Required Reading: Part II

While we wouldn't exactly call Part I insignificant-the Deuce books alone revealed more critical data than a misplaced government laptop-the first install appealed more to our creativity. Part II, on the other hand, appeals more to our analytical side. In other words, there's some how-to for you.

OK, so a Flathead-performance book might be fairly specific, but everyone deals with trim and plating at one point or another. As for a book about GM's overdrives, accessible information seems to be inversely related to the number of those transmissions in hot rods and customs. And that's pretty scary if you think about how many miles we log on them.

And there's entertainment value. A true gentleman of go finally gets a proper, hard-bound coffee table tome. And if you think a book about dealer-prepped muscle cars is a bit off-topic in a street-rod publication, remember that most of us started building rods when those cars were new ... and beyond our reach just the same.

But Street Rodder isn't about the things beyond your reach. Sure, as part of showcasing the best we feature some pretty expensive machines. At the same time we show how to get there by your own pluck and gumption-in this case by way of some pretty good books.

You can't call yourself a Flathead authority if you don't know Joe Abbin's name. Though a relatively recent celebrity as far as Flathead history goes, his contribution to that engine's performance is significant. His book, Blown Flathead is the only example dedicated specifically to supercharging Ford's side-valve bent eight.

If there was a shortcoming to Blown Flathead, it was its relatively narrow scope. While the small format lent the book the feel of "California" Bill Fisher's speed manuals, it certainly restricted the information therein. In one sense it was refreshing, as the information it presented was clear and easy to follow. On the other hand, it was largely irrelevant unless you intended to build a blown Flathead.

Abbin's latest, 335 HP Flathead Ford V-8 Performance Handbook capitalizes on the information he's acquired in the decade since the first book's publication. Unlike Blown Flathead, it's not a step-by-step manual to replicate a particular engine, however, he does present certain applications to build several engines of various size and tune, including the one that made the power promised in the book's title.

Abbin admits the dynamometer he acquired recently accelerated his learning curve dramatically, and he reports his findings. Now, rather than being limited to test a head design or a relief shape on a flow bench, he can test their effectiveness on actual engine performance. And as he points out in his foreword, "Today's perspective validates most of the early rodders' work." So in a sense he isn't slaying dragons as much as pointing out the procedures that really do help.

For the most part, books dedicated to narrow-market engines tend to be either too specific or too general. This one, on the other hand, seems to bridge that gap. Dispensed in it is a font of information about how to build a potent yet reliable street-driven engine, information any would-be Flathead builder could use.

It's a dog-eat-dog world among hot rod builders, but you'll have to search far and wide to find one who'll badmouth Roy Brizio. His clientele list reads like a marquee at a rock 'n' roll concert, yet he's tremendously gracious. His are some of the finest cars in the industry, although he builds every one as a driver above anything else.

And build cars he has. As Bo Bertilsson points out in Roy Brizio Street Rods, Modern Hot Rods Defined, in his 30 years, Brizio and his crew have produced more than 300 cars. Bear in mind this number includes concours-quality restorations and a Grand National Roadster Show winner. That's more than an accomplishment-that's a legacy.

Bertilsson reveals the relationship among Brizio, his crew, his clients, and the shop that binds them by way of the following chapters. He cherry-picked some of the finest and more noteworthy cars he's produced over the years and presented them in five chapters: Model As and Ts, Deuces, the Model 40s, the fat-fendered Fords, and '50s and '60s cars.

Among the dozens more, this lineup includes the modern-day interpretations of Regg Schlemmer's T and Chuck Price's Deuce, cover cars for the first Hot Rod and Rod & Custom, respectively; the restored Barris-built and AMBR-winning Ala Kart; the Candy Green and flamed Deuce coupe owned by Glenn Grozich (Billet Specialties); the restored Tom McMullen roadster, Sam Barris Merc, and Jack Calori '36 coupe; the Pagan Gold Deuce roadster owned by "Bubba" Bugg (NSRA); Brizio's dad Andy's coupe and roadster; Brizio's calling card, the B&M roadster; the Mel Taormino/Tex Smith '34 phaeton; Clapton's stylized '40 coupe; and a number more famous cars for George Poteet, John Mumford, Richard Munz, and Jorge Zaragoza.

In a sense this Brizio/Bertilsson relationship is a natural; each is dedicated to his craft. It's also pretty clear that Bertilsson's pretty taken with Brizio's work. Books about particular builders tend to be fairly self-congratulatory. This is one of the few exceptions.

For nearly a decade the Big Three produced some of the greatest motoring legends of all time. These muscle cars set the standard to which all others aspired. In fact, it was only recently that technology approximated the brute force these cars were capable of producing.

Though the OEMs largely get the credit, the true foundation upon which the muscle car launched was created by about a dozen very savvy enthusiasts ...who just happened to have dealer backing or industry connections. Either through their intimate knowledge of option codes or tools, these business-backed speed merchants could transform the blandest grocery-getters into terrifyingly fast machines. These tuners didn't create muscle cars; they created super cars.

