Automotive Books

Nigel Roebuck is widely considered to be one of motor racing finest scribes. In this book, with a bit of an odd title (since it focuses on much more than just the F1 championship battles, but our Nigel acknowledges that), Roebuck again narrates miscellaneous stories and anectodes, remembrances and conversations from the world of Formula One. Never boring, with that Roebuck-wit and humour, it not only captivates but it also amuses. Of particular interest are his opinions, whether you agree with him or not. Roebuck covers the whole spectrum, from the modern Formula One cars and the knee-jerk reactions to safety improvements, to perceptive studies of personalities like Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, Enzo Ferrari, Sid Watkins, and Jacques Villeneuve-- amongst the many. A book for the serious Formula One fan, who appreciates the great history of the sport as well as its many great characters. A must on any Formula One student's shelf!

Nigel Roebuck, one of the finest journalists to cover motorsport in general and Formula One in particular, presents in this book a wonderful series of sharp vignettes covering the entire period of the modern World Championship. Roebuck begins at Imola in 1994, when, as he puts it aptly, "everything changed" with the tragic death of Ayrton Senna and the introduction of knee-jerk "safety" improvements which have led only to boring racing and have not, as we learned earlier this season, prevented what are, given the nature of the sport, inevitable tragedies. Hard as it is to believe, the "turbo years" of the late 70s and 80s are beginning to look suspiciously like a final golden age, which they certainly weren't at the time, but, given the emasculation of tracks, over-dominance by a few teams, and drivers who do not understand the history of the sport and drive like they're the only man on the track, they're beginning to look pretty good in retrospect. But I digress. Between the covers of this book you'll find incisive portraits of several great drivers (among them Phil Hill, Piers Courage, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, and Jochen Rindt), car owners (the great Rob Walker, who long after his car-owning days were over wrote wonderful F1 journalism for Road & Track when R&T was still a great magazine), and others associated with the F1 scene (journalist Denis Jenkinson, F1's official doctor Professor Sid Watkins, and current F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone). He also writes of several races - the great slipstreaming duel at Monza in 1971, the first win for Renault in 1979, Dallas 1984 which ended with Nigel Mansell trying to push his car over the finish line in the blazing heat. As an added incentive, there are sections of black and white and color photographs. More and more nonfiction books seem to be doing away with illustrations, and with F1 being the visual spectacle that it is, we can be glad that Roebuck and his publisher resisted this new and unfortunate trend. Turn to the section of color plates and feast your eyes on the first photograph - Fangio in the Maserati 250F at Monaco in 1957. The greatest driver, the greatest car, the greatest race; one picture says it all. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Formula One.

When I first saw this book's title, I nearly gave it a pass, thinking it was just one more in an already well-covered niche. But Nigel Roebuck's name was enough for me to chance it. (If you've read his columns you know he's always interesting.) This book is really unique. Despite the title, it's not an attempt to condense a history of 50 years of racing. It's more like a collection of essays about people and events that are not well covered elsewhere. I've read a LOT of books about F1 (cars, teams, drivers, ...) but each chapter of this book had new and intriguing things to say. It was a really enjoyable read, as well.

This book is one of the best books that I've ever read. It does not concentrate on the stats or indeed particularly on the winners of the World Championship. It takes a personal look at the people, races and years that have shaped F1 from it's very begining. It is a great read for any F1 fan as Roebuck succeeds in not only jogging our memory of the past but also telling untold behind the scenes stories in detail not to mention a tinge of humour. I trully love this book, in fact I think I've read it cover to cover at least 3 times if not more.

This is a wonderful book for those who wish to explore the world of Chevy from 1929 to 1939.

Great book! Unfortunately does not discuss Chevy's fine line of pickup trucks or panel trucks. Does - however - primarily through archival black & white photographs - show model by year - sometimes comparing with Chevy's competition for that year. I would highly recommend for Chevy enthusiasts. (Note: No color photographs.)

Great book! Unfortunately does not discuss Chevy's fine line of pickup trucks or panel trucks. Does - however - primarily through archival black & white photographs - show model by year - sometimes comparing with Chevy's competition for that year. I would highly recommend for Chevy enthusiasts. (Note: No color photographs.)

