Making Pistons for Experimental and Restoration Engines Chastain • £ 9.25 • (G) Steve Chastain’s other books will be found in the Foundry section, but here he is covering the making of new pistons for old IC engines, be they from cars, stationary engines, or whatever - in other words he is talking about aluminium pistons, although much of the information applies to cast-iron ones. Described are the making of patterns and molds, then the machining operations to make sure you get the whole process right; if you don’t want to cast your own, then take the patterns to your local foundry. There is quite a lot of maths here as well, but at least you can now get that old engine fitted with new pistons. Great (and clear) information. 63 page softcover with many photos, drawings, charts and diagrams. Published by the author Add to shopping basket

The Complete Car Modeller Wingrove • £ 14.99 • (C) This is a new printing of the first of Gerald Wingrove’s books on making super-detail car models in 1/15 scale and it gives a very good insight into the techniques involved. The first chapter covers the tools required and is followed by 5 chapters on building the major components of a car model, and one on special bodywork. Whilst none of these is specific to any particular car, the final chapter covers the building of a ‘J’ Duesenberg and pulls the previous chapters together. Fully illustrated with photos (mainly B & W), sketches and drawings of components, this is a great place to start building exquisite car models. 136 A4 format pages. Paperback. Crowood Press Add to shopping basket

The Complete Car Modeller 2 Wingrove o £14.99 o (C) New and, I suspect, slightly amended printing of the second Wingrove book on making 1/15 scale car models, this one covering in considerable detail the modelling of the Weinburger Bugatti Royale. This is interesting as is, although I doubt there is actually enough here by way of plans for you to actually build this model, but what is fascinating are the techniques and how they can be used in other types of modelling. 133 pages, including 8 in colour, crammed with photos, drawings and sketches. Paperback. Crowood Press Add to shopping basket

Motor Bicycle Building 1906 • Hasluck • £ 7.95 • (F) If you were a young blade in 1906 and wanted a motor bicycle, unless you were very wealthy, you built it yourself, probably using this book, from the redoubtable (British) Paul Hasluck’s “Work” handbook series. The first 38 pages of text describe building the frame, including making the castings for the lugs, front fork crown etc. The next 72 pages cover the building of a 31?2 hp ‘ petrol motor’ for this machine, and includes a chapter on ignition coils. There then follow 39 pages on building a 11?2 hp ‘light-weight petrol motor for attachment to a roadster bicycle’. There is almost certainly enough in the way of drawings and info here for you to build a 1906 motor bicycle; this would be an interesting project, although whether you could make it road legal in the 21st century is entirely a different matter. 160 pages, full of drawings. Paperback. Lindsay Publications Add to shopping basket

Petrol-Driven Motor Cars 1909 • Lineham • SPECIAL PRICE • £ 1.95 • (H) There is a huge amount of information on all aspects of the early development of the petrol-driven car up to 1909 in the 23 pages of this booklet. Amongst others you get information on the chassis, steering, wheels, transmissions, ignition, motors, and their balancing, all extracted from A Text-Book of Mechanical Engineering, published in London in 1909 although the contents cover British, European and American developments. 35 drawings and diagrams. Softcover. Camden Add to shopping basket

The Construction of a Gasolene Motor Vehicle 1901 • Bramwell • £ 9.55 (F) Although it probably does contain enough information and drawings to enable you to build a replica of an early 20th century tiller steered car, this book was largely intended as an instruction manual for early car mechanics, which term included builders in 1901. It is very good on the principles of the various parts of a car, notably the engine, as well as each parts construction, and anyone with a technical interest in early cars will find it fascinating. And of course if you want to build your own GTI (1901 style) there is no other book to be considered! 149 pages. Large numbers of drawings. Paperback. Lindsay Pubs. Add to shopping basket

Making Cars at Longbridge Bardsley & Corke • £14.99 • (D) Whether or not cars will be built at Longbridge in the future, the fact is they were made there for 100 years in the factory first used by Herbert Austin. From it came some of the most iconic cars built, notably the ‘Mini’, which was produced during no less than forty one of the factories years. This book tells the story of the factory, its products and its workers in around 380 B & W photos, well captioned and with succinct supporting text. 191 pages. Paperback. Tempus Publishing. Add to shopping basket

