Geoff Stunkard

I received this book as a LibraryThing advance and really wasn't sure what to expect. What I received was a beautifully laid-out hardcover volume covering the Chrysler's HEMI in all its glory! This is the definitive guide to the HEMI with beautiful color and black and white images to enhance every detail - and for details - wow there are some great explanations regarding the engineering of these great engines. From the First-Generation (1953-1962) to the end-of-era HEMI motors in the late show more 70's, the details are all here, along with design diagrams, photos of parts, the people involved in design-through-manufacture, and the racing history of each iteration. If it sounds like I'm impressed, then yes, verily.

Sure I knew a bit about the HEMI prior to receiving this book, but after reading it (and yes this is one of those instances where it captured my attention from cover-to-cover) I think I've increased my knowledge by one order of magnitude (10x in other words). There's a ton of information around the NHRA and NASCAR runs that made the engine famous, and in turn raised Chrysler to a new status in both competition and retail sales. I liked the details around experiments in fuel injection and various ignition layouts to increase off-the-line speeds. The book also covers much of the thinking to take this motor from the track back to the streets. If you're into racing you need this book. If you're into Chargers, Road Runners, Super Bees and A-Bombs, you need this book! There's also much coverage of the Superbird and Cudas of my childhood - man this book is packed.

Kudos to the author, Geoff Stunkard for putting together a book worthy of HEMI! show less

This is a very well written data and photo aggregation of the 1970 Plymouth Superbird. The book measures about 8x9 inches and contains less than 100 pages with color photography throughout and an easy-to-read sanserif typeface. It's the first of this series "Muscle Cars in Detail" that I've seen, read or reviewed (but I have seen similar). I think Geoff Stunkard does an admirable job aggregating data to put together a complete view of this model and year. As a young kid in the 60's I had a show more neighbor that owned this model car - it was in a rather ubiquitous nearly florescent Plymouth green - he would goose the gas a bit as he came up the street since there was a nice straightaway and several other Muscle Cars on my street (we owned a '69 Chevy Nova SS but it paled in comparison to the Superbird) - he was just letting people know that he was around - it was a bit of a challenge as I recall and several comments were elicited by the behavior.

I liked this book quite a bit - I think it's well written and organized but now we come to my major complaint - first the size. I think for something like this a larger book would have featured the photography and made it into more of a coffee-table presentation. I kind of get where the publisher is going with this, but it seemed a bit like a section from a larger book presented as a single volume - sort of like buying chapters at a time. I really feel like the history and car is deserving or more - that's my only pet peeve. I would like to see this as a 14x14 inch (minimum) book in hardcover with about three times the pages. Now I'm not sure if there's enough content to fill said volume - especially if the idea is to keep some millennial's mind occupied for any length of time so that may be how this book came to be in it's current form - but I would argue that the group of car-culture enthusiasts interested in this car, this book, these photos and especially this content, would want more - but perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part.

Note that I received this book as part of a free giveaway as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers group.

(Also posted to Amazon) show less

I’ve always been a Dodge Guy, which I attribute to growing up on a steady diet of The Dukes of Hazzard. To most Dodge enthusiasts, the 426 Hemi is the Holy Grail of engines. While I’ve never had the pleasure of owning a Hemi, like most Dodge Guy’s, I’ve often dreamed of it.

If you’ve ever shared this dream, or been lucky enough to make the dream a reality, you’ll love this book. It provides a very in-depth history of the Hemi and includes tons of great, full color photographs. It show more is also well written, and it makes a great coffee table book as it is beautifully laid out and filled with color.

Make no mistake though, this book is worth a lot more than its looks. It contains a thorough history of one of the most iconic engines in muscle car history. Within its pages, I found everything I could ever want to know about the Hemi, and it was s fun read. It also includes a chapter on the new generation of DaimlerChrysler-era Hemis, and includes an extensive index. In short, I love this book! show less

[This copy received from the LibraryThing 'Early Reviewers' program.]

My father was a master toolmaker, and a life-long Chrysler owner. And as a consequence, my own first car wound up being a high-mileage 1970 Dodge Challenger that he discarded, which I spent about six years of my youth attempting to keep running.

So (at my own humble level) I spent some fraction of the '70s ALSO under the hood of a MOPAR sled, teaching myself garage mechanics as various components failed.

THIS book chronicles show more a similar endeavor (although at a somewhat higher level...). as the team moves from a '70 Challenger to a "72" Baracuda and on to a '74 Dart. This is an entertaining historic look at some of the mechanical 'challenges' (sorry) of NSCA preparation. show less