Library
SBCC Library Holdings, Books and Scale Model Reviews
SBCC has a variety of books from various shop manuals on British vehicles to books on various British marques. The pdf file with the Club's library collection can be downloaded below.
Book Reviews
GRAND PRIX CENTURY:
The first 100 years of the world's most glamorous and dangerous sport
by Christopher Hilton, Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, England, 496pp. $34.25 Can.
"It began at 6am on Tuesday, 26 June 1906, when the first 34 pug-like cars prepared to go onto an immense, stone-stewn circuit outside Le Mans. At the instant Lorraine-Dietrich accelerated away, the great, anstonishing, frightening, heric 100-year dynasty of Grand Prix racing was born."
Christopher Hilton is an ace storyteller and a respected auto historian. He has authored a number of books for Haynes including best selling biographies of Ayrton Senna, Muuray Walker and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Although there are a paucity of photos, the organization of "Grand Prix Century" by section and section titles is intriguing yet stimulating to the mind:" Dusty Road, The Chaps, In Nuolari's time, End of Innocence....In Fangio's time, In Clark's time....Money men...and lastlyThe Centurions." The book concludes with an excellent section on the major records of the first one hundred years of Grand Prix racing.
Hilton offers an interesting series of quotes by drivers through the years not only on their machines but also on the competition and the "race tracks."
One feature which I truly enjoyed, in each section was a small paragraph in italics which gave the speed result of the Monaco Grand Prix, the cost of and length of time the average Briton would need to purchase a car, and the number of cars in the U.K. For example in 1959: The Monaco measure: Trintignant, 100 laps, 2h 52m 27.9s, an average speed of 67.9mph; Fangio, 1957, 64.7mph. Vehicles registered in Britain 8.0 million (1948, 3.7 million). A Ford Popular in 1959 cost 494 UKP and a Briton earned on average 13.55 UPK per week. Saving all his money, the Briton would have taken 26 weeks to buy one (1910, 2 years 42 weeks; 1919 1 year 28 weeks; 1929 41 weeks; 1949, 45 weeks)
THE COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF BRITISH CARS, 1895-1975
by David Culshaw and Peter Horrobin. Veloce Publishing. England. $54.95 US
For British car fans, Culshaw and Horrobin, are an excellent addition to those who own The Encyclopedia of Classic Cars, The Illustrated Directory of Classic Cars, and similar works. Out of print since the mid 1980s Veloce has now released an updated and revised new edition, which still preserves the character of the original.his book provides technical and historical data on approximately 700 manufacturers, with 1000 photos in the 496 pages in a book of unique character and style.
The historical approach is not limited to individual marques but includes humorous view of society, the automotive industry and the state of automobile development. The authors hide not their dislike of certain models while extolling other models! (Available online from www.motorbooks.com)
MGB ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
by Rick Astley, The Essential Manual Series;
Veloce Publishing, Dorchester, England, 192pp. ISBN 1-84584-057-7
Here we have a very detailed book, covering the complete electrical system in an MGB. It covers not only the various wiring circuits but also the components they connect.
The author does a laudable job of explaining the basics of auto electronics without being too dry; and takes the reader right through the circuits explaining the principles as well as providing important troubleshooting information. The illustrations are particularly good, with full colour wiring diagrams (with the wire's actual colours) and broken down into their respective circuits. Anyone who has stared at the factory original diagrams will appreciate how much easier these are to follow. There is also usefull information about refurbishing and repairing the electrical ancillaries such as starters and alternators.
For those troubleshooting the sometimes bizarre problems these cars can develop, this book can be an invaluable guide, it provies answers to some very unique MGB problems. My only concern is the cost which is rather high for a soft covered book ($54.95 US from www.motorbooks.com); but also understandable considering the narrow market and the generous amount of information.
The chapter titles in this book are:Tools, Wire handling & connectors; Basic electrical theory; Emergency repairs; Sneak currents; Wire hardness; Fusing & fuses; Battery; Charging system; Starting system; Ignition system; Lighting; Instrumentation; Fuel pump; Horn; and Coolling & heating fans.
(Note: This book is available through www.amazon.ca at $43.41 Canadian which if you have an Amazon.ca account rates free shipping as the book costs more than $39).
Flywheel:Memories of the Open Road
by Tom Swallow and Arthur Pill;
Webb & Bower, Exeter, England, 239pp. ISBN 0-86350-151-6
Quotes from the book's dust cover:
Flywheel is a facsimile reproduction of a unique collection of Motoring Magazines produced during World War II in a Prisoner of War Camp in Mulhberg, Germany (Stalag IVB, 1944-1945). Each edition was drawn and scripted by hand and circulated around the camp for members to read and pass on. The first being produced in May 1944 and the last in March 1945.
