Cool Car Books - recommendations?

[Dauphin]

I got this book, it's pretty big and will keep you busy for a looooooong time:

Standard Guide to American Muscle Cars 1960-2000 by John Gunnell

[Moby Vic]

I just got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Ford-Drag-Team.../dp/0983060673

And while looking up the link for that one, I saw this one that I'll probably get:
http://www.amazon.com/Thunderbolt-St.../dp/0985200995

[SSD-85]

Basically any book published on rebuilding Big Block Ford V8s.

Pages get stuck together quicker than any Picture mag....

[bathurst-racer]

Originally Posted by wrongwaynorris

The Unfair Advantage , Mark Donohues biography , brilliant read .

THE book for anyone into racing. Another similar book for F1 fans is It Was Fun the autobiography of Tony Rudd. He was an engineer and team manager for BRM and then Lotus. Rapid Response by Dr Steve Olvey is his story in the USAC and CART series. I Just Made The Tea by Di Spires is a great look behind the scenes in Formula One.

[aussiblue]

Bosch/SAE Automotive Handbook I have everyone of the 8 editions. Unfortunately the price just keeps increasing (albeit so does its size and the amount of information therein).

[aussiblue]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just bought that book today! Bloody good read, informative with some good facts comparing each model ..... specs & not just a personal opinion by a journalist.

Hmm I actually found it in parts very opinionated and lacking in supporting references. Perhaps because I have all the Wheels, Motor Manual, Sports Car World and Motor magazines dating back to 1970 and my car ownerships dates back to then too, there was nothing new for me in them. I also didn't like the "pub talk" writing style. An example that stuck out both in terms of pub talk and lack of supporting references was the assertion "

The name LTD was derived from Ford Australia's aspirations for the car , 'Lincoln Type Design' - just in case you were wondering.

As the LTD designation was first used in the USA I don't think it can be argued it reflected Oz Australia's aspirations. My research suggests LTD" probably stands for no more than "el tee dee" . In the book Ford Galaxie & LTD 1960-1976 -Gold Portfolio (Brooklands Road Tests S.) (Paperback) by R.M. Clarke" the original Galaxie LTD road test in Car Life said at the time nobody in Ford (USA) had any idea what it meant and a later road test said Ford had said it meant nothing at all like many other letter attached to a car (e.g. EXE S, XL, GL etc which consumers and salesmen haves since attached meanings to). The Car Life article also pointed out that it could not mean "Limited" as that name was copyrighted by Chrysler and another early road test articles from South Africa noted that in South Africa buyers had assumed it meant "luxury trim decor" and "limited" and the Aussie writer thought it was "Lincoln Type Design."

So perhaps some stylist or marketing guru at Ford in the 60's just decided what three letters looked best in Gothic print or perhaps his name (or his wife, girlfriend, son or pet dog) had the initials LTD (perhaps its was something like Lindsay Terrance Dudley). Perhaps, worse given its North American common application it stood for something Ford didn't wish to confess to like "large taxi design."

And yes Ford Oz has said several times it stands for Lincoln Type Design see http://www.fordforums.com/f126/ltd-11983/index2.html and http://www.fordforums.com/f517/ltd-s...78/index6.html but Ford South Africa said "luxury trim decor" so I suspect Ford Oz the just dreamed up a convenient answer to journalist inevitable question that has stuck.

Still I can appreciate the appeal of these books to those were not around until more recently and the pub talk style approach may appeal to others. Of this style of book I though Clinton Walkers "Golden Miles - Sex, Speed and the Australian Muscle Car was a much better effort and much better referenced with a comprehensive list of sources in the back pages.

[aussiblue]

Of the Oz publications in my collection of some hundreds my favourite is probably Pedr Davis' The [Macquarie] Australian Dictionary of Motoring While it contains a few errors, that is forgivable give the breath of the subject, and it is a handy quick reference for many Australian car facts.

[aussiblue]

Oh and two books dealing with the history of car dealers in WA Cars, Characters and Crank Handles: A Century of Motor Dealing in Western Australia by A. John Parker, Bob Campbell and Wheels of Fortune - The Life and Times of the Automotive Holdings Group by Colin Rockman. Probably only of interest to oldies from WA like me in the past who dealt with many of the characters and near conmen who were involved in the WA car industry in years past.

[Bill M]

One interesting book I recall reading was Wheels of Misfortune by Jonathon Wood. The rise and fall of the British Motor Industry.
One of the Chief executives was named Alick Dick!

