Abruzzi Racing Transmissions & Converters - A Little History Lesson
3/11/2024
Warren, OH
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abruzzi racing transmissions and converters

About 20 years ago when I still lived in Idaho I found a company (A&T Garage) in Warren, Ohio who was selling transmission parts and who was easy to talk to on the phone (no real internet back then).  Back then I was building my own stuff and just needed a parts supplier.  Fast forward to when I moved to Tennessee in 2008, I broke a transmission at Bowling Green in 2009 and it just so happened Jason Lynch was there doing some testing with Abruzzi and he had a brand new Abruzzi transmission which I purchased on the spot.  Since I already knew of the company but not Marco personally, I had no problem since Jason had no problem. Fast forward 15 more years and we're still doing business, became friends and attend a lot of the same races.

This past weekend in preparation to the 2024 racing season, I made a quick 1100 mile round trip up North to Abruzzi Racing Transmissions and Converters for a full service transmission freshen up for both Deuces Wild Dragsters and the complete shop tour / history lesson of A&T Garage in Warren, Ohio. I thought you'd enjoy the history, I sure did!

abruzzi racing transmissions and converters 

I've never been to Warren, Ohio so I had my trusty Google Maps on point rolling down the road thinking "It's just coming up on the left, lots of businesses, I'd better be watching not to miss it.  NOPE, won't miss it as the LARGE sign pointed out exactly where I was going!"  Marco said "I told the guy I wanted my logo on the side of the building so people would see it.  When I saw it, I was like, that works."

marco abruzzi

The little building with the big sign was the home of the "Original" A&T Garage built in 1953 by Marco's grandfather an immigrant whom Marco was named after.  This building was replaced by Marco's father Joe in 1981 by the larger building in the background and the original building is now used for storage.

marco abruzzi racing championship trophies

Those who know Marco, know he's as humble as they come. Tucked away in the back corner of the front room are years of memories and championships you would never know existed unless you went looking for them.

abruzzi racing torque converters

What is up front taking the place of trophy cabinets and covering up history on the wall is customer service and the top converters ready to go at any given moment when a racer in need calls.

torque converter building  transmissions

Once inside, it's evident where all the magic happens.  It's 100 percent transmissions and torque converters in this shop.  They don't do any OEM stuff anymore, only high performance transmissions and converters solely focusing on drag racing and monster trucks.  Yes monster trucks!  If you've ever been to an event and you understand a transmission they don't like being vertical or upside down.  Marco says "That's good for business."

abruzzi racing transmissions

Inside the main transmission assembly room you'll notice the 2 wash cabinets.  Marco's father Joe built the older one and Marco says "It works just fine and it's part of the business.  No need to get rid of it.  Washed both my transmissions in it."

powerglide transmission parts 

This is the "cool stuff" as I like to say and I love to see.  It's called character and shows a companies history in my opinion.  This is only about a tenth of what is there and I never ventured into the storage building.  Hopefully you enjoy a little behind the scenes look and the history of a well respected business.

abruzzi transmission oil

Abruzzi's latest venture is his signature series ATF for racing transmissions.  With a little help from his brother and some scientists at a global petroleum company, Marco combined some of the best additives to make up what he feels is best for racing transmissions.

Shown below is a commemorative frame for Marco's Father Joe who passed away a few years ago.  Although I didn't know Joe I could tell him and Marco were very close.  Marco talked about how his father made him go to college.  How he hated Marco racing motocross and atv's even though he was good at it because he didn't want him to get hurt.  He spoke about how his father loved Top Sportsman and Pro Mods but would hardly leave the shop to watch Marco run his dragster if there wasn't Top Sportsman running at the same race!  Old school I guess as Joe loved the door cars.

We spoke about the history of the shop and how the original was opened in 1953 and how the new shop was built in 1981.  How Marco would R&R transmissions after school and on the weekends there for his dad.

He told me of the day he asked his dad to go to a drag race and how he beat him to the car and said "lets go". His dad loved drag racing.  I could tell from the stories his grand father was a hard workers, his dad was a hard worker and how that has passed over into him.

Marco is very proud when speaking about his family, Wife Kim, Daughter Emily and Son Nick who is now 14 and spends nights after school and weekends working in the shop.

I hope you've enjoyed this small part of history and getting to know someone who in my opinion is becoming a legend in our sport.  If you're ever at a race where Marco is or close to the town of Warren in the Northeastern corner of Ohio, walk up and say hello.  You won't be disappointed in what you find.

LEARN MORE HERE - AbruzziRacing.com

joe abruzzi photo

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