750 Racer

750 Racer, by Peter Herbert. Haynes/PSL, £17.99.

This is a book that describes how you might make and race a lowcost sports/racing car. The author has worked in collaboration with Dick Harvey. Between them they should know the best lines to take, in building as well as at the corners, because Peter competes in races and sprints and Dick was 750 MC Formula Champion in 1987 and runner-up in 1988. Apart from the valuable information, made clear by 35 special diagrams, the book recalls the early days of the 750 MC’s low-cost racing, with reference to characters such as Holland Birken, Colin Chapman, Arthur Mallock, and many more of the builders and drivers who started the Club on this racing route.

From the entry of the Ford powered cars with A7 components, to the use of the ohv 850cc Robin Reliant power-unit, back to the days of the racing Forrest (A7) saloon in 1961 and Jack French’s “simplicity” which inspired Mattock’s “U2”, it’s all there, with lots of good pictures of later 750 Formula racing cars, businesslike and fast. A Practical book I would say, with the necessary regulations to comply with and useful contacts set out with the constructional information, in its 166 pages. W B