This was a great book, lots of really great car photos. It was packed with facts. I shared it with my Dad, a long-time Chevy man, and he loved it too!

Ted Boland did a great job explaining this book in his review. But let me tell you, where he is a Ford Guy, I am a Chevy Guy, and this book is perfect for lovers of the Bowtie. This is part of a series of books by John Robertson on Chevrolet. It contains a rich treasure trove of publicity photos taken by GM, most if not all of which I have never seen before. He gives enough detail to not bore you, and you can tell he has a good grasp on GM history. Of course 1941-1954 covers World War Two (when car production virtually stopped), and the post-war boom. What's really interesting is this is often considered to be Chevy's "stodgy" period, just before Chevrolet came out with its new V-8 engines, which turned the '55-'57 Chevys into some of the most sought-after-by-collectors cars ever! But those pre-55s were solid automobiles, and popular with growing families (I, myself, bounced around in the front seat in my mother's arms in a '54 Chevy while Dad drove. No child seats in those days!).

This whole series by Robertson is worth having if you're a Chevy fan, a Classic Cars fan, or as Ted said, even a Ford fan.

I bought this for my Husband who is a real lover of any Chev or really any classic car and one day we will have to buy him one or I wont get any peace.
He has spent allot of time reading it and loves all the information.
Great Book.

I'm not much of a Chevy guy, but I am a freak for books with factory photos of concepts and actual production models.

The author of this book annoyed me with his barfingly partisan Chevrolet leanings, and I found his fawning over Studebakers to be a bit odd given it is a book about Generic Motor's biggest seller. His name is John Robertson and he was lucky enough to be supported in his family (principally by his father) in his interest in cars. He started off right, his first car was a Model A he bought for $20, but he bought a '37 Chev and went downhill from there. He worked as a clay modeler at Chrysler and eventually worked for Jam Handy, a company that made films and slides for Chevrolet showcasing their products.

Since John worked for Jam Handy, he had the GM photo archives at his fingertips essentially, and he put it to good use. There are pictures in here that got me really jazzed about the book. I really liked the format, big pictures without the usual lame magazine superlatives that you see today. Hell, you could reuse the same article from out of today's car magazines and just switch the picures and car specs. But I digress, it is an easy read, clearly of the coffee table variety, simple nosegay, but worth it. Written descriptions are concise, but a bit too partisan when pictures of Fords are shown and wonky with Studes. Clearly his personal preferences are annoyingly close to the surface in this book, but I am willing to overlook that because of the treasure trove of pictures and information.

Again, I love concept photos, and I'm not talking about the wild ones from the late '50s, but of what might have been, subtle changes that would have either been dogs or monster hits, we will never know because history did not play out that way. I'd use them for customizing ideas if I had a Chevy of the era covered in this book. Another neat feature of this book is the addition of some pictures of obscure options that would be swap meet gold today. I'll name two that really sent me; a vacuum powered bumper jack that looks like a Rube Goldberg invention, and the "spinner" steering wheel. The spinner was a conventional wheel that had a ring on the left inside spoke of a three spoke wheel. Inside this ring was a bar that would surely have had to have roller bearings on each end inside a track, if you will, inside the ring. That would allow the driver to turn the wheel without ever taking his hand off the wheel as if he had a necker's knob on there. Imagine a compass with it's needle spinning and you will see what I mean.

This book does an excellent job of explaining the nuances that make each year unique on these Chevies, a must have for restorer's, the one's who just want to know, and the anal retentive-date stamp checking purists. Hot rodders will not see any speed parts or read any glory stories about stovebolts, although, there are some cool pics of the early Corvette Blue Flame inlines. Another thing I liked were the pictures of displays, dealerships, and new model shows - back in the day you would got to the Waldorf-Astoria to see what Detroit was putting out that year.

Yes, this is the consummate car lover's book, lots of pictures and cool trivia that will stump the power parking, lawn chair, gold chainers. They won't believe half of what you could tell them about their recent purchase.

So, inspite of my being annoyed by his anti-Ford bigotry, I heartily endorse this book for what it is: a book you won't be able to put down until you have read it from cover to cover. I have read it at least five times in two weeks.

Another great book loaded with great photos. This book is also a great source of history for Chevy lovers.

