In March, 1966, Manley Speed Equipment, Inc. was founded by Hank Manley shortly after his graduation from Brown University. His interest in performance and racing traced back to 1960 when at age seventeen he rebuilt a 312 CID Ford V-8 engine, installed a camshaft and three two-barrel carburetors, and raced a 1956 Thunderbird on the streets of New Jersey.
Initially the line included stainless valves, forged pistons, camshafts, lifters, vanadium valve springs, push rods and timing chain kits. The first catalog was mimeographed paper. The address of the company, prophetically, was 13 Race Street in Bloomfield, New Jersey. A name change to Manley Performance Products, Inc soon followed.