Flywheel depicts a nostalgic look at a former life away from war and prison camps as seen by the magazine's "staff"- describing motoring adventures before the war, road tests of motor cars and motorcycles, features on the quest for the "Ideal Motor Car", a speculative edition featuring the 1944 Motor Show, motoring advertisements, editorial comments, and even a letter page. The illustrations and text were produced largely from memory using whatever raw materials the "staff" could lay their hands on, employing considerable ingenuity in the face of adversity.
Flywheel is a selection of the best of the original magazines and is filled with humour, compassion, enthusiasm and authority. The drawings and sketches are both graphic and realistic, the text full of wit and highly credible. These combine to evoke the courage of ordinary men, in spite of extremely harsh living conditions, created a warm and refreshing collection of magazines.
Copies of this extraordinary book can be obtained through Amazon.ca from a variety of used book sellers.
Morgan at Le Mans
by David Dowse
Tempus Publishing Limited,
Stroud, Gloucestershire, England,
191pp. ISBN 0 7524 3488 8
In the Introduction to this book, David Dowse states "This is not a story about cars or motor racing. It is a story about passionate human endeavour
At four in the afternoon on Sunday 13 June 2004, a Morgan Aero 8 crossed the finishing line at Le Mans 24 Hour race. It was the first car from the famous British independent marque to do so for forty-two years."
Christopher Lawrence, the current Chief Development Engineer at Morgan, drove TOK258, a two liter four cylinder Morgan Plus 4, to a class win at Le Mans in 1962. He and Charles Morgan were responsible for the design and development of the Aero 8; and played a role in the early racing effort of this model in the GT class.
David Dowse who served as Team Manager for the effort at Le Mans describes the early start of the team and it's attempt at the 2002 Le Mans race. In the second part of the book Dowse details the efforts to obtain more sponsorship; and the process of dealing with FIA requirement and Le Mans requirements as related to homologation. Details are provided on the improvements made to the car before and after the 24 hour race at Spa as an ongoing effort towards the goal the Le Mans 24 hour race.This was followed up by additional testing using the Sebring 12 hour event in 2004. In all Dowse provides an excellent journal of what it takes, especially of a very small team, to compete at one of the greatest 24 hour races, Le Mans. This is an excellent read for ex-racers, would be racers and racing fans.
Scale Model Reviews
SCX GT Series,
Aero 8 Le Mans 2004
Tecnitoys, Barcelona, Spain
The SCX 1/32nd scale Morgan Aero 8 Le Mans GT car. For a slot car the detail on this model is outstanding - the decals are unbelievable, especially when you compare them to the photos that Dowse included in his book. As one of the lads on the UK Morgan e-mail list stated the only thing missing were the 80 odd names of the individuals who contributed financially to the team. These appeared on the boot lid of the Areo 8.
1965 Lotus 38 #82 Jim Clark 1:18 scale Carousel Models, USA.
The Lotus Type 38 represented a major structural improvement over its predecessors, the 1963 Type 29 and the 1964 Type 34. Colin Champan's Team Lotus and driver Jim Clark returned to the Brickyard for their three attempt in 1965. Clark qualified second fastest at 160.73 mph, beaten to the pole by A.J. Foyt in an updated Lotus Type 34. Foyt led the second lap but Clark had the lead the next time around. Foyt's challenge continued until lap 116 when he piited with a broken axle.At the finish Clark led by two laps to second place finisher Parnelli Jones in an updated Lotus Type 34. Clark's record average speed was 150.69 mph for the 500 laps. In 1965 Clark and Team Lotus won the World Driver's Championship. It was the first time that the 500 and the World Driver's Championship were won by the same driver and same team. It was the first Indianapolis victory for a rear engine car, the first British car and the first for a non American driver since 1916.
This model has absolutely fantastic detail from the decals to the engine and suspension.Although not quite in the class of the GMP or Exoto models Carousel is worthy of the serious collector.
Carousel 1 produces a variety of scale models, primarily racing cars, their offices are in High Point, North Carolina, and they are found on the web at www.carouselone.com. The model illustrated here was purchased on eBay and the photos used were taken by Rich Barre, California, the seller of this scale model.
1962 Triumph TR4, 1:18 scale, Jadi Modelcraft, $24.95 US
Jadi Modelcraft is a Hong Kong based diecast model maker who produce both 1:18 and 1:43 scale model cars. Recently they have been producing more and more "vintage" model cars, if in fact the TR4 falls into this category. For the TR4 they have one model as illustrated above but the also have it as a rally version. The rally version has a removable hardtop with full markings; tri-pack of driving lights; on the dash a Halda Speedpilot; the engine with sidedraft Webers; and aftermarket mag-like wheels -not sure these wheels are correct. You can visit Jadi at www.jadi-modelcraft.com. ( it is available in North America from www.Exoticar.com)