Speedobilia: 10/04

The Birth of Ford Factory Racing--Photo CD
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Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

October, 2004 - Daniel Strohl

The Birth of Ford Factory Racing - photo CD
Dick Brannan * 770-519-0081 * www.dickbrannan.com * $19.95

History can often be a controversial subject. The axiom that tells us only the winners write it, all too often proves true in motorsports-who reads about the guy that placed last in the Indianapolis 500? At the same time, history is only continued when it is recorded, so we often get a skewed account of the past solely through omission. So it pays to record as much history as possible, from as many viewpoints as possible.

The history of Ford's Factory Drag Racing program, which stewed up the legendary Thunderbolts, the SOHC Mustangs and the Boss Mavericks from the early Sixties through the next decade or so, has been recorded in many ways over the years from several viewpoints, and these accounts from Dick Brannan only serve to complete those viewpoints. His photo CD includes a discussion of Dick's involvement with the program as well as dozens of photos from Dick's collection, including many rare photos and drawings of the SOHC Super Mustang drag car driven by Tom McEwen.

We can appreciate the historical aspects of the CD, but the single-source bias in the stories presented makes us wonder what's been left out-where are the losers' stories? The merchandising present throughout the effort (prints of the photos are available through the website, but only with Brannan's autograph) also leaves us wondering about the actual motives behind this CD, subtitled "For the Preservation of History." But for Ford completists who run a Windows operating system (the CD doesn't run on Macs), it may prove a good resource.

- By Daniel Strohl

Diggers, Funnies, Gassers and Altereds: Drag Racing's Golden Age
Bob McClurg * CarTech Books * 800-551-4754 * www.cartechbooks.com * $39.95

Drag racing has always been a sport of the senses. You smell the burnt rubber and the VHT, you feel more than hear the pulsating thunder of the engines, and your eyes take in so much as the cars pound the quarter mile. Until we develop the smell-o-graph, though, the best we can do to preserve the action is through photography, and one of the most prolific drag photographers has been Bob McClurg.

McClurg became best known for his photograph of "Wild Willie" Borsch headed sideways down the track in the famous Winged Express at the 1970 NHRA Winternationals, but has made an entire career out of shooting drag races for newspapers and magazines since the early Sixties. The hardbound, 203-page book charts much of the evolution of drag racers, from the most primitive examples of the Thirties through the Funny Cars and Pro Stockers of the Seventies, using mostly photos McClurg shot, but borrowing from other photographers here and there to illustrate certain periods or events.

While the book isn't a comprehensive history-it can't be when it covers so many different eras of drag racing-it does a coffee-table job of highlighting the differences between, the reasons for and the influences on the various drag genres via the many color and black-and-white photographs of the different eras. McClurg also does a decent job of pointing out so many different examples from each period and giving brief histories to each of the hundreds of cars and drivers he has included here, many of whom were local heroes who rarely received any notoriety or exposure outside of their respective neighborhoods.

- By Daniel Strohl

How To Build Max-Performance Pontiac V-8s
Jim Hand * CarTech Auto Books * 800-551-4754 * www.cartechbooks.com * $18.95

It's amazing that it has taken more than 30 years for someone to come to their senses and publish a book on building Pontiac V-8s, because what this hobby clearly does not need is another "How To Build a Chevy Small-block" book.

The author, Jim Hand, has written several Pontiac tech articles during the last 15 years, has been racing and building Pontiacs since the Sixties and even bought a new Pontiac back in 1955. So his credentials are valid beyond reproach.

Like Jim's tech articles that have appeared in numerous car magazines, the information that he provides is well written, concise, and easy to understand. And when referencing a part or a modification, Jim uses pointers to visibly show the reader what he is talking about.

Everything you need to know about which parts to use and how to make modifications-and why-is discussed. The chapters on cam selection and intake manifold comparisons are highly informative, and the chapter on porting D-port heads I found especially appealing. Yet discussion of the most important aftermarket part ever produced for Pontiacs, Edelbrock's aluminum cylinder heads, is conspicuously absent; we hope this major oversight will be corrected in subsequent reprints.

This 128-page softbound book features 300 black and white photos, yet costs only $18.95. Best of all, the content is 100% pure Pontiac specific, not generic engine building tech. Well done, CarTech. Now let's see similar books for AMC, Buick and Olds.

- By Richard Lentinello


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