Making Cars at Cowley Bardsley & Laing • £12.99 • (D) Cars were built at the factory near Oxford, established by William Morris, from 1913 until 1992, mostly under the ‘Morris’ name, but later BMC, then British Leyland and lastly British Aerospace. The history of Cowley, its products and the people who worked there is told here in around 300 B & W photos with extensive captions, and brief text. 160 pages. Paperback. Tempus Publishing Add to shopping basket

Citroën traction avant Pressnell • £29.95 •(A) When it first appeared in 1934, André Citroën’s TA car was by far the most advanced in the world and, arguably, one of the most beautiful ever produced, even if the investment required to get it into production, and many teething troubles with so much new technology dragged Citroën into bankruptcy. But the design was continually refined and became a considerable success; during WW11 it managed to be the favourite car of both the Resistance and the Gestapo, and postwar, the favourite car of the French police, smugglers and gangsters, as well as the good citizens of many European nations, in some of which, including the U.K., it was also built. This wonderful book contains the full technical history of the design, as well as its service to humanity, whichever side it might have been on, plus the TA’s legacy and some useful hints and tips on buying one. 240 large format pages with 100s of photos and illustrations, many in colour. Hardbound. The Crowood Press Add to shopping basket

Scammellers ed. Armstrong • £ 24.00 • (A) A customer brought this to my attention - he also edited it. I’m glad he did as it is a lovely and unusual book. The subject is the products of Scammell Lorries, most often very big ones, but down the whole range to the 3 wheel tractors the railways used to use in towns. Exceedingly well produced with lots of large colour photos, plus some in b & w, and lots of sketches, technical diagrams and drawings. The text is mainly reminiscences by drivers, preservationists and Scammell lovers, and very entertaining. It is also in French, Italian and German as well as English Large (16.5” x 11.5”) landscape format, 174 pages, paperback with screw binding. Paul Persey Add to shopping basket

The Rolls-Royce Meteor Evans, McWilliams, Whitworth & Birch o £ 15.00 o (D) The Rolls-Royce Merlin is perhaps the most famous of all piston aero engines, but it is not well known that it was also developed into a very reliable engine for tanks - the Meteor. First fitted into a Cromwell in 1941, this engine remained in production up to 1962, and was fitted to the well-liked Centurion tank amongst others. This book tells the story of both the engine, and the tanks, and is both detailed, and readable. 204 well produced pages. Around 100 B & W photos and drawings. Paperback. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Add to shopping basket

A F V Stowage Sketches • £ 8.95 • (F) Here are no less than 74 full A4 page drawings showing where equipment was stowed both inside and outside various British World War 2 fighting vehicles. The drawings contain an extraordinary amount of information, but it isn't clear whether they are MoD originals or not. Vehicles covered include the General Grant 1, General Stuart, 2 Valentines, Crusader 111, Churchill 111, Centaur 1, Tetrach, Humber Armoured Car Mk 2, Daimler Dingo, Universal Carrier and Rota Trailer. Genuinely interesting information. 78 page paperback. Toros Publications Add to shopping basket

McQueen's Machines Stone • £16.99 • (A) To those of us of a certain age Steve McQueen was a 'king of cool', and perhaps part of the reason for this was his affinity with cars and motor bicycles - the faster the better. Not only did he drive or ride them fast in his films, he owned many of each himself, and was an accomplished racing driver. This is an interesting book, looking at his love affair with cars and bikes, those he owned, from Rolls to Jeeps, Triumphs to Indians and those he just drove in his films (although there is a grey line in that distinction). Much nicer book than you might think from the cover photo! 176 well produced, large format pages, heaving with B&W and colour photos. Hardbound. Motorbooks International Add to shopping basket

Routemaster Jubilee Rixon • £16.99 • (B) Bus books rarely appear in this list, but it seems appropriate to include this one which salutes a particular bus which is only now finishing 50 years of service on London streets - the Routemaster. The first entered service in 1954 and they have been transporting me round London man-and-boy ever since, as well as billions of others, becoming an internationally known symbol of London in the process. So here is a mainly all colour survey of this magnificent beast, decade by decade, up till the present when many remain in tourist service. 96 pages crammed with around 230 excellent photographs. Hardbound. Ian Allan Add to shopping basket

