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The Reading Room
May The Fords Be With You - Here we have a review of pair of fantastic books from drag racer and noted Ford historian Charles Morris. Charles is a Stock and Super Stock veteran, and has been an automotive author for over 17 years. He currently owns the restored Norristown Ford '63 1/2 Lightweight Galaxie, which competes in Nostalgia Super Stock. You can purchase both of these books at a discounted price from our Amazon.com store by clicking on the links below. The Total Performers book is also available autographed and personalized for $30.00, contact Charles direct at CM0427@aol.com to order. Many thanks to Mr. Morris for providing review copies, both of these books get two thumbs up from Dearbornflashback.com! |
The title says it all, this book thoroughly covers Ford 1960's Total Performance campaign. Author Charles Morris's meticulous research gives us Ford fans a long overdue dose of historical accuracy, detailing the countless victories over our rivals. Total Performers guides us through the transition from the venerable Y-block to the up and coming FE, the small blocks and Boss motors, and of course the obnoxiously powerful Cammer. Many of the popular Ford dragstrip warriors are featured in over 400 rare photos Charles has unearthed, throughout 167 glossy pages. There's also many shots of lesser known "local" cars, and some very rare shots of famous cars after they were passed down and "recycled" by lower level racers. |
"The Super Torque Fords" -
Charles' extensive research refutes long-held misconceptions that the '63 big Fords didn't perform, he
documents numerous victories and track records in Total Performers. He found his own Lightweight Galaxie,
in the very capable hands of Rich LaMont, took the Super Stock class 10 weeks in a row in 1963. The
fiberglass-laden Lightweight Galaxies more than served their purpose in 1963, and paved the way for the
equally plastic enhanced, but much lighter Fairlane Thunderbolts in 1964. The next chapter examines the
immediately successful Thunderbolts, and their continued domination of the competition on strips across the country.
The drag racing evolution continues through the pages, with the A/FX Mustangs, Falcons and Comets,
the first funny cars, Cobra and
Shelby Mustangs, a brief
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look at the venture into Fuel racing, and back to the doorslammers of the late 1960's
with the 427 Fairlanes and Cobra Jet Mustangs. The book closes out with a nice chapter on the Canadian exploits
of the "Border Bandits" and others, and the Boss cars of 1969 and 70. And finally, the birth of Pro Stock, and
the death of factory support. Besides the dozens of car shots, there's also some nice shots of the exotic Tunnel
Port and Boss 429 cylinder heads. If you bleed blue, Total Performers definitely belongs in your reading room!
Detroit's Drag Racing Specials of the '60s Charles Morris does it again with Factory Lightweights, this time he covers the factory lightweight drag cars from all of Detroit, not just Ford. All the marques get equal time here, as Charles delves into all their parts bins, describing all of the special aluminum and fiberglass components that made up these very special drag cars. The story begins in 1960, covering the entire decade of factory involvement, right up to the bitter end in 1971. Production numbers, availability, and track records are detailed as well. The famous cars are covered here of course, but so are many lesser known, but very interesting race cars. As for the Ford coverage, this is definitely not a rehash of Total Performers, Charles has dug even deeper and uncovered many more amazing vintage shots. |
"Have a pickup truck full of axles parked right here" - There's many interesting and humorous stories that Charles has dug up, both on and off the track. The truck full of axles quote comes from the legendary Phil Bonner. It was his obviously sarcastic, and frustrated, response to a Ford rep after being asked what they could do to help his racing program in 1965. The initial '65 A/FX Mustangs were pretty tough on axles, and Bonner snapped one after another. One broken axle incident caused the Daddy Warbucks Mustang to careen off track at a backwoods dragstrip (without guard rails), right into a big pile of cow s***! There's also some very interesting towing incidents related in the book, from the days of flat towing and early car trailers. You can also read about Al "Batman" Joniec nearly running over Captain Kangaroo during a promo stunt!
"I wouldn't get out of the electric chair to drive that car" -
A race fan's comment after seeing Emmett "Rattlesnake" Austin's radically modified Bob Ford-sponsored Thunderbolt.
Brave Rattlesnake's T-Bolt had morphed into a frightening monster with it's rear axle moved up nearly to the doors,
sitting jacked up on a straight axle up front, and injector stacks prominently sprouting from the vicious High-Riser.
Charles details the rapid evolution of the stock appearing Stock and Super Stockers into these wild altered wheelbase
FX'ers and early Funny Cars. The flip-top funnys are touched on only briefly, the story here stays primarily focused
on the factory lightweights, hence the title. Odds are you're a Blue Oval fan if you're reading this, but Charles does
a great job covering the competition as well. From the Swiss Cheese Ponchos, to the h*** powered Mopars, and even
the ultra-rare S/S AMXs from Kenosha. There's nearly 400 photos spread over 179 pages, many of them in color. This
will be another great addition to your reading room!
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