The company is headquartered in the Memphis area (specifically Olive Branch, Mississippi), with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA.

Vic Edelbrock founded the corporation in 1938 when his desire to increase the performance of his 1932 Ford Roadster led him to design a new intake manifold,[3] friends and fellow drivers soon wanted one as well.

The frequent stops to replace parts that shook loose on the region's dirt roads made him an expert at impromptu repair work.

In order to earn some extra money to open his own repair shop, Edelbrock took an evening job in downtown Los Angeles parking cars at a large apartment complex.

It was a chance encounter at this parking complex where he bumped into the 19-year-old Irish woman, Katherine (Katie) Collins, who was working as a day maid.

In his desire to increase the performance, he joined with Tommy Thickstun to design a new intake manifold for the roadster's flathead engine.

[10][11] Originally, he had no intention of producing any additional manifolds, but the overwhelming response following his phenomenal speed in a 1932 Ford prompted Edelbrock to make more.

[4] During World War II, Edelbrock's machinist skills were put to work in the Todd Shipyards in Long Beach, hand fabricating and welding aircraft parts.

The Office of Defense Transportation placed a ban on auto racing during the war, but Edelbrock discreetly designed and developed a new line of products.

[4] After the war, he produced aluminum racing cylinder heads, in addition to manifolds, which quickly gained him notability among hot rodding hobbyists.

One of the first companies to use an engine dynamometer, Edelbrock moved to a 5,000 sq ft shop in 1949 to develop more manifolds, cylinder heads and racing pistons.

[14] Edelbrock's team toured the dirt track racing circuit of Southern California with flathead guru Bobby Meeks tuning the cars.

[4] In 1958, Edelbrock managed an industry first by extracting one horsepower per cubic-inch from a 283 cid small-block Chevy that was equipped with his newly designed Cross Ram Manifold.

[24] The company joined SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association) as a charter member in the 1960s, with Vic Edelbrock, Jr. serving as president from 1971 to 1974.

[4] When gas prices soared in the 1970s, Edelbrock produced its Streetmaster line of intake manifolds that featured improved mileage, as well as performance.

[3] In 1990, Edelbrock built a 73,000-square-foot (6,800 m2) sand-cast aluminum foundry in San Jacinto, which employed 75 to 100 workers, and gave the company the ability to increase production according to market demands.

On June 7, 2010, the Chicago-based private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners (IOP) acquired Edelbrock Corporation.