A good read

A similar thread about the movie Hollywood Knights brought up the topic of novels read.
One mentioned was Street Rod which I remember reading as a youngster.
Anyone care to comment on this or any other books worthy of reading, not tech, just entertainment?!

 

I have read this one more than once.

 

Oops, I see you said no tech.

 

I have read the Cobra in the Barn and the Hemi in the Barn each a couple times.

 

Thanks for chiming in guys,seems there is not much interest in actual reading.

 

I read a couple of books a week, just not about cars.
The ones I have,
'Car crazy Baily' 60s hotrod book, kid builds a car using a cut down truck block!
'Confessions of a muscle car test driver'
Cant remember the title but the book on Tuckers is good.

 

I'd love to find some car related reading that fires on all cylinders. Although I love Stephen King's Christine and more recently his book called something like "Froma Buick 88" or something like that, I wouldn't mind reading something minus the sci-fi horror schtick.

 

Check out the writers board for hot rod oriented - and others - short stories.

Go to community, click on "Social Groups" then go to the lower right of that page and click on "View All Groups."


Along with that I have two complete books here on the HAMB.
Search for, The Red Roadster and Doofus and Whiny.

 

I read a lot also- it's just hard to come by books that are automotive themed. Frankly sometimes I just need a break from that anyway.

Here's one I can think of though.

Truck: On Rebuilding a Worn-Out Pickup and Other Post-Technological Adventures by John Jerome .
That was a pretty enjoyable read- especially when I was building a simillar truck at the time. I still remember the part about him looking for a gas tank at the salvage yard- it's the kind of thing that I could see happening to myself.

Jay

 

Road Race is another book in the same vein as 'Hot Rod'.

Road Race by Philip Harkins that was first published in 1953. It is about a kid that puts together a Model A and then gets talked into speeding through a small town to taunt the local cop. He gets caught and a local restorer / racer takes pity on him and gives him a job. the racer puts together a Dusenberg with a Ford engine and he promotes a road race / hii climb through the town.

I had read this in school as a boy, and could not remember the title.
Steve (36cab) on the board found it in his collection. Thank's! I was
able to pick up a copy on e-bay.
Rich

 

so tech books and manuals cant be fun to read?

huh... my bad, guess i been having a miserable time all these years

 

I remember Road Race! The kid learns to do things the right way, and laughs at his old buddy who shows up in a car that has a bath tub as the seat/body and wears a football helmet.

Authors to check out for this kind of thing are Henry Gregor Felsen (I think his son was on the HAMB a while back, seeing if we remembered his dad's work) and William Campbell Gault. There was another guy, last name Butler, who wrote Redline 7100, too. Strictly kid stuff, and Gault and Butler had pretty much one or at most two plots that just got recycled in different types of racing (For Gault, that included Motocross and Karting).

There isn't much non-genre good car stuff out there for grown-ups. Oh, I really liked John Jakes' On Wheels. A future that back then was now, and nomadic hordes (cf. Springsteen) clogging the interstates. Fun stuff from the 70's.

Can't go wrong with Kerouac and On the Road, but he wasn't a gearhead.

I'd be interested in what other people recommend, too.

Joe

 

I had an uncle give me the book Ford at Fifty when I was a kid. It's not about hot rods or anything. Just sort of a self-glorifying effort by the Ford marketing department in 1953. Heck, my dad worked for Chevy, so I wasn't supposed to look at that propoganda anyway!

I always loved it, though. Great pictures. A neat look at what went into building a new car back then. A retrospective on life in the '50s.

I still look at that book sometimes. I just like it.

 

It was " boy gets car" By henry Gregor Felsen. I didnt remember the author's name. thanks google.I do remember about how bad I wanted a car at the time and this book probably set the hook for me. I built models for years but this one really put a hand in the grease.

 

Try "Go Like Hell:Ford vs Ferrari" It's a current-shelf book and an extra good read about Ford's development of the GT40 and their almost-buying Ferrari. Ol' Enzo was a crafty guy.
It's even HAMB friendly,everything occurs up to 1966....

 

Cruisin',Car Culture in America is a very good read. Fifties Flashback is a firsthand account of hot rodding and customizing during the fifties and early sixties from everyday guys here in the northwest. That one is a must read! Portland pictorial is awesome too. I highly suggest Fifties Flashback though. It will school most people on what is traditional!

 

Tech books are what I read most of as well, but sometimes it's nice too kick back with a story, especially real life stories.
I'm always open to tech book suggestions if you would like to share some thoughts, I'm especially into suspension tech stuff...
Thanks all, going to check out some of the books mentioned for sure, be a hoot to read Henry Gregor Felsen after all these years...Street Rod... Boy gets car and another that I googled Road Rockets. Been a long long time, but it's starting to come back to mind.