Tuesday 27th April 2021

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies 

Special: JACK FISHER 

To the majority of readers, the name Jack Fisher will be unfamiliar, nevertheless this niche biography recounts the life of an intuitive, resourceful and versatile Scottish 'garagista', entrepreneur, prolific Special builder and racing driver.

Born in Greenock, Jack Fisher (1921-2013) was educated in China before returning to Scotland to enlist in the RAF and, at 16 years old, a trainee mechanic working on four-engined bombers during frantic wartime years. At the outbreak of peace, Jack, now a qualified engineer, left the RAF and established a thriving garage business in Edinburgh, which then became an Alfa Romeo agency.

The book centres on the many Specials that Jack built for speed hill climbing and racing, as well as charting his long and successful racing career, mainly on Scottish circuits and hill climbs, as well as sand racing and trialling.

It was that golden post-war period with enthusiasts starved of motorsport for five years and eager to kick-start racing. It was also a time when plenty of donor cars were available for converting into sports specials which spawned constructors such as Lotus, Lola, Mallock, Chevron and a large number of proprietary one-offs built by talented ex-military engineers. Jack Fisher was responsible for building at least 22 increasingly sophisticated and effective competition cars, powered by a range of engines from flat head Ford V8 to Fiat and Alfa Romeo – and many others in-between.

Written as a labour of love by two men who knew Fisher, in recognition of his achievements, the book is comprehensively illustrated with some great period racing images, including design drawings, letters, invoices and budgets, some literally on the back of used envelopes! Just 200 copies have been printed and sold so far but more are available to order.

This book is a fascinating read for Special builders and those interested in club motorsport during 1950s-70s and there’s also a couple of paragraphs from that well-known champion of special builders, Motor Sport magazine’s respected international correspondent, Denis Jenkinson.

Special: JACK FISHER
Written by Peter Speakman & Kenny Baird
ISBN 978-1-5272-8514-9
Available direct from Lickle Valley Creations
Price £20.00 (inc. UK P&P)