing School at Circuit Paul Ricard in France to try out for a full-time ride with Renault Racing in Europe. [19] Losing his chance by two-tenths of a second, Schwartz was the USA group runner-up [20] for the ride that was ultimately earned by Gerhard Berger, who went on to Formula One Racing fame.

Pro-touring-car building

With the evolution of the automobile aftermarket industry and technologies, Schwartz realized that race car performance no longer required an uncomfortable feel. [21] He proved his idea in 2002 with his home built 1982 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that handled like a sports car. [22] [23] In the "Cadillac Attack", Schwartz won his first Car Craft Magazine's 2002 Real Street Eliminator competition with the fastest trap speed, fastest autocross time, and quickest ET against Camaros, Dodge Vipers and Corvettes. [24] With his second home built car, the Ultima GTR, he won the 2006 Silver State Classic Challenge 0-200 mph-0 (Z2Z) against RJ and Dan Gottlieb's notable Big Red Camaro, [25] [26] among others, set a record for fastest 0-100-0, [27] [28] and was runner up in the 2007 Silver State Classic 0-200-0. [29] [30]

Schwartz performance and chassis manufacturing

In 2003, Schwartz lost his job as Manufacturing Plant Manager due to corporate restructuring. After building custom cars and motorcycles as a hobby for 26 years, many of which had been seen in major magazines, Schwartz set out on a path to put his passions to work. [31] Because Schwartz had built cars in his home garage like the ‘82 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that were competitive with track prepared sports cars [32] and the 1002 horsepower street legal Schwartz Ultima GTR kit car that attained magazine and TV coverage, when Schwartz opened his business in 2004, he had earned enough recognition for his first opportunity to work a concept car by Jimi Day and Murray Pfaff, Rick Weis’ Poison Dart. [33]

In 2006, Schwartz brought to market the First Bolt-in Muscle Car chassis for the GM A-Body 1964 Chevelle known as the Schwartz G-Machine A-body Chassis. He then immediately followed with the First Bolt-in full frame for Unibody cars. [34] Schwartz has since developed and improved upon over 20 track-tested chassis designs to work in 25 models of GM, Ford and Mopar cars and trucks. [35]

Debuting at the 2012 Car Craft Pro-Builder shootout, [36] Schwartz' 1981 Twin Turbo Trans Am, dubbed the "Full Force Trans Am" due to its Full Frame and Forced induction, was built for himself and showcased the pairing of a Schwartz Full Frame Chassis and its handling capability with the high-horsepowered performance of a Schwartz modified engine. The ’81 TransAm featured a Schwartz G-Machine full chassis, Schwartz 1300 hp Twin Turbo 6.9 liter engine and was topped with a "one of a kind" bird, designed by Murray Pfaff. [37]

In 2013, Schwartz' '81 Trans Am was the runner up in the Car Craft Real Street Eliminator [38] and won the Popular Hot Rodding Muscle Car of the Year Shoot-Out. In the same year, Schwartz was voted the CAR CRAFT "Pro-Builder of the Year" with Jake Wallace's Twin Turbo 1967 Chevy Malibu. [6] [7]

Known as a master when it comes to rebuilding classic vehicles [39] that are engineered to handle a road course, [40] [41] [42] Brake Parts Inc., the manufacturer of Raybestos Brakes, commissioned Schwartz to build several of their Giveaway Cars. [43] Partnering with Schwartz for their 1971 Raybestos Camaro build [44] the Raybestos Camaro was the runner-up for both the 2014 Car Craft Muscle Car of the Year Shootout [45] and the 2014 Real Street Eliminator [46] Their 2nd build, a 1969 Raybestos FastBack Mustang. [47] [23] was given away at the AAPEX show in Las Vegas in 2016. [48] In 2017, Raybestos teamed up with Schwartz for a 3rd time for a 1953 Chevy Pick-Up Truck Build. [49] [50]

Motocross Bike Preservation

In 2016, Schwartz founded the Schwartz Motocross History Museum which is dedicated to the preservation and education of Motocross history. With his extensive collection of 1970s bikes from around the world, Schwartz is an active member in the vintage motocross bike restoration and racing community. [51]

