Corvette Book Guide - The Top Shelf, Volume Four

What's on the Shelf this time? Plenty, if you're a restorer, Vette Rod builder, or if you need reference and tutorial information in easy reach on your shop's bookshelf.

The Small Block Book You Need...NOW!
That's a tall order...but David Lewis filled it once with his Chevy Small-Block V-8 Interchange Manual. Now there's a 2nd Edition of this must-have reference work, which is updated with the latest info on LT1 and Vortec engines.-each of which get their own chapter.

Like the first edition, it has chapters on the smallblock's history (and why this book covers only the '68-later "large journal" engines), blocks, crankshafts, pistons and rods, camshafts, intake and exhaust manifolds, emission equipment, ignitions, lubrication and cooling. There's also a chapter devoted to interchanges, for those swapping a smallblock into something that didn't have it when the factory built it.

Each chapter is loaded with photos and illustrations, plus factory part numbers (over 25,000 of them!) and aftermarket part info. In fact, the camshaft chapter has a 21-page listing of all the factory and aftermarket bumpsticks available at the time the book went to press. Those part numbers alone are a good reason to buy this book, but the info on what to look for-especially when looking for used parts-is a goldmine.

Big Block Builders: Your Instruction Book Is Here
Especially of interest to the Vette Rodder or engine builder who's yet to tackle their first Mark IV big block (396-402-427-454) is Tony Huntimer's How to Rebuild the Big-Block Chevrolet. It's packed with so much information, illustrations and photos that it would serve well as a teaching text in an auto-shop class.

Along with an opening chapter that covers the big block's history (and stuff like what's a 400 big block and what's a 402), there are detailed chapters covering the tools you'll need for the job from start to finish; removing and tearing down the engine you've picked to rebuild; inspecting the block, heads, crankshaft, rods and harmonic damper; selecting the parts to use in your build (aftermarket and GM); machine shop work, including pre-shop planning and shop services; cleaning your engine; pre-assembly, step-by-step final assembly, and how to start it up and break it in the right way. Plus, there are appendices that include a detailed listing of the Mark IV's torque specifications as well as "work-a-long sheets" to help you document each stage of your engine rebuild project.

Your steel-bodied Bowtie friends will want to borrow this book from you. Tell them they can score their own from Car Tech Books, and they'll save way more than the book's cover price the first time they use it with their own engine projects.