Julian Edgar, 50, has been writing about car modification and automotive technology for nearly 25 years. He has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinders; single turbo, twin turbo, supercharged, diesel and hybrid electric drivelines. He lists his transport interests as turbocharging, aerodynamics, suspension design and human-powered vehicles.
Oldie but a goodie – but be quick!
Back in this blog post I wrote about a number of old books.
One was ‘Automobile Brakes and Brake Testing’, published originally in 1938. It is, I said, “The best book I have read on brakes – how they work, how to test them, principles of braking”.
I have the second edition, which was published in 1958.
The book won’t tell you how to fit new disc pads to your Ford’s brakes, but it’s a superb book on the fundamentals of braking.
Timeless in fact.
And the reason I am mentioning it here? If you’re quick, it can be yours also – see eBay.
on August 16th, 2007 at 10:32 am
I have a 70’s readers digest book called “The book of the car”, its a large black volume that covers all the fundamentals of driveline, brakes, suspension and how they work. It is a great resource covering differing technologies and variations, including rotaries. I have often pulled it out to explain a concept to friends, or to learn about something I don’t understand well. I’m a huge fan of old motoring books – even though most of them are older than me.
Anthony
on August 16th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
OK, the brake book is very good but I wouldn’t go much past 20 bucks…
on August 18th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Check this out for a useful book:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/c1855-ENGINEERS-AND-MECHANICS-POCKETBOOK-leather-manual_W0QQitemZ310075171827QQihZ021QQcategoryZ14019QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em122
I would buy it, but at 153 years old, it’s a bit precious for me to use it every other day. Even if it only costs $25 by the time it get’s here.