General Automotive Reviews

This book was very helpful in explaining everything I needed to know about how carburetors and fuel injection systems work. I'm not a mechanic; I just like to understand mechanical systems. Fairly well written, although a bit stiff; some of the descriptions are hard to follow (how the fuel tracks through the various parts of the carburetor) and the photos and drawings didn't help much to understand what happens inside these mysterious devices.

Also, it's really too bad the book wasn't printed on some higher-quality paper. The telephone-book-type paper it was printed on resulted in very poor quality photos, graphs and drawings.

I also could have done without the detailed description of various brands of carburetors. But, all things considered, a nice job and I don't regret my purchase.

A concise breakdown of the theory and construction of motorcycle fuel systems.I must say that I gained an awful lot of practical knowledge,and educated more than one motorcycle "know-it-all".Highly recomended.

Picture this: Spend a three day weekend stripping, cleaning, polishing and replacing hard to find parts on a 1979 motorcycle, it's finally back together!! Some fresh clean fuel, choke & ignition on, and ... it doesn't start.

This book is a must have for motorcycle enthusiasts who are budding mechanics and need to refer to anything related to the fuel systems, which invariably cause the most frustrating and hard to diagnose faults!!

If like me you need to know a little more about motorcycle fuel systems (tuning, repair or maintenance) then this is the book for you, it explains so many intricate details about the entire fuel combustion process, specifically for motorcycle carbs/fuel injection. It's very recent (Y2K), unlike some other Motorcycle Carb Manuals.

Technical data and details are presented clearly, there's lots of diagrams and tips for anything from the oldest, most basic carbs to complex electronic fuel injected systems.

Burger and Hendrickson have done a great job of covering the process of building a hot rod. With their years of experience, wit, and wisdom it makes for a very enjoyable read. Much of the text is obviously culled from the late, great RODDER'S DIGEST magazine, but it was good then, just as it is now. For anyone who is seriously into hot rods, this is required reading.

Okay, I admit, I am not a hot rodder. I like fast, water-cooled volkswagens. The book was a gift. "Great," I thought. "What am I gonna do with this?" It sat around for awhile before I cracked the covers. Good Golly, y'all!! THIS BOOK ROCKS!!

The authors have really distilled auto resto and modification down to were even a nimrod can understand it and envision doing the projects. I can't really speak to the "Model T-this," "Deuce-coupe-that" sort of stuff in the book, but man, the technical stuff about metal-bumping, welding, body work, paint application, suspension modifciation, and other how-to stuff is great. They have put the facts in simple, step-by-step sequences with loads of photos to clarify the procedure. This is the kind of stuff you find in good car magazines, but here, the authors have wrapped into one slick package.

Okay, so it looks a little funny on my shelf with all my euro-car books, but I am not ashamed to own (AND actually to have READ) a copy of Hot Rodder's Bible. My hat is off to the authors. I am sure hot rodders will love this book as much as I found that I did. Believe me, I was determined to not like, or even admit that I owned, this book. Now, I take it to my club meetings and show if off to my buds. I wonder if the authors would ever consider a "Pocket Rocket Bible?"

This book was designed to be a complete guide to finding, building, and enjoying a hot rod. Chapters include: • A Brief History of the Hot Rod • Finding Your Hot Rod Project • Building a Better Body • The Hot Rod Frame • A Rogue's Gallery of Hot Rods • Hot Rod Suspension Basics • Hot Rod Brakes • Hot Rod Engines and Drivetrains • Hot Rod Interiors • 15 Things to Do With Your Hot Rod • The Ten Commandments of Hot Rodding • Source Guide • Club List

Each chapter includes a section on general information and theory, followed by step-by-step how-to sequences. The "Rogue's Gallery" includes color features on a variety of hot rods.

The book is very well written and understandable. The illustrations and photographs are top notch. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking knowledge about cylinder heads and the modification there of. Many of the techniques illustrated in this book can be applied to other types of cylinder heads with favorable results. I would like to see an update to this book that would include porting information on some of the many new cylinder heads and manufacturers that have hit the market since this book was published.

As with many of David Vizards books this one exceeded my expectations. It opened new avenues of thought regarding head modifications and then proceeded to explore those avenues thoroughly. Mr. Vizard is one of the few that shares his knowledge in a manner that very few do. To many "experts" under estimate our ability to learn and understand, or else they don't want to go through the bother. Mr. Vizard does so in a very convincing manner. Thanks for all the horsepower, torque, and reliability, David. This book covered porting, hardware, modification in your own shop, and can be utilized to any level you wish. I keep returning to it to advance in my own practice.

I have been searching for a book like this for years! It contains everything you need to know to be able to successfully port your own cyclinder heads. David Vizard has done an excellent job of explaining, in a language that most people should be able to understand, the principles of cyclinder head design and how they function. I HIGHLY recommend this book, and all other books David has written (I own all of his books, and not one has disappointed me).

