How to Build Cobra Kit Cars + Buying Used


Book Description

The Shelby Cobra is one of the most legendary sports cars in automotive history. Only about 1,000 of the original Cobras were ever built, and many enthusiasts wanted to own and drive one of these ultimate sports cars yet could not afford to.




Cobra Replicas


Book Description

Having this book in your pocket is just like having a real marque expert by your side. Benefit from Iain Ayre's years of real ownership experience, learn how to spot a bad car quickly, and how to assess a promising one like a true professional. Get the right car at the right price!










Collecting Muscle Car Model Kits


Book Description

In the 1960s, model kit building was a huge hobby. Kids built plastic kits of planes, tanks, race cars, space ships, creatures from scary movies, you name it. Before baseball card collecting, Pokémon, and video games, model kit building was one of the most popular hobby activities. Car and airplane kits were the most popular, and among the car kits, muscle cars, as we know them today, were one of the most popular categories. Many owners of real muscle cars today were not old enough to buy them when the cars were new, of course. Yet kids of the 1960s and 1970s worshiped these cars to an extent completely foreign to kids today. If you couldn’t afford or were too young to buy a muscle car back then, what could you do? For many, the next best thing was to buy, collect, and build muscle car kits from a variety of kit companies. Hundreds were made. Many of these kits have become collectible today, especially in original, unassembled form. Although people still build kits today, there is a broad market for collectors of nostalgic model kits. People love the kits for the great box art, to rekindle fond memories of building them 40 years ago, or even as a companion to the full-scale cars they own today. Here, world-leading authority Tim Boyd takes you through the entire era of muscle car kits, covering the options, collectability, variety availability, and value of these wonderful kits today. Boyd also takes you through the differences between the original kits, the older reproduction kits, and the new reproduction kits that many people find at swap meets today. If you are looking to build a collection of muscle car kits, interested in getting the kits of your favorite manufacturer or even just of the cars you have owned, this book will be a valuable resource in your model kit search.




How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford


Book Description

This revised and updated color edition of How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford walks you step by step through a rebuild, including: planning your rebuild, disassembly and inspection, choosing the right parts, machine work, assembling your engine, and first firing and break-in.




How to Build Max-Performance Ford FE Engines


Book Description

The Ford FE (Ford Edsel) engine is one of the most popular engines Ford ever produced, and it powered most Ford and Mercury cars and trucks from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. For many of the later years, FE engines were used primarily in truck applications. However, the FE engine is experiencing a renaissance; it is now popular in high-performance street, strip, muscle cars, and even high-performance trucks. While high-performance build-up principles and techniques are discussed for all engines, author Barry Rabotnick focuses on the max-performance build-up for the most popular engines: the 390 and 428. With the high-performance revival for FE engines, a variety of builds are being performed from stock blocks with mild head and cam work to complete aftermarket engines with aluminum blocks, high-flow heads, and aggressive roller cams. How to Build Max-Performance Ford FE Engines shows you how to select the ideal pistons, connecting rods, and crankshafts to achieve horsepower requirements for all applications. The chapter on blocks discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each particular block considered. The book also examines head, valvetrain, and cam options that are best suited for individual performance goals. Also covered are the best-flowing heads, rocker-arm options, lifters, and pushrods. In addition, this volume covers port sizing, cam lift, and the best rocker-arm geometry. The FE engines are an excellent platform for stroking, and this book provides an insightful, easy-to-follow approach for selecting the right crank, connecting rods, pistons, and making the necessary block modifications. This is the book that Ford FE fans have been looking for.




Ford Differentials


Book Description

A driveline expert guides you through each step of the rebuild process for 8.8- and 9-inch axle assemblies, so you can confidently complete the work yourself. He explains in detail limited-slip and open differential disassembly, inspection, assembly, final calibration, and break-in. He also shows you how to identify worn ring-and-pinion gears, rebuild clutch packs, set the correct contact pattern for pinion and ring gears as well as the backlash, and much more.







Vehicular Engine Design


Book Description

The mechanical engineering curriculum in most universities includes at least one elective course on the subject of reciprocating piston engines. The majority of these courses today emphasize the application of thermodynamics to engine ef?ciency, performance, combustion, and emissions. There are several very good textbooks that support education in these aspects of engine development. However, in most companies engaged in engine development there are far more engineers working in the areas of design and mechanical development. University studies should include opportunities that prepare engineers desiring to work in these aspects of engine development as well. My colleagues and I have undertaken the development of a series of graduate courses in engine design and mechanical development. In doing so it becomes quickly apparent that no suitable te- book exists in support of such courses. This book was written in the hopes of beginning to address the need for an engineering-based introductory text in engine design and mechanical development. It is of necessity an overview. Its focus is limited to reciprocating-piston internal-combustion engines – both diesel and spa- ignition engines. Emphasis is speci?cally on automobile engines, although much of the discussion applies to larger and smaller engines as well. A further intent of this book is to provide a concise reference volume on engine design and mechanical development processes for engineers serving the engine industry. It is intended to provide basic information and most of the chapters include recent references to guide more in-depth study.