Another goodie is The Joy of Driving by Gavin Farmer which documents the Tickford years in Australia.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

As the LTD designation was first used in the USA I don't think it can be argued it reflected Oz Australia's aspirations. My research suggests LTD" probably stands for no more than "el tee dee" . In the book Ford Galaxie & LTD 1960-1976 -Gold Portfolio (Brooklands Road Tests S.) (Paperback) by R.M. Clarke" the original Galaxie LTD road test in Car Life said at the time nobody in Ford (USA) had any idea what it meant and a later road test said Ford had said it meant nothing at all like many other letter attached to a car (e.g. EXE S, XL, GL etc which consumers and salesmen haves since attached meanings to). The Car Life article also pointed out that it could not mean "Limited" as that name was copyrighted by Chrysler and another early road test articles from South Africa noted that in South Africa buyers had assumed it meant "luxury trim decor" and "limited" and the Aussie writer thought it was "Lincoln Type Design."

I have always been suspect of the "Lincoln Type Design" story. I never heard that until the Internet, and there's all kinds of garbage information on the Internet.

I've always believed it stood for "Limited," as the original LTD was the exclusive top series of the full-size American Ford. Mercury was still running strong at the time. Why would Ford offer a competitor to its two more senior brands?

I think someone just made up the "Lincoln Type Design" thing, posted it on the Internet, and it has gained traction.

[castellan]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

I have always been suspect of the "Lincoln Type Design" story. I never heard that until the Internet, and there's all kinds of garbage information on the Internet.

I've always believed it stood for "Limited," as the original LTD was the exclusive top series of the full-size American Ford. Mercury was still running strong at the time. Why would Ford offer a competitor to its two more senior brands?

I think someone just made up the "Lincoln Type Design" thing, posted it on the Internet, and it has gained traction.

Well John Lawes said he thought it was for Long Time Dead i heard him say that back in 1986.

It's just LTD to me.
Ford Falcon GL, GS, GT, fairmont etc are a Falcon type.
Ford Fairlane types marquie etc
Ford LTD types etc
Never seen an aussie LTD brosuire claiming anything other than LTD.
So it's just Ford Australia LTD.

Holden Statesman was never called a Holden Statesman until the commodore.
So i think it's got to do with nameing rights to that name etc as we all fork out a percentage to some one who has the rights to that name on each car sold and so on. if you look at the old statesmans eng number it starts with 11 on all but for the WB Caprice as it has it starting with 12.
Bedford has a starting prefix with B on all holden engines that came in them be it 6 cyl 173ci 202ci or V8 253ci 308ci so someone owns the rights to every engine put in a Bedford or statesman.
As Holden is just GM Holden 'GMH' not Holden.

[aussiblue]

I've always believed it stood for "Limited," as the original LTD was the exclusive top series of the full-size American Ford. Mercury was still running strong at the time. Why would Ford offer a competitor to its two more senior brands?

Can't legally stand for " limited" as Chrysler held the copyright for "Limited" and has "Limited" badged car when the first LTDs were released in North America and imported into Oz. The Ford Galaxie 500 LTD was introduced in 1965 but Ford Oz didn't make an LTD until 1973. However, you can't help wondering if that what was intended but due to the copyright issues Ford could never confirm it was. Ford Australia has said in black and white a number of times in stood for "Lincoln Type Design" although this conflicts with Ford north America's earlier advice that it stands for nothing and Ford South Africa advice that it was "Luxury Trim Décor".

[aussiblue]

I still think tongue in cheek that 'Large Taxi Design' is a contender given the LTD's popularity as a taxi and the LTD taxi packages released by Ford:

[Dauphin]

Britain's Favourite Cars of the Decade

I picked up this book recently, it's very comprehensive and full of content:



Wish I had found that it was selling for $1 secondhand!

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Book...vourite%20cars

[smoo]

Collecting automotive books is an addiction of mine with thousands worth sitting there. 'Hey Charger' is a favorite, probably the most comprehensive resource for Australian made and designed Chryslers. Publishing stopped a good ten years ago so they are quite pricey now.

[Loonar]

Good Morning all, happy new year btw... I've recently received a copy of Allan Moffats book, " Climbing the Mountain ".
Enthralling stuff, a lot i didn't know of course. Since i and my brother 1st spotted him on our old black and white telly piloting those lovely falcons around Bathurst in '69, always a fan. This book confirms that !! So, do yourselves a favour and grab a copy!!

[Dauphin]

Picked up this large hardback for $2 in an op shop the other week:

Autobiography - The inside story of Holden's all-new VE Commodore by Peter Robinson.



Wish there had been a Ford FG equivalent.

[stock1991]

I once asked a dealer "what does LTD stand for" he said Lovely to Drive

[aussiblue]

I just finished reading Adrian Newey's "How to Build a Car" a greta read and great insight into F1.

