For you was it The Bible, the works of Shakespeare, James Joyce's 'Ulysses' or one of many novels?

I was impressed by Shackleton's 'South' for its courage and TE Lawrence's 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom'.
But for its long lasting effect on me the winner is Ron Champion's well known book 'Build Your Own Sports-car for £250' An over ambitious financial claim, with dimensional errors and not a great work of literature but its ideas carried on with me for a good number of years.

I was tempted to build one of Ron's Locost cars but felt that the finished vehicle would not be worth very much. After attending some kit car shows I decided to accept the higher cost and in late 2004 I bought a Westfield SEIW starter kit for £3000.
The kit gave the chassis, all the wishbones, the aluminium rear uprights and drive flanges, the pedals, brake master cylinder, brake pipes, the aluminium panels, bolts and importantly all the ZK fibreglass body panels. I bought some parts from Westfield and made some parts, such as the dash panel and made careful purchases of good used parts.
Even allowing for inflation Westfield's 2004 prices they were a bargain compared with the current extortionate prices on Westfield-Chesil's website. I finished the build in 2006 and got it through an SVA test and still have the car today.
The urge to build a car from scratch was still there so in 2008 I set to work on Autocad to design one. I decided on a mid engine configuration of Seven size and wanted a full roll cage integrated into the chassis rather than bolted on. I also wanted a full windscreen with a curved profile. I drew the chassis and made an eighth scale stress model of it in 3 mm square balsa wood to see how the stiffness varied when members were taken in and out.
On eBay I found a good 1.6 litre Ford Zetec SE engine and gearbox from a crashed Focus for £450. In simple terms the engine and box were picked up from the normal front position and moved backwards and dropped behind the driver. A flip mechanism was made so that the gear selection positions were in the right place.
I went to several windscreen companies to see about cutting down a car screen from a template. I got 'can't be done' replies until I found someone willing to give it a go. A mark 3 Escort screen was only £28 so the deal was: if it cracked I would pay £28 and if successful the charge would be £56. Fortunately it succeeded.
The only bespoke fibreglass part was the upper part on the nose cone. I made a buck and took it to a fibreglass company who made a mould and two off for £150.
Quotes for painting the loose external aluminium panels were very high, one was £2000. A local powder coating company quoted me a very reasonable £550 to coat the chassis, suspension parts,and all the inner and exterior aluminium panels in French Blue. They did a good job and the finish is still good today 14 years later.
Omex mapped the ECU for me and gained an extra 20 bhp over standard.
In 2010 the finished car was trailered to Avonmouth for its IVA test. It failed first go on minor points but passed second time.

So this lengthy explanation is why Ron Champion's book wins for me.

Mal

Big question.

Not sure I've found that book yet.

Ron Champion's book certainly triggered an interest which went from build from scratch to building a kit car. Something that seems to have stuck with me and friends seem to align me with.

Last year it was biographies/auto-biographies, learing more about peoples lives.

Currently it's WW2 books to learn more about it.

'tis a deep question. New member, 3 posts, I expected this post to be a snide advertising ploy.

I am not a reader. I read because I have to. So I have probably read many technical documents, white papers and books about how to design things, run a business or manage innovation. Not very many novels, I just don't spend my personal time on reading.

So, what book influenced me the most in life? The Twits by Roald Dahl, which I read in primary school (I am in my early 40s now!). It taught me to not be a mean spiteful person. Especially to the ones that know you best and can hurt you the most. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Don't play pranks, that's just being nasty.

From a car point of view, I was lucky to receive a 4th edition copy of Allan Staniforth's Competition Car Suspension for a birthday present many years ago. A technical book (surprise!) which goes into how and why car chassis design and suspension works. Fascinating book, and well worth a read if you get a chance.

Havent read a proper book in 25 years. Dont think any have influenced me. Maybe Usborne's Facts and Lists lol

[Edited on 16-10-24 by loggyboy]

Haven't read a book for pleasure in 20 years, just don't have the time. Barely have time to make my dinner.

L'etranger by Camus, Nausea by Satre? A little existential angst goes a long way to explain a twenty year long build process.....Now turn off those lights.

