CB Performance Products is a world leader in High Performance Parts & Accessories for Classic Air-Cooled VW’s. Originally founded by Claude Tomlinson as Claude’s Buggies in the mid 1950's, we are a third-generation family owned and operated business, located in Califorina's Central Valley in the City of Farmersville. What started as a small automotive repair shop, has evolved into a leading manufacturer and distributor of high-quality aftermarket automotive parts.

Claude's son, Bob Tomlinson was a sales manager for a division of Hughes Aircraft. He had always been interested in, and participated in, various types of automotive racing, and began racing Ford Flathead engine cars when he was a kid. This enthusiasm later led to his interest in VWs while watching and helping his dad, Claude, repair cars in the shop. Then, one day after getting tired of the big city corporate life, Bob came home and helped the family start a mail order parts business. That transition from Claude's Buggies into CB Performance took place many, many years ago.

Currently CBP is owned and operated by Claude's grandson Rick Tomlinson, and granddaughter Susie Canvasser.

Also, check out The Story of CB Performance Products from Dune Buggy's & Hot VW's Magazine, June 2017 issue.

Question: What types of parts was CB Performance selling back then?

Answer:
CB started out selling parts that were available for stock VWs, and later designed our own line of parts for competition VWs and dune buggies. Later on, we began importing our own line of VW parts, which we still do on a very large scale today.

Bob always enjoyed driving Volkswagens, and that got him interested in racing them, but he simply enjoyed owning and driving them on a daily basis. Part of the reason for his enthusiasm can be attributed to his father having a very successful repair facility right on the same corner they're located today.

Volkswagens were a very popular car in our area, and when Bob first came back up from SoCal, one of the things he did was work in the garage with his father fixing and repairing customer's cars. Then, on the weekends and evenings, they would build racecars and design performance parts for the engines.

By 1970 they had acquired their first mill and lathe and started machining their own parts. The first successful parts they developed were a sand seal slip-in pulley, the 40-horse stroker kit, as well as an 85.5mm piston and cylinder kit. CB Performance's business grew by placing ads in Hot VWs magazine, and this essentially put them on the map.

Question: What influenced you to begin designing and manufacturing high performance engine parts?

Answer:
From very early on, CB Performance was interested in building performance VW engines. We would install Stromberg Carburetors on a Volkswagen, which required a custom intake manifold. That's just one example of what we began doing on a commercial basis. We felt that if we could design and manufacture a product, and then sell it while retaining a profit, it was a good idea to pursue. This thinking prompted us to make several parts for the market, and all the while we were selling parts that other manufacturers were producing.

From a production standpoint, one of the first things we did was buy a good cam grinder. We knew that the heart of an engine is the cam, so if we could design some camshafts that worked well, that would benefit our business. As it turned out, this was a smart move, and we still grind a wide range of different camshaft profiles today.

Question: Wasn't CB Performance one of the first companies to import the Weber carburetor?

Answer:

Yes. CB Performance was the first to import Weber IDF carburetors into the United States. We were also the first to produce and package the parts and offer them as a kit for the Volkswagen engine.

Question: Were you building cars, such as sand buggies, to promote your business or test new products?

Answer:

We used our cars to test new products and make sure they worked before marketing them to the general consumer. And we wanted to prove to potential buyers that our parts did actually work. Bob personally spent several months on the road with our dyno, driving from place to place, showing people how to install and tune our Weber carburetor kits.

Question: Isn't it true that CB Performance is well known for their high performance VW cylinder heads?

Answer:
Yes. We knew that the cylinder head had a lot of potential, especially when you consider that an engine is basically just an air pump. The largest horsepower gains are going to be found in the cylinder head. You've got to remember that the motor can only pump as much air as the valves will allow. With this in mind we have produced some of the best performing heads in the VW industry.

Question: What are some of the new high performing products CB Performance has introduced to the VW industry?

Answer:
Pulleys, cylinder heads, camshafts, connecting rods, oil pumps & sumps, piston and cylinder kits, valves - basically, if it's an engine part we've probably made it at some point.

But, our most challenging project was development of our first EFI system. After the smog laws became stricter, we did a complete high-performance engine that was certified and legal as a clean burning VW in California for streetcars. This engine was based upon our newly developed fuel injection system, which we began working on in the early 1990's. We went on to develop and refine our EFI systems as well as our massively successful Magnaspark distributor and line of performance electronics.