2 comments about Mercedes SL Series: The Complete Story (Crowood Autoclassic).

1. Well worth every penny. though it seems expensive. Hard to believe that anyone could so well-organize so much info - and all of the info is painstakingly accurate.



2. For the admirers of Mercedes' highly coveted SL cars, this book offers their complete history, detailed specifications, good photographic material, plus advice at buying. Highly recommmended.

No comments about Motor Trend, October 2008 Issue.

5 comments about Avanti: The Complete Story.

1. A suggestion....
   Any future editions of this book should be renamed "Avanti The Manufacturing Story".
   Hull brings together the various lives of the Avanti, a story that spans no less than five decades, four production factories and enough owners and principals to fill several of the fiberglass luxury cars.
   
   The book traces the history of the Raymond Lowey designed coupe from its inception as a potential savior /image car for the venerable Studebaker company to its latest incarnation as a Mustang re-clothed in body panels that manage to be both retro and futuristic at the same time.
   
   Hull knows his subject well as a one time CFO for the latest resurrection effort and as the editor of the Avanti club magazine. He does a commendable job in putting the pieces together. Minor criticisms include not using many direct quotes from important figures. Hull paraphrases a magazine interview (which he references) with #3 Avanti owner Stephen Blake and a panel discussion by owner #4, Mike Kelly. Why not use the men's own words?
   
   My biggest complaint is what you won't find here... details of the cars themselves.
   Aside from a nice production total which finally answers who made how many, and where, most technical details: engines, performance specifications and importantly, prices are missing. A few answers are tucked away in ads and company literature pieces that have been reproduced (often too small) but I think he could have made a stronger effort to help the reader place the Avanti in the general automotive world. Later versions are noting as being produced on Monte Carlo, Caprice, Firebird and Mustang chassis. I would have like to learn how those were accomplished. Did the factory arrange to buy chassis and drivetrains...or did they have to buy a entire car and "throw away" the original bodies? Hull mentions that there were several donor-car proposals for the late 1990s AVX project. It would have been nice to see them. They have been published in a recent issue of the Avanti magazine, so I know they're out there.
   
   Most photos are reproductions of factory pieces. Unfortunately, nearly all the shots of the Studebaker cars (which make up the majority of the total Avanti population) are limited to a pair of prototype cars. They are interesting to see the, but six pages of the same two cars? Sadly, no new photos of the 63-64 cars are included which would help the casual reader learn to what extent the original cars are lovingly maintained and restored by faithful owners. Also, factory production shots of the Studebaker -era cars are missing along with details of advertising. The factory record setting effort is mentioned only in passing.
   
   If you want to learn a technical history of the car, I'd recommend "Avanti Limited Edition Extra" a collection of old and new magazine tests and articles complied and published by Brooklands in the United Kingdom and a subscription to the Avanti Magazine published by the Avanti Owners Association International.
   
   So, it's a nice book for an Avanti owner or fan to have. But a newcomer to the car will only be getting half of the history for the car that won't die.



2. "The Complete Story" may be a bit misleading if you're an Avanti fan looking for the complete story. If the photos were removed from the 126 page book, the reader would be left with about 35 pages of text to tell the complete 45 year story. Not that the pictures aren't interesting, many are quite nice, rare, and unusual. Avanti fans will enjoy them. The text, however, tends to ramble in places, lacks insight into important aspects of the Avanti's history, and leaves the reader, at least this one, wanting more. Perhaps, "Avanti A Brief Overview With Pictures" would have been a better title. That said, it was probably worh the Amazon price. I would have been disappointed if I had paid the suggested retail price.



3. If you are into Avanti cars, this is a must have book. It covers from the original Studebaker through the Avanti IIs through the years and still being built today - well sort of.