A Century of London Taxis Munro • £19.95 • (B) Everyone can recognise a “London Taxi” at 200 paces, which is strange because they are continually changing and evolving, but still from the basic layout created when IC power replaced the horse. The full story of this development, and the influences on it, is described here by an author whose ‘day job’ is as a London taxi driver! 192 pages with numerous photos, including colour sections. Hardbound. The Crowood Press Add to shopping basket

Wheels Around Glasgow Grieves • £ 7.99 • (G) No less than 49 full page photos of wheeled means of transport to be seen around Glasgow from the 1900s to the 1960s. Very little steam, other than on the railways, but loads of trams, trolleybuses, buses, vans etc., in very nostalgic photographs. 48 landscape format pages. Paperback. Stenlake Publishing Add to shopping basket

Wheels Around Dublin McIntyre • £ 7.99 • (G) Lovely books of 49 or so archive photos (mostly full page), from around 1910 to 1970, of traffic, mainly road, around Dublin, Cork and Co. Kerry. The first two focus especially on trams and buses, but there is much more in view. The Kerry book is mainly buses, vans and cars, but also has more rail transport, be it on one rail or two. Congestion in Dublin is clearly not new! Each is 48 landscape format pages. Paperback. Stenlake Publishing. Add to shopping basket

Wheels Around Cork McIntyre • £ 7.99 • (G) Add to shopping basket

Wheels Around Kerry McIntyre • £ 7.99 • (G) Add to shopping basket

Wheels Around Skye and Lochalsh Grieves • £ 7.99 • (F) Until the coming of the Skye Bridge, the roads on Skye and on the mainland leading to the ferry crossings to the island, at Kyle and Kyleakin, where, to put it mildly, pretty horrific and took their toll on the vehicles which used them, as this book shows. Having cycled round the West Highlands when younger, and considerable fitter, I can bear testimony to this; in fact I found the surfaces generally quite good, but the roads were very narrow and, as grading was minimal, had many sharp hills, often with foul corners in the middle. This book is mainly concerned with the buses, of all shapes, sizes and vintages used in the area, rather than madcap cyclists, but you also see a few cars, lorries, ships, one train and, from 1927, a very snazzy looking 'motorhome'! 61 B&W photos, many full page, plus 3 in colour.56 landscape format pages. Paperback. Stenlake Publishing Add to shopping basket

Bucyrus Making the Earth Move for 125 Years Haddock • £16.99 • (C) Very nicely done history of this famous firm and the various lines of shovels, draglines and drills which it has manufactured during its 125 year history. Included in these are the products of two British companies, Ruston & Hornsby and Ransomes & Rapier, with the first of which it jointly formed Ruston-Bucyrus, the second of whom it took over. 160 pages. Around 180 B & W, and colour illustrations. Large format paperback. MBI Add to shopping basket

Caterpillar Orlemann • £ 9.99 • (C) A photographic essay spanning Caterpillar’s equipment line from 1925 to the present, with over 200 photographs, the vast majority in colour, of tracked tractors, loaders and dozers, graders, off-highway haulers, scrapers and hydraulic excavators, some mighty big. If Caterpillar’s products are of interest, this really is ridiculously good value. 192 pages. Semi hardback. MBI Publishing. Add to shopping basket

The Caterpillar Century Orlemann • £18.99 • (A) This book is primarily a history of Caterpillar's products since the first tracked machine was produced in 1905 by the Holt Manufacturing Company, although it includes the potted histories of both Holt and the Best Tractor Co., who merged in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Very well produced, here you have around 340 photos, the bulk in colour, of Best and Caterpillar products, of all varieties and sizes, coupled with an informative text. 384 pages. Paperback. MBI Publishing Add to shopping basket

FILMS

Transporting Exceptional Loads App. 55 mins • DVD £15.95 This video shows how really big loads are transported by road. Items moved here include a Boeing 747, a complete very large building, bridge sections, boats and a pair of valuable bronze equestrian statues. The skills of the transport companies and their personnel are explained and a feature on how modular trailers are built is also included. Interesting! Add to shopping basket

Ferguson Tractors App. 65 mins • DVD £15.95 Another good video, examining the tractor models with which Ferguson was involved, from his early collaboration with David Brown, through the Ford years and up to the FE35 and the formation of Massey Ferguson. The TE20 is at the core of this film and wherever possible, the tractors are shown at work operating with Ferguson equipment. Add to shopping basket