Deuce, 75 Years Of The '32 Ford
Cartech
In case you've lived under a rock for the past decade, let us bring you up to speed: 2007 marks the Diamond Jubilee of the Grand Dame of Dearborn, the 1932 Ford. Naturally an event of this magnitude inspires countless acts of marketing; however, few are as good as Robert Genat's "DEUCE, 75 Years of the '32 Ford."
Genat takes us right back to the height of the Great Depression to tell a story of a car that really should not have made it. He straddles the line between the relevant and minutiae as he inventories the model year's unique elements. Instead of offering a sterile, nuts-and-bolts guide to the Deuce's unique elements, however, Genat intersperses historic images with his own evocative, archive-quality photographs of both modified and stock 1932 Fords.
"DEUCE" represents one of the latest books in Genat's series that portrays automotive icons and subject matter in an art-book venue. It caters to both the purist and the performance-minded alike, and it promises to maintain its appeal for years.
With its 75-year perspective, "DEUCE" proves how Henry's one-year-only gamble matured into one of America's greatest cultural icons. If that sounds appealing, we suggest buying two: one for yourself and another to let your friends fight over.
Garage And Workshop Gear Guide
Motorbooks
When I first saw Tom Benford's "Garage and Workshop Gear Guide," my mind automatically went into overdrive. The word gear alone conjured images of clever, trick, and problem-solving articles that every oil-soaked knucklehead like me aspires to own.
If you're anything like me, and typically respond as I did, you can imagine my initial disappointment when I cracked the book to the introduction of Chapter 5, a spread flanked by images of ordinary pliers. "Pliers?" I mumbled to myself. "What's not to know about those?"
Plenty, it seems. In my haste I failed to recognize "Gear Guide" as a comprehensive map of the tools and equipment we gearheads use on a day-to-day basis. Benford packed full 190-plus pages with useful information about tools that newcomers haven't discovered and veterans take for granted. He even addresses several low-buck or no-buck tips and tricks to get that much more out of tools or to make your own tools for specific jobs.
As damning as my initial appraisal sounded, don't write "Gear Guide" off as merely a rudimentary guide to basic tools; it's filled with great information and it makes a logical-and well-needed-transition to Richard Newton's "Ultimate Garage Handbook" and David Jacobs' "How to Design and Build Your Auto Workshop," also Motorbooks titles.
I pride myself on my ability to discover tools that few people recognize. If I can find one thing to criticize about "Gear Guide," it's that it reveals many of my secret weapons.
How To Draw Cars Like A Pro, 2nd Edition
Motorbooks
Any bona-fide gearhead can produce volumes of grade-school paperwork bedecked with cars. I know I can. I also know I could've used a copy of Thom Taylor's "How to Draw Cars like a Pro."
Considering the stylistic changes in the decade since he wrote the first book of the same title, Taylor's revised edition is a welcome update. Without coming off as condescending, he assumes we know nothing about illustration and lays a foundation of solid techniques. Furthermore, he presents each of these principles (perspective, proportion, line quality, etc.) in their own chapter.
Taylor once again drew upon many of the talented artists that appeared in his earlier book, including Steve Stanford, Darrell Mayabb, and Dave "Big" Deal. Their diverse contributions, when combined with Lisa Hallett's editing skills, make this book intuitive and easy to read-no mean feat considering the subject's technical nature.
Taylor makes the point that poor automotive artists abound, and that the instructions in this book can give its readers an edge in the art world. We'll make the case that marginal car builders abound. Even if you never set pencil to paper, the instructions in this book will teach you to look at cars in an entirely new perspective-one that may give you an edge in the car-building world.
GM's Motorama, The Glamorous Show Cars Of A Cultural Phenomenon
Motorbooks
To this author's knowledge, no other automotive manufacturing company embarked upon such an inspirational marketing campaign as General Motors did between 1950 and 1961. As monumental as its Motorama program was, however, the book, "GM's Motorama, The Glamorous Show Cars of a Cultural Phenomenon," concentrates on the years between 1953 and 1956, a period when Harley Earl convinced GM brass to let each of its design divisions build the cars they dreamed about.
The idea for "GM's Motorama" extends back to 2003, when its author, David Temple, wrote a series of articles for Car Collector magazine about missing Motorama cars. This book isn't a reproduction of those pieces; it's an extension thereof.
