General Automotive Reviews

This book is intended primarily for motorcyclist but almost any enthusiast who likes cars and bikes will enjoy reading it. The book covers chassis, tyres, suspension, brakes and development. Most of the information here is theoretical but beginners would probably find it very useful. There are lots of useful formulas, (e.g. how to drill brake discs properly). It ends with some useful programs written in BASIC which is quite dated since everyone is using C++ these days. I refer to this book and its companion book on 4 stroke engine tuning regularly for information and would feel lost without them. Don't expect a lot of nuts-and-bolts info, however, it's mostly theoretical, but VERY useful.

It's a great book. I learned everything I know from this book, and I'm geting ready to start my own bicycle repair shop.

If, like me, you find yourself involved in the performance restoration of a '60s-era Ford engine compartment, and lament the fact that you didn't have the opportunity to squirrel away all the original factory shop manuals, Technical Service Bulletins, parts catalogs, shop tips, master cross-reference lists, showroom catalogs, and/or magazine articles about Ford's small block V8 then Bob Mannel's book is the answer to your dreams.

Ever offer to help your friend with getting their showroom-fresh ponycar to run like new...and then raise the hood and look in dismay at 30+ years of accumulated band-aids, temporary fixes, and well-intentioned but incorrect part substitutions...and wonder where will you ever find the hard data needed to get the engine bay looking & running the way that the original engineers intended?

Even if you have yet to get back into the car of your youth, but are seriously thinking of buying someone else's restoration, then this book could save you a lot of money. With it you can ensure that the 'HiPo 289' under the hood is the real thing, and you aren't spending your hard-earned money on a sheep in wolf's clothing.

If you can identify with the above (or even just know someone in this predicament) then I strongly encourage you to also purchase this book.

There are over 700 pages filled with almost 3000 separate pictures documenting how the engineers made running changes to all aspects of the engine & engine-driven accessories on the small V8s, from it's debut in 1962 through the end of the decade.

In addition, there are hundreds of tables, graphs, & drawings, covering everything from all the different radiator fans used in production to graphs covering distributor curves to listing what size main jets belong where in the original carburetor(s).

All the above may sound like trivial pursuit for motorheads, but to me there is nothing as satisfying as helping a friend to get their old pony car to run as good as/or better than new. (Don't forget about those TSBs covering cooling, carburetion, vibration, and other common problems that were figured out and fixes developed *after* these cars left the production line -- you would be surprised how many of these vintage cars never had the updates installed because the mechanics of the day would explain the quirky behavior with the infamous phrase: "That can't be fixed -- They ALL do that!" ;-)

Last but not least, I met the author at a recent Ford@Carlisle show, and after thumbing through his book I was incredulous -- it has the look & feel of the T.O.s I used to use when working on USAF fighters. If you have ever been frustrated by blurry pictures, vague writing at the conceptual level, or a complete lack of reference to real part numbers, then you will be just as pleasantly surprised by this book as I was.

The author purportedly spent 17 years gathering data & writing this book, and it shows. Simply incredible.

A first glance, its just another Mustang book. Big woopee, there's dozens of them. But as you open it and page through it, you begin to realize this is a book of another breed. It revs. up in the beginning with pre-Mustang history, warms to performance with classic stang history, and tops it off with the 94-95' Mustangs. It is sooo complete that it contains both the original concept Mustang from 1960 and the Mach III from 1992, which never saw production. The best of the best(book), written about the best automotive company's (Ford) best endeavor(Mustang).

I have always loved Mustangs (among many other cars), but the one that trips my trigger the most is the Mustang in the 1968 movie Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen. Steve's co-stars are Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall (early cameo)and many other recognizable actors and, of course, the '68 Mustang GT390 Fastback and the '68 Dodge Charger used in the chase. San Francisco should get a supporting actor nod as well.

Still referred to as the best auto chase scene ever filmed, this one lights me every time I watch it.

This book has the only high-resolution photos of the Mustang used in the movie that I have ever found. There some frames from the movie available on the NET, but nothing of this quality. The original cars are long since gone, but the car in these photos is an excellent reproduction and the photos are beautiful.

The rest of the book is just as good, and if you are a muscle-car nut in general or a Mustang afficiando in particular, you will want to buy this book.

From the 65 to the Shelby, this book is valuable to the classic Mustang collector. Shows all models, all options, serial numbers, codes, colors, facts and b&W photos.

I own over 20 Mustang books and can honestly say this is one of the best out there. If you are interested in the SN-95 Mustang this book is for you! The majority of this book is about the development and introduction of the SN-95. It has great color photos and cutaway drawings. It also contains great information and pictures of earlier models. This book will impress you and is a steal at the current price.

a good book that covers mustang up to 1989 highly detailed photo's well written for enthusiast and younger also

If you are a fan of 1950's Fords, you NEED this book. I really enjoyed seeing the up grades that were included with each new model year and the latest and greatest options. I liked the way that the author used unrestored autos to show the different models. Good addition to any automobile enthusiest's library.

I own a 1973 Nova SS, and this book told me the history on my baby, along with how the Nova became famous. This book will give a beginner all the info they need to know and let the enthusiests in on a couple of secrets. I definately enjoyed this book! For any person who loves Novas will love this book!