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 Scot...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Porsche 911 SC - Experiences & illustrated practical advice from one man's home restoration This is not an easy book to review. Don’t get me wrong. It’s well written, packed with coloured pictures and has a happy ending. But even trying to be kind, what we have here is simply, a restoration guide. And unless you’re a Porsche restoration exp...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies  D129OOE - The works MG Maestro 2.0 Efi  Despite its unusual title, this quirky book is nevertheless a fascinating read that chronicles the biography of probably the last ‘works’ competition car ever produced by the Austin Rover Group (ARG); a patriotically painted red, white and blue MG Maestro Efi with a truly eclectic and unique provenance...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker  FORMULA 1 - CAR BY CAR 1990-99  This book covers what many consider the most exciting decade in the history of Grand Prix racing. If in doubt, one only has to scan the chapter titles; Senna Regains His Controversial Crown, Mansell And Williams FW14B Dominate, Prost Returns To Claim His Fourth Title, Michael Schumacher In A Class Of His Own, and Damon H...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies  HOW NOT TO BE A PROFESSIONAL RACING DRIVER  Jason Plato’s enviable motor racing batting averages in the British Touring Car Championship speak for themselves. Two titles, 97 wins, 229 podiums, 50 pole positions and 88 fastest laps from 21 seasons in Britain’s premier saloon car league. Statistics that make the title of his book ‘How no...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker The Essential Buyer’s Guide - RELIANT SCIMITAR GTE (1968-1986) SE5, SE6, SE8 (1989-1990) MIDDLEBRIDGE Anyone contemplating the purchase of a classic Reliant Scimitar in the near future could do worse than first secure a copy of this book. For just £13.99 you get nearly 100 pages, crammed end-to-end with facts and figures, history, model weak points,...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10  BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker  FORD MODEL T - AN ENTHUSIAST’S GUIDE - 1908 TO 1927 (ALL MODELS AND VARIANTS)  I love everything about this book, because Chas Parker, along with contributors Chris Barker (Archivist for the UK Register) and Neil Tuckett (UK’s top restorer), have left me wanting to own one. ...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker  The Essential Buyer’s Guide - LANCIA HF 4WD & INTEGRALE 1986 to 1994  This superb pocket-size manual, written with expert input from my friends Paul Baker and Peter Collins, is more than just a buyer’s guide, it provides a complete run-down with pictures on all variants of this four-wheel-drive classic, including all the subtle differen...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker MR. LE MANS - TOM KRISTENSEN  Recently published in English by EVRO, this Danish best seller is all set to become a number one here in the UK. I worked for a long time in Denmark, and was probably in Skagen that winter in 2007 when Tom was in town, recovering from his bad accident at the Hockenheim Ring, that almost cost him his life. But we never met. Eve...

BOOK REVIEW  By Ken Davies Rootes Maestros “In their own words.” With over 140 books to his credit, following a lifetime in the automobile industry and sport as engineer, competitor and journalist, any book written by serial author Robson is worth reading, but Rootes Maestros “In their own words.” – originally published in 2008 – surpassed expectations ...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Dodge Viper: The full story of the world’s first V10 sport car Anyone who watched the Dodge Viper, with its V10 engine, circulate the 1997 Le Mans flat out for the full 24 hours, will know just what an accomplished car this was. In 1998, a Viper GTS-R won the FIA GT2 Championship, while Vipers also took the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ America...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter McFadyen Tom Pryce – Memories of a Welsh F1 star by those who knew him When Tom Pryce won the British Airways/Daily Mail Race of Champions at Brands Hatch on 16th March 1975 he became the first Welshman ever to win a Formula 1 race. It may have been a non-championship race but the quality of his achievement can be judged by the fact that the four places behind ...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker The MICHAEL TURNER Collection: Over 50 years of motorsport-themed Christmas cards If this book were given to me this Christmas, I’d creep away somewhere quiet, probably with a good supply of cold turkey, mince pies and Scotch whisky, put my feet up, and the rest of the family wouldn’t s...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Porter Profiles: Jaguar XK 120 – The story of 660725 At just £20 this book, published by Porter Press International to the same very high standard as its top end publications, really does represent great value-for-money. Written by Simon Ham, it tells the intriguing story of one car, a Ja...

BOOK REVIEW   By Peter Baker ADMISSION 7/6 – E.V. STARR SNAPS THE 60S SPEED MERCHANTS A series of stunning images taken by a very skilled Edgar Vernon Starr, and purchased by Tim Beavis at auction back in 2004, form the basis of this engaging work, that offers a superb read at a bargain price. Following a comprehensive Foreword by Derek Bell MBE, the 128 pages take the reader on...

BOOK REVIEW   By Peter Baker Drive with Paddy Hopkirk An A5 paperback book of a 1969/70 cartoon series, subtly updated and featuring Paddy Hopkirk handing out a series of driving tips, as they appeared in the Sunday Mirror. This is obviously a Christmas stocking filler and is good enough, but only just, to provide a half-hour of post-lunch entertainment, with a twist. Even Paddy mig...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Stirling Moss – Rally Driver  I’ve been involved with rallying since the year dot or, to be more precise, the black-and-white days of 1966, which probably amounts to one of the same thing. Thus, it’s not really big-headedness to assume I know everything worth knowing about the sport. Take this book for example, even before opening it I&rsq...

CLICK HERE – At Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10  BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker Ferrari 250 GTE – The family car that funded the racing Well done Porter Press International and congratulations to author David Wheeler, because Ferrari 250 GTE: The family car that funded the racing is so blatantly good its future as a classic reference work is guaranteed. In fact, I like...

Click HERE – At the Checkout enter Discount code RETRO10 BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker SuperFinds – A truly unique selection of previously unseen photographs of important historic cars as found in the 1960s and 1970s Books, generally, are becoming so big and heavy one has to attend regular fitness classes just to pick them up. This publication for example, complied by Michael ...

BOOK REVIEW  By Peter Baker QUEST FOR SPEED – THE EPIC SAGA OF RECORD-BREAKING ON LAND Author Barry John, with foreword by David Tremayne, has compacted very nicely the history of man’s fascination with speed into 184 pages. True It’s been done before, many times, but even so, I beg you to find a more detailed and entertaining study at the price. As one might expect, ol...