Books
These books may be of interest to Ford Specials builders and restorers.
Publication of most of these books stopped years ago, but copies can be obtained from second-hand booksellers or auto-jumbles.
Ford Special Builders Manual
Author: G B Wake
Publisher: H. J. Haynes & Co. Ltd.
112 pages including 29 black and white photographs, 33 diagrams.
In hardback or paperback.
This is a manual for anyone contemplating building a Ford 8 or 10 special. It shows clearly and in detail how for as little as £150 the impecunious motoring enthusiast can build his own sports car, equal in performance, road holding, and beauty of line to a production car costing perhaps six times this figure.
G. B. Wake is an experienced special builder of enormous enthusiasm, and the care and thoroughness with which he tackles any job are no more clearly illustrated than in the photographs in this book of his own specials. Not only has he given his own invaluable advice on the many aspects of special building, but also he has been able to draw on the specialised knowledge of firms and individuals, who have given him information that otherwise, could not possibly have been obtained.
Here then are the facts and figures, diagrams and photographs, on how a heavy saloon car can be completely transformed into a fast good looking sports car or scintillating Gran Turismo saloon.
Out In Front
Author: Tony Russell
Publisher: MRP Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 1-899870-69-5
Out In Front was a trading slogan of Leslie Ballamy's LMB companies, whose suspension, engine and transmission conversions became a passport to success not only on race tracks, hill-climbs and trials venues, but also on the road, where customers for his 'go-faster' conversions included some of the country's top sportsmen and even members of the aristocracy. This is a story of a forthright character who was a great patriot, an inspiration to many, and a tireless and ingenious 'ideas' man, who never stopped designing until the day he died age of 87.
Ford Specials
Author: P.J. Stephens
Publisher: G.T. Foulis & Co 1960
198 pages including 25 black and white photographs, 54 diagrams.
Written at the time of the 'Specials Craze' when we all chopped up our Old Ford 8 or 10, or our Austin 7, or anything else Carwise that was: So Not Cool! Many a fine future Classic ended its day in this manner, but some great, cheap fun sporty looking cars provided a lot of pleasure and upped the bird pulling rate! This book however is for the serious side of the Special Movement and tells what is needed in the way of the donor and mechanical conversion to improve the performance in line with the yet to be selected new bodywork. It taught many of us a lot about our cars and D.I.Y in general. Some of these Cars were indeed a credit to their owners and performed well in trials, rallies and club races, as the bulk of the non productive weight was in the heavy bodywork (discarded) for lightweight GRP. It would be nice to do it all again today. But the Classic Car Brigade would give you hell!
The Construction of Ford Specials
Author: John Mills
Publisher: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 1960
128 pages including 21 black and white photographs, 34 diagrams.
There was a time about 50 years ago, when all of us now 'mature' motoring enthusiasts, but then, with not a lot of cash in our pockets, but youth on our side, who lusted after out-of-reach Sports Cars , went one way or the other: either you built an Austin 7 Special or a Ford Special and as a result, a small cottage industry developed in Aluminium or Fibre Glass Body Shells & all the bits that went with it. Now this book concentrates on the Ford & the author takes you back to those carefree days to turn your sit-up-&-beg Ford 8/10 into a LeMans Racer, (with a little imagination on your part)! Relive those days reading this in your armchair, or get up, get out & do it all over again!
Building a Ford 10 Special
Author: John Haynes
Publisher: Haynes 1958
A small book covering:- buying and dismantling the basic saloon, modifying chassis, engine modifications, building the body and wiring.
The Ford 10 Competition Engine A Complete Tuning Manual
Author: Philip H Smith
Publisher: G.T. Foulis & Co 1958
138 pages including 21 black and white photographs, 47 diagrams.
A complete tuning manual describing in stages the work which can be done on the Ford 10., ans later the100E within and beyond the limits of the 1172 formula. Includes modifications, refinements of tuning, accessories for power and supercharging.
Tuning side-valve fords
Author: Bill Cooper
Publisher: Speed & Sports Publications Ltd, 1969
63 pages including 20 black and white photographs, 14 diagrams.
Bill Cooper, well known for his racing success in various sidevalve Ford engined single seaters. It covers the tuning of these engines through several stages to full racing specification.
ONE OFF
I build a Ford ‘10’ Sports Car
Author: N. T. Havart
Publisher: G.T. Foulis & Co 1953.
168 pages including 16 pages of black and white photographs plus loads of diagrams.
A descriptive book in diary form of the author’s building of a Ford 10 Special from start to finish. The book captures the early 1950s era, no TV or internet and some food sill being rationed after the war years.
Ford Builder’s Guide and Price List
Super Accessories (L. R. Montgomery & Co Ltd.)
This combined Price List and Builders Guide has been prepared to give a general outline and advice to the newcomer to Special building. It is not intended to be a step-by-step guide on building and tuning, but an endeavour to answer the questions we are asked time and time again at Super Accessories. It includes chassis and engine data, advice on the type of components to use and an idea of cost.
Designing and building a sports car
Author: Norman Lockwood
Publisher: G. T. Foulis & Co. Ltd., 1960
168 pages including 13 black and white photographs, 36 diagrams.
The Lockwood Special has been designed and built by Mr. N Lockwood as a two-seater sports car suitable for either racing or touring. In this book the author gives a full description of how he completely built this car and includes some instruction on welding. He also describes in detail how he made his own bodywork from sheet aluminium. Although Normans car uses a Standard 8 engine, he makes use of lots of other Ford components.
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