Haynes repair manual help me DIY my S-10 in FAR EAST-Taiwan

this book has helped me repair my S-10 on many a saturday.thanks guys.would like to see more on vacum lines need help there. i have three lines in back of model 220 tbi,cannot find one line .can you help.one to map ok.one to front of tbi.third ? 4.3,v-6 s-10 truck vin z. can you help?

Haynes repair manual help me DIY my S-10 in FAR EAST-Taiwan

i've used haynes almost exclusively starting with my dodge dakota, then subaru, honda accord, and i'll buy and use another for my dodge ramcharger. better for the home mechanic with no training - these books actually follow the service manuals for the vehicle. chiltons might do for the semi-trained mechanic, but i find hard to follow. no book will be perfect - this helps a half way smart home mechanic the best.

As usual, Chilton provides a comprehensive manual for the covered model years. The only flaw was that this particular version was utterly lacking in schematic diagrams. This was disappointing as Chilton's normally has outstanding schematics. I'll not be returning it though as it otherwise is exemplary.

I have been using Chilton's Auto Repair Manuals my whole life. Both as a 'Novice' and a 'Professional' and can say that the attention to detail placed into the Chilton's Manuals are impeccable. Even though I work in a different field here in Europe, I still had the opportunity to pull out my Collector's Edition and work on restoring a 1971 Plymouth GTX that belongs to a co-worker. Step by Step outlines, factory tolerances and exploded diagrams aid in making a simple repair to a complicated restore seem like 'childs play'. Got a repair? Got a favorite car to restore? Got a Chilton's? If the answer is yes to these questions...then go for it!

This book is very well-written. Out of all the books available, this book contained every piece of information that I needed.

This is the very first book that my father bought for me. I learned all about fixing cars while using this volume to keep my 1967 Olds Cutlass running. Within the pages I discovered more than enough info and proceedures that I actually went on to become an ASE/FORD certified mechanic. I still use and recommend all Chilton's volumes.

quisiera informacion sobre nissan patrol motor tipo P , carroceria k16

quisiera informacion sobre nissan patrol motor tipo P , carroceria k16

Great book with illustrations. Good source for items about my 1968 1600 roadster not covered elsewhere.

nissan patro

I ordered this book to help trouble shoot starting problems I was having with the bike. It gave me very precise instructions, and easy to follow illustrations.

I was able to find and fix the problem in no time. I recommend it if you have this bike.

Shima.

Great packaging, fast shipping, and really was brand new with the correct item sent! Would buy from again!

Top quality routine maintenance and repair manual. The pictures with the text and the step by step format is a home mechanic's "right hand" tech manual.

This is just one of many Clymer manuals I've had over many years. Always top shelf material.

Having a slightly flakey Honda Rebel it became very important to me to be able to find my way around the bike. This manual is extremely informative and extremely accurate. It does detail just about everything you need to know.

However for a relative neophyte such as myself it has some significant deficiencies:
1) The photographs are black and white and quite low contrast, you cannot always quite see what they are pointing at and thus finding it on the bike is tough
2) I think these manuals are designed for a motorcycle repair shop, they often assume too much. 'Quickly check the compression before reseting the timing' is not detailed enough for someone that is proud he found the ignition switch ...
3) They were only half updated for the newer model. The 199x model rebels are different to the older ones but all the differences are contained in a seperate chapter

As I say, I don't think there is anything any better ... but this manual will be a little intimidating for a newbie ...

My new E-Mail address is mytr6@home.co

My new E-Mail Address is mytr6@home.co

My husband just recently purchased a 1976 Triumph TR6. He is going to restore it and has used this book everyday since we got it! He loves it! The guy we bought the TR6 from highly recommended it to us.

I have used this book to rebuild my car. It is by far the best manual on the market. It goes into detail on all areas and give a step by step "how to" on all repairs. A must for any TR6 owner.

Received this book as a birthday gift and am truly impressed with the information and pictures.
Just a small problem. The copy I got had blank pages in place of 394,395,398,399,402,403,406 & 407.These were in the specification section.
You might want to check if you're going to buy a copy that it has these pages.

