UC_Portolio_Book

113 Company Founders Merrill Powell - Victress Manufacturing: On September 19, 2006, I received a life - changing telephone call from Dr. Geoffrey Hacker, a Florida college professor, inquiring as to whether I was the Merrill Powell who had been involved in the manufacture of Victress fiberglass sport car bodies in the 1950s. I answered in the affirmative, and thus began what has become a treasured friendship, and an opportunity to recount my recollections of people, conditions, and events in those early fiberglass years. As one of the "living artifacts" dug up by automotive archaeologist Geoff and his associate Rick D'Louhy, I am continually amazed by the breadth and depth of their explorations, and the organization and presentation of their findings. The ever - expanding product of their efforts is filling a void in the history of American automobile development that few people even knew existed. Their research has resulted in, and benefited from, an ever - growing network of like - minded car buffs. Most importantly for me, they have created new and renewed friendships, and an immensely satisfying opportunity to contribute to the search for Undiscovered Classics and Forgotten Fiberglass. Merrill Powell started working at the Boyce - Smith Company in late 1953, and by early 1954 he had invested in – and became partners with - Doc Boyce - Smith. The newly formed company was incorporated as Victress Manufacturing Company, Inc. His activities at Victress over the years included design and development of the C - 2 and C - 3 coupes as well as tool design and prototype development for a variety of commercial, industrial, military, and aeronautical products. Following the sale of Victress to LaDawri in 1961, and a brief foray to the fringes of the motion picture industry, Merrill entered the aerospace world as a human factors engineer working on Titan II, Project Apollo, hospital systems analysis, Panama Canal marine traffic control, and finally Apache and other helicopter development before retiring in 1993. In 2014, Merrill Powell who co - founded Victress Manufacturing in 1953 headlined the Carlisile Show with a series of seminars throughout the event. Merrill Powell on left and Geoff Hacker on right.