Ernst denBroeder

Updike has done a good job of covering the tractors of International Harvester in the later years. A usefull addition to my library.

This book gives a very detailed history of International Harvester tractors. It is well written and the photographs are excellent!! I highly recommend this book to, not just to the IH enthusiast, but to anyone who loves farm tractors.

This is a very knowledgeable book,it covers a wide variety of models.It is a must for collectors and hobbyist.I had a copy of this book and gave it away as a present.Now i am ordering a new one.

The outstanding aspect of this book is that it gives a detailed history of the conception, implementation, and fight to save the Lincoln Highway. Upon completion, one has a thorough knowledge of the people and politics of the highway. But there is more. It gives a summary of the different sections of the Lincoln as it exists in the late 1980s. While not a complete travel guide, it makes for an excellent companion for anyone thinking of retracing the old highway. After reading this book, I wanted to resign my job and drive this road. The author has taken no short cuts here.

Long before Route 66, there was the Lincoln Highway -- a transcontinental road connecting Times Square to San Francisco, marked and promoted by private interests.

The Lincoln Highway and its brethren (the Dixie Highway, Victory Highway, National Old Trails Road, and dozens more) were replaced by the U.S. Route system almost 75 years ago, but many stretches of the old Lincoln are still part of major auto routes. The most scenic and historic stretches include US 30 through Pennsylvania and western Nebraska and US 50 across central Nevada (the "Loneliest Road").

Drake Hokanson brings the Lincoln Highway era back to life with a combination of modern observations, quotes from pioneer motorists, and well-chosen illustrations. Anyone who's ever driven, or thought about driving, Route 66 should look also at the Lincoln: it's longer, more historic, more scenic, and less tied to the world of the Interstates. Drake Hokanson's book is the perfect introduction to the world of the Lincoln Highway.

American children grow up learning about the first transcontinental railroad and the Pony Express, and rightly so given their role in binding the adolescent United States together. Few, however, learn about the nation's first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln, or Pacific, Highway. This was the road that launched automotive travel as adventure, in a nation that would link its lifestyle to the automobile. The irony is that while we all learn about the Pony Express and Transcontinental Railroad, neither is much more than legend to us today. But automotive travel, especially as adventure, is very much part of the American way of life. Yet few of us know much about the highway that made early 20th century Americans see the adventure in motor vehicle travel. This book, with its outstanding collection of historical and contemporary photos and well-researched and readable text, recounts the great, though forgotten, place the Lincoln Highway had in America at the time. From Times Square to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, the Lincoln Highway carried the most adventuresome motorists across some of the most settled, and most wild, landscapes in the country. In places, like central Utah's Great Basin, it wasn't much more than a two-track trail. Even today, one can drive a long, remote and spectacular unpaved segment of it across Utah, the same route followed by the Pony Express and Overland Stage. When I drove the route, which includes the ruins of Pony Express and stagecoach stations, this book helped me relive one of the most exciting and memorable, yet least remembered, chapters in American motoring history. No, I didn't write it. I just loved it. If you're a fool for driving and for personally reliving Western history, this is the guide to take you there

This was a great introduction for someone who knows very little about cars. She explains what the major systems of the car are (like the drive train, suspension, etc) and identifies key components (like the radiator and catalitic converter) and explains what they do in simple terms. My only complaint is that as someone who just bought a classic car and wants to really learn to be a weekend mechanic I wanted to know more about certain things and was frustrated by not being able to "double-click" to get more information about something she had described too generally. She really does explain things in an easy-to-understand and entertaining way and gives a great maintenance plan for the average car owner who wants to save money by doing it themselves or just know what mechanics are talking about so they don't get taken for a ride.

Lucille herself is quite inspiring - I'd like to know her! Stop by greasergrrls dot com if you like and say hi :)

I bought my first car and this book at the same time. I have had many car problems in the past few years and this book was the only thing that made conversations with a mechanic seem almost painless. Lucille's book helps to identify smells, fluids, sound and much more. Without this book I'd never know how or when to change fluids, what smells or sounds to be concerned with. What is safe and what is not...even if a job will be very expensive! A great book, maybe the most well used book I've ever bought.

This book is a valuable reference for all drivers who would like to understand how their cars work and how to talk to and understand a mechanic. It is well written and organized. I learned what many of those squeaks, clunks & chirps mean & how to do my own maintenance. I'm giving Lucille's to my neice for her 16th birthday.

