American Car - November 2015

(Steven Felgate) #1

book


reviews


AVAIlABle FRoM
Titles are available from
American Auto Mags;
Chaters Wholesale; Bookworld;
Foyles, Charing Cross Road;
Mustangbooks.com; VW-DIY; and, of
course,Amazon orThe Book
Depository online.
BookReviews

68 ACM

Powder Coating – A How-To Guide
Author: Jeffrey Zurschmeide Published by:CarTech Price: £22
Useful workshop titles are
coming thick and fast from
CarTech, and this latest one is
super-useful to anyone
considering a DIY powder
coating set-up. It's a simple walk-
through to get you started,
although the book doesn't start
covering the actual powder-
coating until well after halfway
through – the Cirst half is given
over to equipping your workshop
on a budget (unlike some
American authors of practical

titles, Zurschmeide doesn't
assume the reader has
bottomless pockets and limitless
space), DIY builds of useful things
like table-top powder coating
booths, and, most important of
all, preparation. Powder coating is
a surface coating like paint, where
preparation is more than half the
battle, so that's fair enough.
Straightforward, useful, and easily
understandable information for
anyone considering a home set-
up; deCinitely recommended.

Author: Colin Beever Published by:The Crowood Press Price: £14.99
This is a nice little pocket-sized
softback that takes the subject of
classic car ignition systems – from
the end of magnetos up to
computerised ignition becoming
commonplace – and describes it in
simple terms. The author has
managed to pitch the subject
matter just right, realising that
'beginner' is not a synonym for
'imbecile', but without going into the
sort of high-tech jargon that makes
my eyes glaze over and dribble
appear at the corner of my mouth.

If points, condensers and
coils are part of your rebuild,
you could do a lot worse than
read up on the subject with the
help of this title. The only
problem is that it's very UK-
focused, and most of the
content is about Lucas
distributors, but the principles
are the same all over. There are
sections on fault-Cinding,
rebuilding, and electronic
points conversions that'll be
useful, too. Worthwhile.

Ignition & Timing


Produced by:John Cafferman Sr, Blue Comet Productions
Price: $22 US inc P&P Available from: [email protected]

Nostalgia drag racing is bigger
now than it's ever been, and
watching this home-brewed DVD,
it's easy to see why. This is footage
from 131 Dragway in Martin,
Michigan (a venue I'd never heard
of but which played host to some
big names, as seen here) and the
Indy Nationals, all between 1966
and 1970, the period that most
Nostalgia drag racing is nostalgic
FOR! The days when the wild,
blown fuel slingshots were still
kings, when the biggest teams in

the country would arrive in the pits
with the car on a beavertail ramp-
truck – no Cleet of artics for them –
and when big names like Jungle
Jim Lieberman, Arnie Beswick, the
Ramchargers, Stone Woods & Cook
and Dyno Don Nicholson would
draw in the big crowds.
This DVD is made up of a mixture
of home-movie Cilm and stills
shown in slide-show format. The
picture is grainy, the hand-held
camera a bit shaky, and focus isn't
always 100%, but it wouldn't be

right any other way – you didn't
get Hollywood quality built into
your telephone in the sixties. It's a
perfect snapshot of the period;
wild racing, and good, clean fun.
In fact, some of the best shots on
the DVD are right at the very end;
a bunch of lads, presumably the
videographer's mates, at the
event, laughing, and looking like
they're having the time of their
lives. Now THAT's what people get
nostalgic for... and worth bearing
in mind for Christmas.

Drag Racing In The 60s


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