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References

  1. ↑ Super Chevy Editors (2006). "A New Age Of Pro Touring - Schwartz Chassis - The All-New Serious Street Schwartz Chassis". Super Chevy. Vol. September 18. Retrieved May 28, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. ↑ SEMA editors (2015). "Schwartz Wins Both Classes at Car Craft Real Street Eliminator". SEMA eNews Essentials. Vol. 18, no. 30. Retrieved May 25, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ Smith J (2009). "Real Street Eliminator IV". HotRod. Vol. November 17. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Real Street Eliminator Competition - Car Craft Magazine". hotrod.com. January 1, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  5. ↑ Kucharski, S. (2015). "10 Years Pumping Muscle". Woodstock Independent. Vol. Sept 9-15. p. 11.
  6. 1 2 Davies S (2013). "Schwartz Performance TransAm Dominates". HotRod Network. Vol. July 24. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Schwartz '81 TransAm". Power Nation. Vol. August 4. 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ Street Rod Life, Editors (August 19, 2017). "Schwartz Performance Wins Their Second Pro-builder of the Year Award". Street Rod Life. Retrieved August 19, 2017.{{cite magazine}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ↑ "Schwartz Performance Wins Their Second Pro-builder of the Year Award". SEMA eNews Essentials. Vol. 20, no. 30. 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Join Ancestry®". search.ancestry.com. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ McGonegal, R., Freiburger, D., Koch, J. (2003). "This Sled Handles Even Better than it Hammers – and it Hammers 11s". Hotrod Magazine. Vol. Jan 1. Retrieved May 5, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ "A New Age Of Pro Touring - Schwartz Chassis - The All-New Serious Street Schwartz Chassis". Super Chevy. Sept 18. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Schwartz Sets New Course Record". Crystal Lake Morning Herald. Vol. Tuesday June 8. 1982. p. 10.
  14. ↑ "Rookie of the Year". Piston Patter. Vol. February 2. 1983.
  15. ↑ "Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic X". Motor Trend. Vol. February. 1983. p. 70.
  16. ↑ Mulhern T (1982). "Bearing blows Schwartz' dreams". The Elgin Herald/Cardunal Free Press. Vol. Wednesday Oct27. pp. A17.
  17. ↑ Gandy J (1982). "Amateur championships go off relatively smooth, competitive this time". Autoweek. Vol. November 15. p. 24.
  18. ↑ The Elgin Herald/Cardunal Free Press, Friday April 15, 1983, ppA17
  19. ↑ Mulhern T (1983). "In the Fast Lane: Schwartz looks for Racing Formula in France". The Cardunal Free Press Morning Herald. Vol. Wednesday September 21. pp. A17.
  20. ↑ Mulhern T (1983). "Racer Halted in France: Big Chance eludes Schwartz".
  21. ↑ Hot Rodder Editors (2012). "ProBuilder Shootout". HotRod Network. Vol. June 27. Retrieved May 28, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. ↑ McGonegal, R., Freiburger, D., Koch, J. (2003). "This Sled Handles Even Better than it Hammers – and it Hammers 11s". Hotrod Magazine. Jan 1.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. 1 2 McGonegal, R (2016). "Jeff Schwartz Blends Classic and Modern in this 1969 Mustang". Hotrod Network. Vol. October 6. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  24. ↑ De Los Santos, H. (2003). "2002 Real Street Eliminator Series – 2002 Real Street Eliminator". Hotrod Magazine. Vol. March 1. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Untitled Document". September 28, 2007. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  26. ↑ "1969 Chevrolet Camaro". Hot Rod. August 8, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  27. ↑ WPengine (March 1, 2007). "SEMA & Schwartz Ultima GTR – Speed Reading". Popular Hotrodding. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  28. ↑ Silver State Challenge contributors (September 17, 2006). "Silver State Classic Challenge 2006". Silver State Challenge Results 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2016.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  29. ↑ Silver State Challenge contributors (September 16, 2007). "Silver State Challenge September 2007". Silver State Challenge Results 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2016.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  30. ↑ Nation of Go contributors (November 11, 2010). "Schwartz Performance". Nation of Go. Retrieved January 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  31. ↑ Kucharski, S. (2015). "10 Years Pumping Muscle". Woodstock Independent. September 9–15: 11.
  32. ↑ McGonagel, R. (2003). "Brogen Brougham – 1982 Fleetwood Brougham". HotRod Network. Vol. January 1. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  33. ↑ McIlvaine, J (2006). "1970 Dodge Dart – Bull's-Eye!". Popular Hotrodding Magazine. Vol. October 26. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  34. ↑ Super Chevy Editors (2006). "A New Age Of Pro Touring - Schwartz Chassis - The All-New Serious Street Schwartz Chassis". Super Chevy. Vol. Sept 18. Retrieved May 25, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  35. ↑ Kucharski, S. (2015). "10 Years Pumping Muscle". Woodstock Independent. Vol. Sept 9-15. p. 11.
  36. ↑ "ProBuilder Shootout". HotRod Network. June 27, 2012.
  37. ↑ Seitz, R (2014). "Barrett Jackson: Schwartz Performance TransAm Up For Grabs". GM EFI Magazine. Vol. December 10. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ Smith, J (2014). "Car Craft's Real Street Eliminator VIII". Car Craft Magazine Hot Rod Network. Vol. January 17. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Raybestos and Schwartz Performance Team Up for Exciting New Vehicle Build" . Retrieved August 19, 2017.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  40. ↑ Licata N (2012). "1967 Pro Touring Camaro Convertible – Body Swap". Super Chevy. Vol. January 1. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  41. ↑ Pozzi M (November 27, 2015). "This Schwartz Performance-Built Monte Carlo Puts the Lateral G in G-Body". Super Chevy. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  42. ↑ McIlvaine J (January 27, 2011). "The Schwartz Performance Vega". PowerSource. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Past Builds". Raybestos Brakes Car build. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  44. ↑ PHB Editors (2014). "Schwartz Performance Builds Raybestos Car". The Shop. Vol. February 4. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  45. ↑ McGann J (2014). "A Celebration of Automotive Excess". HotRod. Vol. October 17. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  46. ↑ Smith J (2014). "Car Craft's Real Street Eliminator IX". HotRod. Vol. November.
  47. ↑ Kinnan, R (2015). "Raybestos and Schwartz Performance Build a Trick '69 Mustang That You Can Win". Mustang 360. Vol. September 15. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Raybestos Names Mustang Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winner" . Retrieved August 19, 2017.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  49. ↑ The Brake Report (2017). "Raybestos and Schwartz Performance Team Up for Exciting New Vehicle Build". Vol. June 21. Retrieved August 19, 2017.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  50. ↑ "Raybestos Brakes Car Build" . Retrieved August 19, 2017.{{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  51. ↑ "Schwartz Motocross History Museum" . Retrieved June 6, 2016.
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