The Cars of Trans-Am Racing 1966-1972: Road Racing Muscle From GM, Ford, Chrysler, and AMC Hardcover – October 2, 2013

This author provides a unique perspective on the Trans-Am racing series. Because he is a collector and restorer of the cars that participated in the series he gained the confidence of the professional drivers, team managers, and fabricators who built, raced and maintained these machines. They were willing to contribute to the book and provide a true insider’s view. The author can also speak with authority about the cars in the series because he bought, sold, and restored many of them.The book is a labor of love for the author and an opportunity to for contributors to give their side of the story. The core of the narrative is the cars themselves and their history during the Trans-Am series and after it ended. This leads to a somewhat herky-jerky organization but that is part of the charm of the book.

The book gives a detailed and concise look behind the scenes of the golden Trans-Am era. The in-depth insider knowledge of the author and the look at the technical details are a real enrichment even for connoisseurs.Unfortunately, the book is out of print and a second edition at affordable prices not in sight.

As someone who has an extensive racing library with several books about the famed Trans Am series from 1966-72, I was hoping this book would offer something that hadn't already been covered.Most books previously written covered the great drivers and the racing, but in this one, author David Tom did a great job covering the technical details about the cars themselves. The author has personally owned several of the restored race cars, and not only covers his own experiences, he also has interviews with other current owners about their own machines and how they were able to perform as well as they did. This is valuable to describe details about the cars that 40 year old pictures just can't capture.There is also a lot of great historical info about how the series evolved like it did, and discusses some of the creativity of the team owners & car builders (like Roger Penske & Smokey Yunick and others) to exploit the rulebook. For example, he goes into the development of the Ford in line carburetor and the efforts Ford went through to get it legalized for competition (unsuccesfully, I might add).While most books gloss over the early years of the AMC program and the trials & tribulations of the Pontiac race teams, this book covers both of those in detail. In addition, the author has personal interviews with team managers like Bud Moore and Ronnie Kaplan on the series & what occurred behind the scene in their dealings with the manufacturers.My only complaint is that the book only covers the over 2 liter class with no info on the under 2 liters, which unfortunately seems to be a common thread in most of the books written so far.Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys the Trans Am series.

great book love the history of trans am the raced up here in new hampshire in the 1960s at the old bryar motorsports park were new hampshire speedway is todaygreat book for any road racing fan that loves the history of the series

I LOVE the book but I have also been at Trans-Am races. I have long admired the (at the time but best) technology. Great for me but what is your goal, appealing to old people who know about this or attracting new fans?

Fabulous book about the CARS! One of the best racing books I have purchased in a long time. It is more about the cars than most. Great pictures not found anywhere else. Lots of technical info. I buy about a dozen racing/car books a year and this is by far one of the best in several years. Great cover that is the same as the dust cover. I framed the dust cover.

This is a great read. I followed the Trans-Am closely during this period and this author was obviously part of the paddock crew not the photographers trailing along shooting pictures. If you only buy one book on this period, this should be the one if you want to know about the cars, crews, and teams. They all have pretty pictures, but this one has the history to go with them. Great read!

Awesome insight into the technology of road racing a unibody pony car. The Smokey Yunick stuff is great.

Très bon livre sur le sujet, complet avec des illustrations inédites. Un must-have dans la bibliothèque de tout fan de Trans-Am.

Superb narrative, packed with many photos that I have never seen previously. Mr. Tom's work has a homey feel too . . . more like reading a personal scrapbook which made it even better! Lovers of classic racing will devour this book and it might also convert some "open wheelers" to REAL racing!

An excellent book on vintage Trans-Am informatively written and really well researched by someone with hands-on experience of both the cars themselves and the racing.Many of the cars are examined with interesting stories that surround them.The Smokey Yunick Camaro gets particular attention and the photos and info from the restoration of this iconic car are excellent.This is the best book (so far) on Trans-Am

Parfait! Bien écrit et documenté, à relire!

livre avec de nombreuses et belles photos. Ouvrage très bien documenté mais en langue anglaise donc pour le texte traduction obligatoire