Customer Reviews

Extreme Muscle Cars: High Horsepower Straight from the Factory

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The cover states that there are forwards written by Dick Brannan, Arnie Beswick and Hayden Proffitt. My copy contained no forwards of any kind. Actual facts and research are words that can only be used loosely to describe this book. Most of it reads like a compilation of material pulled together from previously published sources, and written poorly. I was anticipating this book, but once I knew who the authors were (read some reviews on their other titles), my expectations were lowered accordingly. I am a factory lightweight fan, but can't recommend this book for even a novice who is interested them. Wait until it's in a bargain bin if you have to have it.

Know this first off - yes, the cover you see here is incorrect. Amazon really needs to update the photo. Yes, there are no fowards by Dick Brannan, Arnie Beswick, and Hayden Proffitt, which is a bummer. Could it be that Krause Publications purchased the rights for this book from another publisher and changed a few things? Who knows. Yes, the text could have been better. It's not horrible, but could have been more professional. I thumbed through this book at a local book store, so I knew what I was getting. However, once you get passed the above things, it's one cool book. Lots of pictures, many of them vintage, and most are in color. At least this book tries to give the reader a general flavor of the 1960's 1/4 mile scene. This would be a great book for a general enthsiast, not for a hardcore fanatic who has a good deal of knowledge on the subject. Do yourself a favor - buy it used at the cheapest price in the best condition.

Buyer Beware! I waited 2 months for this and it's not the same book represented in the picture. The book I received is entitled "Extreme Muscle Cars: The Factory Lightweight Legacy" and the cover shows a 60's Plymouth dubbed "Honkin' Hemi". It's mostly "lightweight" drag cars. I never would have purchased this version of the book had it been represented on Amazon.

very impressed with book. not only did they cover popular lightweight race cars they covered cars that werent popular during this drag racing era.

I read the reveiws of this book and agree with only a couple. I found this book to be a great source of many of the A/FX cars of the '60s and the price is well worth that alone. If you were a fan of these precursers of the one piece body funny cars, you'll like this book. It has many great pictures and short stories of the drivers of this era of the sport.

Excellent text and information with racing photos that I have never seen before, especially after 30 years following this subject.

Extreme has become an overused word. These cars were not the norm, but they were available from certain dealers. Agreed; no forewords in the book. What really bothers me is the numerous grammatical errors and misspellings. Here's an example: 'the block was bored to .30'. I'm sure it means 0.030 over, but bothersome to me. This makes me suspect the other "facts and figures" in the text. Obviously the proof reader was absent that day. They even misspelled one driver's name when the proper spelling is very clearly seen on the car door in the picture. I expect better. I do give it good marks for the pictures; many, clear and interesting. Money better spent elsewhere.
Update 1-12-08:
Factory Lightweights is a much better book, it's available right here at Amazon and is the better value within the same category of cars/ interest. You can tell more research and author excitement went into this publication. I recommend it over this particular book.