This is the second best Fiat repair manual that I have come across. So far, I have read four of them and would rate them in this order:

1. Fiat Official Factory Repair manual for Spider 124.
2. Haynes
3. Autopress Ltd
4. Clymer

I consider the official factory repair manual as the bible for these cars. It offers detailed diagrams, and step by step instruction for practically every nut and bolt on the car. Some companies offer a reprint of this. The negative is the high-cost. Typically, a reprint of this manual (if available) [is very expensive]

Haynes is the manual that I used to take my Fiat apart. It was certainly a good manual with explicit instructions, and good digrams. I did notice on a few occaisions, that some of the information was incorrect. Also, Haynes does not offer a Pinninfarina version for those looking specifically for 1983-1985 specific repairs.

Your local library will likely have a copy of the Haynes manual should you care to review the book in person prior to purchase.

Good luck!

it's a great manual guide to re-build your own fiat 128 coupe ...

This is my first auto's book i've ever read..so i suggest who owns or love this car should have one.. for their refferences...
Bravo..

Its ok, not as good as Thom Taylors book, but its good. It also has a nice part which is about various car artists, including Thom Taylor.
I didnt like that most of the pictures are not shown in colour.
Just a few pages are coloured and the rest isnt. There are colour drawings printed in black/white. I think thats stupid.
But the book isnt bad, worth getting if your interested in auto art.

Jin...

This book is the greatest book in it's field the book teaches you everything you need to know about drawing cars. It tells you the equipment need,how to draw your own car,how to customs,and it also tells you how to colour and paint like a true professional. Anyone thinking of drawing cars or anyone who has been drawing cars for years can pick up many helpfull hints and tips from this book it is well worth the money and is essential if your are to get into the field of automotive art.

it was a book

brake light on dsh is on help m

Just happened to run across this listing while browsing. In the mid-80's I was able to overhaul my Civic's engine with no knowledge of auto mechanics whatsoever. It's so well written and the diagrams are excellent. It's too bad that there wasn't a book like this published for every make and model of car. It's also quite funny. It includes a recipe for baking a chicken on top of your engine.

A few years ago I bought a 12-year-old Prelude and found this book. With no mechanical experience, or aptitude, this book guided me through numerous repairs that I would never have dared try otherwise. It is well-written, and the writers even have a marvelous sense of humor. I would like to find such a book for the old Ford Ranger I'm driving now!

Wayne has put out another good how-to book packed with great detail and very specific step-by-step procedures. This book fills in most of the details left out of the other books covering the subject, and adds in a number of the latest updates that should be done.

The down side is this book gives an all or nothing approach, with no allowances for low-cost rebuild appropriate for a low value car, or a partial rebuild for a race motor. The list of parts that must be replaced is excessive and out of line with most engine rebuild books, and even the factory work-shop manuals. His recommendation on machine shops is to go to the most expensive one in the country. The procedures for cleaning are extreme, and time-consuming, and not realistic for a shop interested in making money or an individual without unlimited time. There are also a number of number of recommendations made that are still up for debate in the 911 community.

I have rebuilt a number of 911 engines, and this is a must have book if you are planning to do one yourself, but take some of the recommendations with a grain of salt.

Wayne Dempsey may be the Harry Pellow (r.i.p.) of the 911 world, based on his warm and encouraging style of writing as well as his deep technical expertise.

Since his original "101 Projects" book, the author has improved quite a bit as a writer. The level of detail here is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and the style is very user friendly. Rare among technical manuals, you can read this book cover to cover in your favorite easy chair like a novel, or weight it open on your workbench as you follow each detailed instruction and example.

The photography is excellent and there's plenty of it. Close ups with good captions abound. Unlike some other well known 911 technical books, the photography actually supports and illustrates the text very well.

This book is not just for engine builders. If you're the sort of 911 owner that pays more attention to the tachometer than the stereo, and who understands that dry sump lubrication isn't when you run out of hair gel-YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK!

I bought this book because I heard that Wayne Dempsey was working on it after completing "101 Projects for your Porsche 911." That book was really good and informative, I was looking for a bit more. Wayne repeats the easy-to-read style that he showed in 101 with this new engine book. The book contains six chapters that include when to rebuild, teardown, machine shop, performance enhancements, assembly, and run-in. There's even a really handy set of appendices at the end of the book that contains all of the specs and part numbers that you need for all of the engines from 1965-89. I thought that this was worth the price of the book alone, as I have often tried to find this info elsewhere, and couldn't.

The book is full-color with fantasticly clear pictures. Each step in the assembly process is documented clearly with colored arrows, and clear diagrams. There's even an intro at each assembly section showing you what parts, tools, and materials you need, so you won't overlook anything.

My favorite part is Chapter Four, where just about every performance option and/or upgrade you can place on your 911 engine is explained in detail. Stuff that was real confusing to me before is clearly explained (just like it is in 101 projects).

It's hard to find anything wrong with this book, as it really delivers on it's promises. I just wish there was more!