Customer Reviews

Vintage American Road Racing Cars, 1950-1970

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful book full of information and pictures of forgotten (and remembered) race cars from my younger days. These are the Autos I grew up watching run from my vantage point as an SCCA flagman...back in the days when the flag people stood ON the edge of the track, not hidden in some bunker safely out of the way.
The writers / researchers have done a great job of digging up some history on some of the more obscure specials that made the races entertaining and kept us going back "at the barn" on our own Hot rod, Jag powered and framed, plastic bodied, SPECIAL; which did eventually get built, but never made it to Pikes Peak
the aim of the project.
The writers even dug up a bit of info on a couple of cars I remember well, but have not seen mentioned anywhere else; the "Purina Checkerboard Special" as we all called it, and Jim Sanders' "FOMOCO Special", both of which are in my old vintage racing films from Galveston, Mansfield, and Eagle Mountain Lake races.
The book has been read from cover to cover, and will again befor going on the shelf with the other family keepsakes.

I've been racing since the sixties and at one time or another have either owned or raced against a lot of these cars. You can tell by the writing that these guys are not just out to do a vintage car coffee table book, but to write a real, passionate and amazingly complete book that you will wind up buying at least two copes of... one for the library, and one for the shop. It's a terrific book... You can tell that they lived the life and can really tell a story with kindness and humor.

This review was posted by www.victorylane.com, the website of Victory Lane magazine, on November 15, 2004. Victory Lane is a vintage and historic racing news magazine.

"Auto racing of the 1950s and 1960s set the inspiration for today's vintage racing scene. One of the best books on the American Road Racing scene of the 1950s and 1960s is just out in time for the Holidays and the review copy just arrived at Victory Lane Magazine. 'Vintage American Road Racing Cars, 1950-1970' is by noted author, vintage racer and automotive historian Harold Pace and associate Mark R. Brinker. The book covers "The way we were," period rules, racing car manufacturers, hundreds of American Specials of the period, Engine swap specials, American racing kit car manufacturers, American racing engines, racing chassis and a great appendix. It will be great for those new to the sport, those who were there, officials and writers, as well as a terrific holiday gift for any racer. So well written, researched and with great photos, it just has to be the 'Racing Book of the Year'...."

The book covers tons of fascinating American racing cars, both common and unique.

My rating docks it one star because there are many obvious errors of relatively common information (such as the wrong year for a driver's Indy 500 win). If the easy stuff is wrong, how reliable can the hard stuff be?

This subject has been very well documented by Pace and Brinker. The story about American Sports car racing in the 50's and its evolution is very well presented. Some of the cars listed are new to me and I have been a 'racer' since 1959. Obviously not at every track, 100% of the time.

I wish that there were more historic pictures and that those pictures presented were larger to enjoy. It would have added to the cost of the book and more pages, but I would have ranked it a five star. If a person wants to get involed in Vintage Racing American Specials at Monterey Historic and other tracks thruout America, this book is needed to get educated on cars to look at.

4-5 Stars. Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950-1970,By Harold W.Pace and Mark R.Brinker ,Hardcover,2004,Motorbooks

Good Written History on American Specials,Most have heard of or seen before,greats such as Stovebolt Special,Kurtis,Cheetah,Devin,Bocar,Hummingbird(Chevy). Others Such as Hagemann-GMC or Capella(Chevy powered Pink Car.)Although There are Pictures black and white and Color,there is no Full Layout pages or Big Pictures. Too Much Crosley Powered /Euro powered stuff. As Oppose to Genuine American Racers.there is also very small errors such as 1956 Corvette SS(it's 1957).other than that,the book is a gem,got mine for under $60.heavy book almost encyclopedic.Good Helpful index on Cars powered by a Particular engine.other helpful indexes on Classes,etc. Would Love to see a Follow up to this,I recommend this and Dave Friedman's Photographic Pro Sportscar Racing In America 1958-1974.Would be great if there was a Powered By Chevy and/or Powered By Corvette/Powered By Gm Racers Book.

As the owner and driver of one of the USRRC/CAN-AM cars described in this book, I give it an A+ for content.

The pictures and articles are excellent and of great historical analysis of sports cars in north America. Highly recommend.

I knew Harold as a writer on historic kit cars. I have bouth Vintage American Road Racing Cars, because I am a fan on the 1950s US road races and I thought this book will enhance my knowledge.

Boy, it sure does. It is great just to browse through and see the images. But reading it in detail, reveals how much effort went into proper research. A lot of interviews, contemporary press reports adds a personal touch to this very thorough overview.