Temple amassed nearly 200 pages of highly technical information about the Motorama dream cars-of which very few now exist. He talked his way into GM's archives to show hundreds of photos of these cars, many of which haven't been seen since they were taken. He also built a firsthand perspective by interviewing many of the designers who worked at GM during the program, like Chuck Jordan, who wrote the book's forward.
The subject of this book is a movement rich in pop culture, a movement that generated icons like the 1953 Corvette and the Oldsmobile F-88, and Temple treats them with equal deference. Many will tell you that GM set the standard for new-car salons; we're here to tell you that "GM's Motorama" sets the standard for any discussion about those four magical years.
Barrett-Jackson, The World's Greatest Collector Car Event
Motorbooks
Once upon a time my elders implored, "Why waste your time and money on those old clunkers?" They still hound me decades later; however, now it's "What vintage car would make a good investment?" The Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, with its high-profile image and SPEED Channel broadcasts, is at least partially responsible for that.
While I gnash my teeth as once-ordinary crates cross the block for more money than the cost of the above-average home in America, I begrudgingly give Barrett-Jackson its due. As Larry Edsall explains in "Barrett-Jackson, The World's Greatest Collector Car Event," I have plenty of reason to. His account of the events that transpired after two car buffs met to negotiate the sale of a restored car one afternoon is pretty captivating.
The book's rather pretentious subtitle is by no accident; Barrett-Jackson auctions are grand in the big-top Barnum & Bailey fashion. This book details the precedents that a family-run company set for other automotive auctions to follow, and due to Edsall's editing background, it's a good read. Best of all, Edsall devotes a great part of this book to some pretty noteworthy iron.
While most of us can't afford the six-digit gavel drops just to experience latent exotics like Chevrolet Camaros or Dodge Darts, this book offers great value; it takes us behind the scenes to show us how selling cars created a new generation of enthusiasts.
American Horsepower, 100 Years Of Great Car Engines
Motorbooks
If the engine is the soul of the car, "American Horsepower, 100 Years of Great Car Engines" is the gearhead's bible. True to the book's name, editor Mike Mueller compiled a list of the greatest soul-stirring American powerplants. Then, he did something near impossible: He pared that number down to 25.
These engines run the gamut from four to 16 cylinders, 20 to 500 horsepower, and 140 to 488 cubic inches. Every one of them was mass produced at one time or another, so it's not like he peppered the pot with a manufacturer's wet dream. Most importantly, he treats every engine equally.
The latter must've proved especially difficult, as only a bona-fide car nut could tell a compelling story about an engine, and every bona-fide car nut I know has a personal bias; however, Mueller approaches every engine with the zeal of its most ardent admirer. He sets the context with a back-story, goes into the events that transpired to create the engine, practically reads us the blueprints, and proves to us the engine's significance.
While this book retells the story of already famous engines like Ford and Chevrolet's V-8s, it does something more: It rekindles the fire for long-obsolete engines from long-defunct companies like Mercer and Hudson. Every one of these engines, no matter how obscure, is a stepping-stone of automotive history, and this book offers its reader a broad perspective. Who knows? After reading it, you might sound like you know what you're talking about!
Up In Flames, The Art Of Flame Painting
Motorbooks
It ain't a hot rod 'til it's flamed, or so the saying goes. By that note, a library ain't complete 'til it's got Tim Phelps and "Yosemite" Sam Radoff's "Up in Flames, the Art of Flame Painting." Phelps and Radoff teamed up with photographer Paul Westbrook to create what's quite possibly the most comprehensive-if not the only-compilation of practicing flame painters to date.
Phelps digs into these 18 artists' biographies to tell their stories. Even though each artist comes from different generations, different backgrounds, and different parts of the country even, a common thread binds their stories. They simultaneously illustrate how veteran artists influenced their junior contemporaries in the past and how old hands and protgs alike influence each other's work to this day.
Aside from showcasing examples of each artist's work, Paul Westbrook's detailed photography serves as a field guide for anyone looking for just the right flames for a particular project. Despite the fact that this is in fact a car book, he treats his human subjects with as much or more reverence than their four-wheeled counterparts.
If you're a fan of flames-whether on a flying fish or flanking an old Ford-"Up in Flames" will find a welcome place in your collection. We must warn you though; this book may inspire some weaker-willed readers to flame everything in sight!
