The turbo industry, told by the people who built it

A first-person archive of the companies, the products, and the people behind forty years of forced induction. Their words, their stories, preserved here.

The turbo industry is losing its history. Companies that defined entire eras have closed with almost no record they existed. The engineers, the machinists, the sales people, the shop owners who built the culture are the only ones who still hold those stories. Nothing is being written down.

The Archives is changing that. We are interviewing the people who were actually in the room: the president who ran the company, the engineer who designed the bearing, the sales manager who talked to every builder in the country, the shop owner who rebuilt the same turbo for thirty years. First-person accounts, not press releases. What it was really like.

Each story is built from a personalized interview, researched and written around the specific companies and eras that person witnessed. Nothing is published without the interviewee's review and approval.

Kirk Riollano, Boost Lab, Inc., Dade City, Florida. Rebuilding turbos since 2008.

Stories in progress

Active interviews with people who shaped the industry

01

Coming Soon

Bob Keller

Founder of Turbonetics, SEMA Hall of Fame

The man who built the aftermarket turbo industry. From turbocharging cars in 1963, through RotoMaster alongside Hugh MacInnes, the Accel TurboSonic, and founding Turbonetics from his garage in 1978. Sixty years of boost, in his own words.

02

Interview Active

Brad Lewis

Former President, Turbonetics

The inside story of Turbonetics from the Bob Keller founding era through the CARB-approved turbo kits, the ceramic ball bearing patents, and the closing of the Moorpark facility. Told by the man who ran the company.

03

Interview Active

Mike Franke

40 Years in the Turbo Industry

From Pinellas Carburetor and Turbo in 1985 through Turbo Engineering Corp, Southeast Power Systems, TiAL Sport, Xona Rotor, Melett, and BorgWarner. The view from every layer of the business across four decades.

04

Interview Active

Tim Scott

Tim's Turbos, 25 Years Independent

Purchased the turbo division of Pinellas Carburetor and Turbo, built a five-continent operation from a home workshop, became one of the most trusted names in Porsche turbo rebuilds. All on his own terms.

05

Coming Soon

More stories

Industry Veterans, Shop Owners, Engineers

We are actively reaching out to people across the turbo industry: rebuild shop owners, former employees of companies that no longer exist, engineers, and anyone with a story that needs to be told before it is lost.

What to expect here

This section will grow as stories are completed

  • Full-length articles built from first-person interviews, organized by the companies and eras each person lived through.
  • Photos from inside the shops, the factories, and the trade shows, sourced directly from the people who were there.
  • Stories from every corner of the industry: performance, diesel, marine, OEM, aftermarket, manufacturing, distribution, and the independent rebuild shops that keep it all running.
  • Technical history that lives nowhere else online: product genealogies, engineering decisions, and the stories behind the specs.

Were you part of this industry?

If you have spent years in the turbo business and have a story worth preserving, we want to hear from you. Every interview is built around your specific experience.

Tell us your story