4. The Studebaker Avanti ranks right up there with the All Time Great American automobile designs, like the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette split window coupe, the 1963 Buick Riviera, and the 1961 Lincoln Continental.
   This book chronicles the creation of the car that should have saved Studebaker, right to the bitter end when the Avanti name was unfortuately placed on rebodied Chevrolet Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds. One has to wonder what might have been if Studebaker had survived. Alas, the Avanti was too far ahead of it's time, in terms of it's futuristic yet classic styling



5. Once again even though you think you know everything about the Avanti something comes along to enlighten you. The reader will be left with hope that the Avanti will rise once again from the ashes.
   Once again the book arrived in perfect condition.

3 comments about Collector's Originality Guide for Farmall Regular and F Series (Collector's Originality Guide).

1. well written and researched. accurate details. a must for the restorer wanting an acurate restoration or a collector looking to buy an original.



2. Top notch. Excellent pictures, informative text. If you have an F series Farmall, you need this book.



3. I have been waiting for a book about F-Series tractors since I have started restoring these machines. This book has exceeded all my expectations. The authors extensive research is represented in this organized book of factual, well written information backed up by many discriptive quality photographs.
   
   Chris Allen

1 comments about Legends of the Open Road: The History Technology and Future of Automobile Design.

1. This book is a very heavy 'coffee table' style book that includes a comprehensive collection of cars and historic automotive innovations. The book focuses on European marques and I felt it does provide many interesting insights.
   The book is printed in contmporary matt format (i.e. photos may not have the sharpness of a glossy version). I found it to be very interesting and is a must for anyone interested in historic automobiles. A good addition to any automobile library.

No comments about VW GTI, Golf, Jetta, MK III & IV: Find It. Fix It. Trick It. (Motorbooks Workshop).

3 comments about Hot Rods by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.

1. this book is the bible of custom car fans and wanna be big daddys alik



2. This man is a cultural icon for the period, and this book allows him to tell his story, with counterpoint from other participants. The photos of the cars are great. This is not an unbiased history, but gives a flavor of the real character of this character. Highly entertaining read for the car nut.



3. This is one of two books that I owe about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (the other book is "Confessions of a Rat Fink"). If you love hot rods and "Rat Fink" cartoons, both of these books should be in your collection. If there was a "Hot Rodder Hall of Fame", Big Daddy deserves to be in it. I grew up loving cars and I have several old comic books with cartoons drawn by Big Daddy. In this book, Big Daddy tells some of his secrets about the hot rods he built. Good pictures too.

2 comments about Yamaha, Mercury, & Mariner Outboards, All 4 Stroke Engines, 1995-2004 (Seloc Marine Manuals).

1. This was the first time trying seloc manuals,I have used clymers in the past and the selocs are organized much better and give a lot better info. From now on its strictly seloc manuals.



2. I own a 40HP 4 Stroke Yamaha engine and even though I owen the Factory maintenance manual This book goes into much more detail and gives better drawings

1 comments about Advanced Pinstripe Art: How-to Secrets from the Masters.

1. Timothy Remus and Wolfgang Publications have taken the successful formula used by Nikko Press (Airbrush Action) to provide tips and methods used by Stripers as an instructional "how to" very similar to the "Pinstriping Masters" (1 & 2). With 11 artists such as Robert Pradke and lots of useful tips, it is a very good book despite the fact that this book has less than half the artist's available as in the "Masters" series. Priced thru Amazon at just below the cost of Pinstriping Masters, it is still a reasonable buy. Pinstriping Masters 2 was not available thru Amazon, but I was able get it thru Coast Airbrush. If this book (Advanced Pinstripe Art) had the quantity of artists as the Masters series, it would have definitely gotten 5 stars, and in my opinion, it is still worthy of any collection.

2 comments about How to Restore John Deere Two-Cylinder Tractors (Motorbooks Workshop).

1. Being new to the tractor restoation hobby, I found the book to be a good resource for information. The index of salvage yards and parts houses alone was worth the purchase price. I found one of those "hard to find parts" in three phone calls and it was shipped out that day!



2. Much of the information contained in this book is dated and has been gleaned from an antique tractor list over several years. Most of this is second hand information not from the author's personal experience.