Pinstripe Planet, Fine Lines From The World's Best
Motorbooks
Of all hot rod and custom practices, pinstriping may captivate enthusiasts the most. It's everywhere, as nearly every automotive expression from horse-drawn carriages to Top Fuel dragsters bear the mark of the local sword; it's easy to pick up, as anybody with a brush and some enamel paint is theoretically a pinstriper; it's also captivating, as success with that brush and paint eludes all but the dedicated.
That elite group is exactly who Herb Martinez focused on for "Pinstripe Planet, Fine Lines from the World's Best." Like "Up in Flames," "Pinstripe Planet" features detailed profiles of renowned pinstripers. The book addresses these artists in their respective geographic location per chapter: one for the U.S., another for Europe, and a third for Japan and Australia.
Thematically speaking, this book's first chapter differentiates "Pinstripe Planet" from "Up in Flames." Whereas "Flames" chronicles its genre's practicing artists, "Planet" makes no distinction; it extends its profiles to the pinstriping world's seminal players, some who are no longer with us. As a result, we get great synapses on guys we know well, like Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and guys we really should know better, like Tommy "The Greek" Hrones.
As a result of Martinez's perspective, we're treated to a chronological history-an unbroken line, if you will-that tells the modern pinstripe's story. "Pinstripe Planet," like "Up in Flames," constitutes a relatively new book genre that presents formerly overlooked automotive subcultures in the art-book venue, and for that reason they'll ultimately become cornerstones of any well-stocked automotive library.
Differentials, Identification, Restoration & Repair
Ring & Pinion Services
To count the number of automotive technical books would take a lot of fingers and toes. Then again, think of the last one you saw specifically devoted to axles and dedicated specifically to differentials. Writer and ASE-certified Master Tech Jim Allen and Randy Lyman-the latter best known as engineer and CEO of Randy's Ring & Pinion-noted this deficiency in the automotive aftermarket library and compiled "Differentials, Identification, Restoration & Repair." And from a gearhead perspective, it's one of the more-if not the most-comprehensive drivetrain-specific books.
"Differentials" begins with a tutorial that explains how part shape and construction influence durability. A metallurgy section transitions to an encyclopedia that includs a rather comprehensive list of OEM axle codes. The real meat and potatoes of this encyclopedia are the 38 separate axle entries.
Each entry includes a list of factory and aftermarket gear ratios and traction-enhancing options; configurations and dimensions; original vehicle applications; and assembly torque specifications. A brief rundown of each axle's assets and faults accompanies each entry. The following four chapters address rebuild practices, repair issues, and modifications, and the final chapter is dedicated to servicing traction-enhancing differentials. Best of all, its authors break this book down in easily navigable chunks, much like an OEM service manual.
"Differentials" is a valuable-if not priceless-manual to help any do-it-yourselfer select or rebuild an axle. By the mere fact that this book is the first of its kind, it is by default definitive. By the 378 pages chock-full of comprehensive information, it's likely to retain its title for a long, long time.
Darryl Starbird, The Bubble Top King
National Rod & Custom Car Hall Of Fame
Even if you know Darryl Starbird pretty well, you still don't know all there is to know about him. Most recently he and his nephew Brice Bledsoe cut another facet-that of publisher-into his rather dazzling gem of a life when they wrote "Darryl Starbird, The Bubble Top King." It's a 228-page tome dedicated to one of the most influential personalities in the custom-car world.
In a local sense, Starbird influenced Wichita contemporaries Dave Puhl (Phaze II and Illusion), Dave Stuckey (Li'l Coffin), and Jerry and Elden Titus (KKOA founder and car builder, respectively). In a national sense, he's almost unrivaled: He gave Ed Roth both the inspiration and information to blow bubbletops; he and his family have promoted a touring custom car show since 1957 (they even owned the Grand National Roadster Show for a period); and model-car manufacturer Monogram rendered in miniature scale several of his designs. Remember the quote in the film "American Graffiti" about the Superfleck Moonbird? Well, that was a direct reference to Darryl Starbird.
"Bubble Top King" illustrates Darryl Starbird's dynamism. Along with the bubbletops, tiller steering, and legendary show circuits, he's given us one of the most prolific portfolios; he built dozens-if not hundreds-of cars over the past half a century. Considering that each car reflects its respective era, that amounts to quite a diverse palate. In fact, we're going to say that if you're a devotee to a specific era in Darryl's career, you may find some of the cars from another era quite shocking. "Bubble Top King" is influential, even if only for the fact that it's a printed archive of Darryl Starbird's life's work.
