How to Build Motorcycle-engined Racing Cars (SpeedPro Series)
The Motor Cycling Club, September 2008Having spent the summer of 1956 with a Cooper JAP, after which I never wished to see anything engined by something from a motorcycle again (although I broke that vow the following year when I raced an outboard hydroplane with a similar motor), my face was wreathed in a wry smile when I read this title. However, we should remember that modern motorcycles are powered by something much more sophisticated than the poor old speedway JAP with its total loss lubrication system, which liberally coated the driver with evil smelling castor-based oil, although in my case it fortunately never had the dire effects on my digestive system that my father suffered in WW1 when he had to sit for hours on end in an open cockpit breathing from a slipstream full of castor oil droplets. Apart from bringing back a few memories I enjoyed this book which is much wider in scope than its title suggests and indeed deals with most aspects of designing and building a special, certainly not confining itself to the whys and wherefores of modern motorcycle engines. Although looking specifically at something for the track much of the content would be of interest and helpful to any member who is contemplating a trials special or even modifying an existing car. It’s not light reading although easy to follow and I suggest that once read it will frequently be taken from the bookcase for reference. Worth having.