I bought this book for my brother's 50th bday, who happens to own a 50th anniversay corvette. The photography is absolutely fabulous. Page after page of beautiful color photos. Also has all the specs from each year. Very interesting read also. I highly recommend. A great book for an inexpensive price.

if you are a corvette fan, or just an auto fan, you must have this book. it covers corvettes from 1953 to 2003 with entries of the designers and their drawings and models, dream and show cars, race cars, and production models. it covers all these with beautiful color photos and in-detail descriptions. it even has each model years statistics. this being a 50th anniversary edition will only make it more valuable as time goes by.

As a proud owner of a new C5 Corvette, a friend of mine bought this book for me. After a few hours, I finally set it down only to see his 3 year old daughter spill a glass of milk all over it. So I had no choice but to immediately buy another!

I thought I knew everything about Corvettes, especially the beautiful C5. This book taught more then I could ever learn by mere Corvette ownership alone.

This has production figures for every year, numbers produced with different options (ex. 454 with convertible top with A/C and 4 speed) and a very well detailed history of every model ever produced.

Agree with other reviews, but I am a bit dismayed at the number of errors I have found, and continue to find. I keep needing to cross-check numbers and codes with other sources such as the always reliable "Corvette Black Book".

Great book-I love things that make you feel happy. Books like this do that. It is FUN to research information from the past. This book is on car parts research and is a great help to all that enjoy original. I love books like this. Sure beats reading the newspaper or watching the news. Wouldn't you agree? I recommend this book. You'll love it!

This book is, indeed, the essential Corvette powertrain parts reference for the V8-powered Vette's first 27 model years. Some consumers' first reactions might be to question the book's 50-dollar price, but when you consider its depth and detail along with the cost of its considerable research; most C1, 2 and 3 enthusiasts in need of a definitive text on V8 powertrain parts identification will agree the price is justified.

The book begins with a very interesting explanation by author Colvin of how he got started in the business of doing parts ID books, how the Chevrolet parts numbering system worked in the '55-'82 period, how he conducted his extensive research of Chevrolet and General Motors archives, information on how to use the book and his of views on the state of the restoration hobby. In that last section you get Colvin's wry observation, "Knowledge is the ultimate weapon against counterfeit Chevrolet muscle cars." The author's expansion on that thought is well worth reading.

From there, you get more information on Corvette powertrain parts than most people will ever need. Each part type gets a chapter, from engine blocks to rear axles. Want to know information as seemingly trivial as specifications of different harmonic dampers? It's in this book. There is even a chapter for coolant and heater hoses along with chapters on non-powertrain items such as Delco radios and Libbey-Owens-Ford (LOF) glass.

I became aware of this book through my use of Alan Colvin's outstanding four-book series, "Chevrolet by the Numbers" which documents Chevrolet passenger car V8 powertrain parts used from the 1955 through the 1975 model year. This new book continues that good research and outstanding detail of those books but carries the depth to near extreme by devoting one book to a single model rather than all models.

Oh yeah, there are a few small errors, which seems typical of Bentley Publishing's books of late but, in this case, considering the size of the book, the huge amount of information inside and the low frequency of errors, this is a minor problem. For example: in the chapter on carburetors, the text refers to the Rochester E4ME "electronic Quadrajet" being used on 1981 Corvettes but neglects to note that the same carb was also used on somewhat rare, 1980 California Corvettes with the 305-cuin., LG4 engine. Also, an accompanying chart lists the '81s and the '80 CA cars as using the M4MC when in fact it was the E4ME. The chapter on exhaust manifolds claims Corvettes from '81 to present use stainless steel rather than cast iron as the manifolds' material. That is not correct. From '81-'91 everything was stainless, but from '92-'96, Vette engines, other than the LT5, used cast iron manifolds. From '97-'00 it was back to stainless, but for '01, GM once again switched to cast iron which Corvette has used up to now and will use at least until the end of the '04 model year. Other than a few small errors like this, the book's information is dependably accurate.

"Corvette by the Numbers" is well-researched, easy to read and has a generous amount of illustrations and photos. It has quickly earned a spot on the top shelf of my Vette book case where I keep frequently used reference material. Anyone needing a high-quality textbook on Corvette powertrain parts identification should buy this book. It's well-worth the price.

Use this book in order to figure out your Corvettes originality. Best book today...must own if you are a Corvette fan,