While the manufacturers largely get the credit for most of the cars in those titles, the specialty dealers and tuners reign supreme in this one: Royal Pontiac, Nickey Chevrolet, Dana Chevrolet, Tasca Ford, Baldwin-Motion Chevrolet, Grand Spaulding Dodge, Fred Gibb Chevrolet, Berger Chevrolet, Hurst, and Shelby American.

But what makes a Newhardt book really draw in a reader are the rest of the photos. It's been said that he has an uncanny knack for locations, and this book bears testimony to it. Most photographers wouldn't dare shoot a Yenko car in front of an old liquor store, even though that was the car's natural habitat once upon a time. You'll curse yourself for taking them for granted once you see a Hurst-prepped SC/Rambler through his eye.

Make no mistake, these were and always will be wildly popular cars. However, with David Newhardt's latest, you might find yourself falling in love with them in a whole new way.

If there's one thing that can bring American-car enthusiasts to their feet, it's all that gleaming gingerbread on mid-century iron. And if there's one thing that can bring them to their knees, it's a piece of damaged trim.

Though prominent on many cars, automotive trim is one of the last conquered frontiers. It's largely a perception problem: since chrome plating on some of these parts is beyond enthusiasts' capacity, most people write all of it off as impossible or at least best left to professionals. The premise that trim repair is tedious doesn't exactly help, either. It's not like a thin swipe of mud and some block sanding can make up for a less-than-perfect surface as it can in body repair. What you see, after all, is what you get. So you better be good.

According to John Gunnell's latest, getting good really isn't as hard as it seems. Naturally a large part of it comes from working with the right tools. The rest, of course, boils down to persistence.

For the most part the book does a very good job with stainless trim. Chapter four reveals proper trim removal practice, a real boon for anyone not versed in the near endless ways manufacturers fastened trim to bodies. Chapter 5 has the real meat and potatoes: Gunnell showcases essential tools by way of showing stainless trim repair procedures. Chapter 6 shows tools and techniques to put a proper shine on repaired or oxidized stainless. In that sense it's an essential tool.

On the other hand, his wood restoration chapter is pretty novel. In it, he shows how to re-veneer a piece of tin. No, it's not a construction common to a lot of our cars, however, it might inspire someone to employ it as a design element.

Despite some light information here and there, this book represents considerable worth. Just by its information on repairing stainless, it's worth the admission price.

Of all the advancements made to the automobile in the last half a century, probably none have benefitted us more than the four-speed automatic overdrive transmission. Its greater numbers of gears gave us the acceleration of a car with deep gears and the economy of one with tall ones. Simply put, we could have our cake and eat it too.

Of all of the automatic overdrives out there, certainly none has proven itself more popular than the 700-R4 and its successors, the 4L60 and the electronically controlled 4L60E. Though introduced as a fairly trouble-prone medium-duty transmission, it matured into an anvil-tough monster that saw duty in the entire GM lineup, from lowly Caprices to high-output Camaros and big-block tow rigs. Its popularity and availability meant enthusiasts used it for just about everything, including adapting it to everything from Ford Flatheads to Chrysler Hemis.

If there's a problem with the GM overdrive, it's the lack of reliable information about them. For years rebuilders and tuners handled them by the same means as the TH350 transmission they superseded, which inevitably led to premature failures. Lately, however, a raft of information based on GM's bulletins and updates made to the transmission and proven upgrades developed by the aftermarket has proven this transmission worthy of far more than anyone expected.

Rather than a writer-turned-tech, Ruggles is a bona fide tech with the capacity to express himself whether by language or image. After briefing us on the history of these transmissions, including their shortcomings and the improvements that remedied them, he takes us through the entire process of rebuilding these transmissions. Along the way he dispenses information acquired only by years of working on these transmissions.

He loaded the book full of tips and tricks. For example, he reduces the need for specialty tools to about two; the rest, he wrote, can be easily made. By going through the paces step by step, he makes it look alarmingly straightforward-which it is as he states early in the book. Make no mistake, any automatic transmission is incredibly complicated, however, when broken down into shorter, easy-to-digest sequences, it's pretty clear that there really isn't anything mysterious about these transmissions. Success, he states, is merely a result of patience, attention to detail, and cleanliness.

The book's special sections make it that much better too. Ruggles devotes an entire chapter to nothing but torque converters, including their selection for various tasks (racing or towing, for example). Finally, in chapter 7, Ro McGonegal stepped in to create a swapper's guide. Although his subject car is a '68 Camaro, very little of it is application specific. The information he dispenses as part of the guide generally encompasses things like yokes, linkages, shifters, engine mounts, and programming hardware to convert electronically controlled transmissions to stand-alone operation.

Hands down this book is vital reading for anyone interested in GM automatic-overdrive transmissions. Even if you have no intention of building your own transmission, consider the book. At the very least it'll give you the right questions to ask when you go transmission shopping.