How To Paint Your Car On A Budget
Cartech
In one fell swoop you can endear yourself to your car buddies and make enemies with your neighbors-just paint your own car at home. If you do, by all means go out and get a copy of "How to Paint Your Car on a Budget."
Pat Ganahl, by all accounts the consummate do-it-yourselfer with a flair for paint and an expressive writer to boot, assembled a compendium of handy tips for the truly enterprising amateur painter and delivered them in roughly 144 well-illustrated pages. Among other things he covers what we, as budding shooters, should look for, embrace, or avoid when painting a car. Seeing how he compiled this information over decades of his own car-painting experience, this is valid information. In fact, other than a few references he makes to older methods and materials, the book is refreshingly free from antiquated information.
Ganahl touches on paint stripping and metal repair methods, paint formulas, preparation techniques, tools, and-you guessed it-effective means to transform your garage into an ad hoc paint booth. His instructions run the gamut from quick fixes to all-out restoration, and he dispenses professionals' tricks along the way. He doesn't consider the job done when the paint dries either; instead, he lets Bill Larzelere tell us how to make a good job look that much better by showing us how to color sand and polish finished surfaces.
While Ganahl's comprehensive tutorial makes "How to Paint Your Car on a Budget" informative, it's his casual delivery and plain language that makes it so exceptional. Without a doubt, prep and paintwork is intimidating; however, after reading this, I'm convinced even I could paint a car.
Small-Block Chevy Performance, 1955-1996
Cartech
What's there to say about a half-century-old engine that hasn't been said in a hundred books already? Plenty, according to John Baechtel's "Small-Block Chevy Performance, 1955-1996." While Chevy's latest Mouse is more than a decade obsolete, its salad days aren't over. In fact, this book in its latest incarnation is a gospel to the still-strong list of aftermarket-parts manufacturers that cater to Chevrolet's first-series baby.
It isn't what this book includes that makes it so good. In fact, it's quite the opposite; it's the obsolete information that didn't make it into this book's production that makes it stand out from its peers. Gone are the hare-brained schemes, and in their place are 50 years of solid, proven techniques. While Baechtel endorses several manufacturers' wares, this book is more of a testimonial to sound preparation and construction practice than a bid to generate business for an already bustling aftermarket industry.
The parts identification guides are factual; the modifications listed are relevant. Tables full of tolerance recommendations and parts guides pepper the book; checklists throughout eliminate the variables that invariably trip up even the best engine builders. Most importantly, Baechtel elected not to dilute "Small-Block Chevy Performance" with a step-by-step assembly guide.
While the first-series small-block Chevrolet engine may be a decade out of production, "Small-Block Chevy Performance" stands as proof that the engine is nowhere near obsolete. In fact, if books like this are any indication to the small-block's livelihood, the end for the Mouse that roars is nowhere in sight.
How To Custom Paint Your Car
Motorbooks
For decades now we've all celebrated flames, scallops, graphics, and murals. On the other hand, any enterprising custom car painter will tell you that the methods the old hands use to achieve their particular results are practically trademarked secrets. In fact, the custom-paint crowd as a whole is a pretty cagey lot.
That said, the diehards can't be altogether happy with JoAnn Bortles (Crazy Horse Painting). Her "How To Custom Paint Your Car" is a comprehensive tome dedicated to paint in general and custom-painting applications specifically. In just short of 200 pages, she discusses the tools and tricks the pros use to achieve intricate and mind-boggling paint designs.
Beyond the general paint tutorial at the beginning, Bortles jumps right into rather complicated painting techniques like 'flake spraying and marbling. She dedicates a whole chapter to nothing but airbrushing, including the patterning techniques used to accurately reproduce designs from one side of a car to another. A further chapter divulges the secrets behind popular ghost- and multilayer flame designs. She even calls upon pinstriper Ryan Young to instruct us on 'striping techniques. Finally, Bortles ties up the book with a comprehensive troubleshooting and repair guide.
Bortles doesn't just make the seemingly impossible look so simple; she shows us that it actually is. In fact, in the first page of the troubleshooting chapter, she breaks down custom painting to 60 percent common sense, 25 percent technique, and 15 percent talent. If that's the case, then maybe the biggest secret to custom-painting cars isn't as complicated as it looks and the secretive old timers really are trying to scare us away!
CarTech Inc.
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National Rod & Custom Car Hall of Fame
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www.darrylstarbird.com
Randy's Ring & Pinion Services
425-347-1199
www.ringpinion.com
