Great Automotive Technical Read

[keithb7]

I was at a local vintage car swap meet recently and found some free books. I was very fortunate to have taken home "Automotive Fundamentals" by Frazee & Bedell. A quick flip though, I could tell this was a gem. It was written by a slew of highly experienced and educated professionals from the Automotive Industry. Including a former National Service Manager at Ford. An Airplane Mechanic and Instructor. A Chrysler Engineer and many others.  The American Technical Society was involved, as well as long list of household name brand companies who proof read articles. They also submitted many suggestions, authenticated data, and accuracy. A few examples from the long list include Caterpillar, Allis-Chalmers, Harley Davidson,  Packard, General Motors, Chrysler,  Delco-Remy,  Firestone and many more. 

 

In the book's Forward it talks about for whom the book was written: " This volume is written for anyone who requires or desires and understanding of how automotive vehicles work and what can or does happen to them. Those who are required to diagnose troubles or those who aspire to self-betterment within the industry will find this volume was written to fulfill their needs. Designing or service engineers will find that the authors have summoned up and arranged the considerations involved in a concise form that presents all the principles of operation for a particular unit together in one place where non can be overlooked"

 

The is a technical book but an easy, well written read on everything automotive. I felt compelled to rate it on Amazon as it had received no ratings yet.  I am engulfed in it currently and am sneaking in chapters whenever I can in the day. If you are here, you are likely into repairing, maintaining or restoring vintage cars from the golden years of the automotive industry. You likely should read this book. I am not affiliated in any way. I just love the style of writing from the era and the technical information is very, very good. First published in 1949, I have the 6th printed version dated 1958. I smiled when I read the section on overhead cam engines. "Although overhead camshafts find little use in automotive engines, they are used in some types of aircraft engines, and engines used in some types of military vehicles".

 

This little book was written during the prime time of our lovely flathead Chrysler engines.  Enjoy. - Keith

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0013ZH02W/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_used_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=&sr=

[JBNeal]

I snagged a copy delivered for a sawbuck...thumbed through it and recognized many pics from my Dodge truck and Chrysler Industrial manuals...but Part One - Fundamentals of Science caught my attention, as it goes into the basics, from the periodic table to magnetism...that reminded me of another book I read many years ago that described the collapsing magnetic field of an ignition coil, terminology that is rarely used nowadays...the caster effect on steering alignment was another section that kinda schooled me, something that was skipped over during my "training" I had at Firestone during my college days...definitely another gem for my bookshelf

[linus6948]

I took the well worn copy for $4.77 delivered.

 

[keithb7]

Glad you folks I are enjoying it. I still am, weeks later. There are so many great sections that are are filling in the gaps in my education. The front-end steering chapter was great. I knew about camber, caster, and others. However I did not have a full understanding of why. Now Toe in and  king pin inclination makes so much sense. I understood what a magneto was, and a primary & secondary ignition system. Yet the basic 1 sentence summary was overlooked in my high school shop class. Dots are getting connected! You can teach an old dog new tricks.