[stock1991]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

Oh and two books dealing with the history of car dealers in WA Cars, Characters and Crank Handles: A Century of Motor Dealing in Western Australia by A. John Parker, Bob Campbell and Wheels of Fortune - The Life and Times of the Automotive Holdings Group by Colin Rockman. Probably only of interest to oldies from WA like me in the past who dealt with many of the characters and near conmen who were involved in the WA car industry in years past.

aussie I bet we know some of the same people, I worked for Titan Ford in Melville and also the AHG owned Titan Ford in Sydney. Colin Rockman is a name I know also

[solarite_guy]

If you don't mind the dry to no wit of a couple mechanical engineers and have historical interest in late 60s Group 2 racing, a book by the title "Unfair Advantage" by Mark Donahue and Paul Van Valkenburg could be a good read. Though the most recent printing has dropped Paul Vs name from the cover.

It is an inside expos'e of the early Sunoco Camaro Tran-Am cars. Some out of the box thinking of the time, some legal and some not legal, is put on the table for all to see. At the time Paul V was an editor for Sports Car Graphic and an SCCA competitor in A sedan, which, for all intents and purposes were the same as Trans-Am cars. Paul would actually test many of the topics discussed in the book, with his own car and get a sense of the effectiveness of the mods and the acceptance by the readers. Of course, that all of these article were related to the #6 Camaro was never disclosed. Also, of course anyone who read the SCG articles instantly knew the relationship.

When the inner geek needs to be satisfied, this could be a good book.

P.S. Interesting inside note, Pauls Camaro was actually faster than the #6 with Donahue behind the wheel through the famous, or maybe infamous, turn 9 at Riverside. Paul attributed this to twin mounted front anti sway bars he somehow mounted. wasn't illegal at the time. I forgot if this is discussed in the book.

[au350hp]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

Can't legally stand for " limited" as Chrysler held the copyright for "Limited" and has "Limited" badged car when the first LTDs were released in North America and imported into Oz. The Ford Galaxie 500 LTD was introduced in 1965 but Ford Oz didn't make an LTD until 1973. However, you can't help wondering if that what was intended but due to the copyright issues Ford could never confirm it was. Ford Australia has said in black and white a number of times in stood for "Lincoln Type Design" although this conflicts with Ford north America's earlier advice that it stands for nothing and Ford South Africa advice that it was "Luxury Trim Décor".

Lincoln Type Design is what it stands for, plenty of articles on it.

[stock1991]

I bought the wheels of fortune book. It is Perth centric

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WHEELS-O...-/121817194054

Lincoln type design makes complete sense

[commodorenutt]

Pre-internet, we had an LTD Cartier (sadly stolen in 2001). I rang Ford in Melbourne to find out info about them, and how to confirm what it was. They sent 4-5 photocopied pages of specs on the Cartier, and what was unique. On that literature it also stated "Lincoln Type Design" which bemused me, because the FC LTD looked nothing like a Lincoln design..... but when you think back to the P6's grille (and to some extent the P5 with it's headlight covers) you can see where it could come from (for FOA cars anyway) - straight off the late 60s Continental.

But back to the topic at hand, a great book I read many years ago was the biography on Dick Johnson - not the one with the AU on the cover, it was an earlier one, that, from memory, only went up to the Mustang era. It may have touched on the Sierra - I can't remember, but it couldn't be any newer than that because I read it when I was in uni in the early/mid 90s). Some pretty funny stories in it. Haven't read the joint-authored later one with the AU on the cover yet to know if it's an extension of the old book, or completely new.

I recently got Shane Jacobson's new "Rev Head" book (the stock EH on the cover doesn't give the title much cred though....) So far it's been a good read.

[Mechan1k]

Something for kids.
Found this on noryaro's youtube channel.

https://101-squadron.com/products/jdm-colouring-book

I used to love colouring in as a kid .... and wished this was around back then

The designer is an Australian living in Norway.

[commodorenutt]

Could suit big kids too.... I got persuaded by a 7 year old to "help" colour in something the other day. Man, keeping in the lines is bloody hard, even as an adult!

[GO FURTHER]

Ford Australia: The Cars and the People Who Built Them.

Destined to become a collector's item.

[tranquilized]

Originally Posted by Dauphin

Picked up this large hardback for $2 in an op shop the other week:

Autobiography - The inside story of Holden's all-new VE Commodore by Peter Robinson.

image

Wish there had been a Ford FG equivalent.

That was a good buy, they are a few on eBay now for between $60-$80. I'm keen to find a copy, will have to check out the op shops.

[hackney]

This one great read virtually impossible to find these days.I had it when published in 1970.Cheers

[Dauphin]

Holden - Our Car by Toby and Will Hagon

This book came out in the shops around the same time as the Ford Australia one above but it's a big mess of a book. I think they did a bad job with this one. It's hard to read because it jumps around so much, whereas the Ford Australia one is a lot more straightforward.