Camaro Books?

[TonyHuntimer]

Hey guys,

I'm doing a little market research.

I'm sure some of you have Camaro books... Which ones are the best that you have in your collection and why? They can be custom or original restoration books.

Thanks,
Tony Huntimer
RaceHome.com

[Rhino]

I started off with the Factory Assembly Manual, Chassis Service Manual, and Fisher body manual. When it comes to trying to find accurate measurements, the actual manuals the assembly line workers were using is an invaluable resource.
I did also pick up a Camaro Restoration manual by Ron Sessions, but found it lacking real substance. It was mostly This is how you remove a window regulator sort of stuff. Anybody with a 3/8 ratchet and a little bit of a brain can figure it out without the book.
To be honest, I really haven't seen that many great manuals on the market. They all seem to have maybe 5 or 10 pages of info I'm interested in.
My next car build will likely be a pure restoration, and these manuals (especially some portions of the sessions book) will be much more valuable in determining exact option packages, date codes, etc...

[chicane67]

A few in my collection...

1. The original Guldstrand 'preparation' manual, R. Guldstrand 1967
It starts with the beginning and understanding of the Camaro's suspension geometry and how it can be influenced with changes to OEM components.

2. The Trans AM and Corvette Chassis, Steve Smith Autosports 1975.
It was born from the original Guldstrand preparation manual. It delves further into the kinematics and how to actually measure for specific attributes. It also contains expanded principal and theory.

3. Untold Secrets, Wayne D. Guinn 1991
Gives insight to what they did and the direction they took to solving endurance and durability issues. It also shows the dirty little secrets that were not advertised in product delevlopment... to include parts derived specifically for SCCA homologation. Good picture examples and shows the actual doccumentation of nearly everything 'published.'

4. How To Make Your Car Handle, Fred Puhn 1981
Although "Camaro" isnt in the title... a lot of Fred's examples and computation examples were derived from his experience with his '67.

5. Race Car Engineering and Mechanics, Paul Van Valkenburgh 1992
Although "Camaro" isnt in this title either... Paul used his '67 in the majority of his own test and measurement for this book. The majority of his data acquisition used in his computation example were derived from his '67. Provides a good basline understanding of engineering mechanics... simplified.

6. Chassis Engineering, Herb Adams 1993
Herb wrote this and inculded a fair amount of his "Pontiac days" which were primarily F-body... to include the first, second and third generation platforms. It cover's a whole bunch of stuff that is relevant, not only to F-bodies, but to anything... and it even covers basic kinematics. Excellent book for fundamentals.

7. The original Factory Manuals (page 340 of the PDF catalog) (Fisher Body, Assembly, Service) General Motors 1966
How it was put together... and how to take it apart.

8. Pro Touring Street Machines, (some obscure cat) 2004
The guy who wrote this I guess owns a Camaro. Great pictures, excellent direction for DIY'ers and just an all around good read.


Unrealated specifically to Camaro but are considered "must read."

Smokey Yunick

9. Smokey Yunick's Power Secrets, Smokey Yunick 1984
Covers a bunch of early development stuff, specifically on engine development for General Motors... including the early Trans AM days.

10. The World According to Smokey, Racer Edition Three Book Series, Smokey Yunick 2001
AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. This is the world according to Smokey. It covers everything... from life, the dawning days of NASCAR... to the Chevelle... the Camaro... INDY... and development of the big three itself. Absolutely one of the best reads ever.


The Carroll Smith Series.

11. Prepare To Win, Carroll Smith 1975
12. Tune To Win, Carroll Smith 1978
13. Engineer To Win, Carroll Smith 1985
14. Nuts, Bolts Fastners and Plumbing, Carroll Smith 1990
These speak for themselves. If you dont own these yet... you need a drug test. This should be required reading for anyone that likes to tweak things.


Brake and Brake Systems.

15. Brake Handbook, Fred Puhn 1985
It covers from the beginning... to today. This should be required reading for anyone who gets behind the wheel. Excellent foundation book.

16. Brake Systems, Mike Mavrigian and Larry Carley 1998
This cover from the beginning... to today... even more indepth. It also covers ABS systems to include the Camaro specific. This should also be required reading.

[Flash68]

Wow, great list Chicane. I gotta get me some of them books!

[Rhino]

A few in my collection...

4. How To Make Your Car Handle, Fred Puhn 1981
Although "Camaro" isnt in the title... a lot of Fred's examples and computation examples were derived from his experience with his '67.

I haven't finished this book yet, although I have yet to see many references to the Camaro in examples. So far it seems to have a large majority of Datsun's ??

I did see a lot of relevant info in Chassis Engineering. So far, it's the only other book I've read on the list.

[chicane67]

I should have clairified a little better... but it was Fred's experience with the f-body (and then his 240Z) during the middle to late 70's... that was a big driver to his writing this book. I believe from the conversations that I have had with him, that his early Camaro days really got him understanding vehicle dynamics and was a real inspriation to writing 'How to make your car handle.'

[Bill Howell]

Smokey Yunick


10. The World According to Smokey, Racer Edition Three Book Series, Smokey Yunick 2001
AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. This is the world according to Smokey. It covers everything... from life, the dawning days of NASCAR... to the Chevelle... the Camaro... INDY... and development of the big three itself. Absolutely one of the best reads ever.

Absolutely the best auto related book ever. From Smokey's disdain for Bill France to his reverse rotation engine at Indy, I could read it over and over.


I also have gotten many miles out of "By the numbers" and Boyce's SS books.
Both are great resources for matching number types.