The railway children when I was a kid
After that it’s been car books
As my favourite car Austin Healy I have a few books of them
G

Pretty much any Terry Pratchett book. Moral philosophy in an amusing story. The quote I'll always remember isn't even from my favourite book (although it's still a good one):

“I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs, a very endearing sight, I'm sure you'll agree. And even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters, who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature's wonders, gentlemen. Mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that is when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.”

Good quote badger.

I very much enjoyed 'a wizard of earthsea' by Ursula Le Guin. Wonderful story series.

Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy got me reading at a young age. Not looked back since.

Another vote for Hitch hikers guide - esp the bit about learning to fly - aim at the ground and miss!
Same for Pratchett, great books and an incredible imagination

As I read less the desire to read more increases, I am looking forward to reading more of the books I own in time

...with 3 kids (18, and twins at 16) and knowing their mates, it strikes me that younger generations seem to miss out on reading. Most spend so much time on phone screens watching video content (reels?) they don't get into reading. It has to be said there's so much knowledge, imagination, etc. to be read.

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Originally posted by nick205
...with 3 kids (18, and twins at 16) and knowing their mates, it strikes me that younger generations seem to miss out on reading. Most spend so much time on phone screens watching video content (reels?) they don't get into reading. It has to be said there's so much knowledge, imagination, etc. to be read.

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‘Race & Rally Car Source Book’ by Allan Staniforth, published by Haynes. Inspirational and useful still now.

Also ‘Build and Fly Your own Plane’ by Robert Lowe. Haven’t built one, but a fascinating and entertaining book on someone building from plans a wooden single seater aircraft and converting a VW Beetle engine to power it. The aviation version of the Ron Champion Locost book.

‘The History of the Countryside’ by Oliver Rackham.



[Edited on 17/10/24 by Mike Wood]

[Edited on 17/10/24 by Mike Wood]

[Edited on 17/10/24 by Mike Wood]

[Edited on 18/10/24 by Mike Wood]

Mike - the build an airplane book sounds like it could cost me a lot of time and money…….moreso even then Ron’s flawed genius book!

But Badger, I’m with you.

Anything by Sir Terry Pratchett. I have the entire Discworld collection and every time I re-read the. I spot new things, nuances and references that I missed before. Moral philosophy with humour indeed!

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Originally posted by scudderfish
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy got me reading at a young age. Not looked back since.

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Originally posted by HowardB
Another vote for Hitch hikers guide - esp the bit about learning to fly - aim at the ground and miss!

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Originally posted by Badger_McLetcher
Pretty much any Terry Pratchett book. Moral philosophy in an amusing story. The quote I'll always remember isn't even from my favourite book (although it's still a good one):

“I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs, a very endearing sight, I'm sure you'll agree. And even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to this day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters, who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature's wonders, gentlemen. Mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that is when I first learned about evil. It is built into the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior.”

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quote:

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Originally posted by Badger_McLetcher
Pretty much any Terry Pratchett book. Moral philosophy in an amusing story.

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Big Pratchett fan too.

Quotes or themes from the Discworld often spring to mind- particularly the Guards books which are my favourites. Interesting so many of us are into them- I'm currently re-reading Nightwatch for the Umpteenth time.

Lord of the Rings probably sparked my mid-teenage years obsession with Warhammer and it's ilk. Timothy Zahn's original Star Wars trilogy got me really into Star Wars and it's RPG too, again in my late teens. Dropped all that nonsense like a hot potato after I saw the Phantom Menace!

Ron's book... well it was a 4-year obsession building the damn thing and I've hardly driven it since. Still, met a great group of folks through it, many of whom I'm still in contact with. I think this has to have been the most influential on those grounds.

I didn't really appreciate how much Terry Pratchett had invaded my consciousness until I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and looked at The "Night Watch" by Rembrandt... and I was looking for Nobby Nobbs!

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickman

Fantastic read with several themes running through there’s the obvious rocket building and competing, the usual adolescent banter, father / son relationships set in a coal mining area which happens to be in America and at the end it suddenly turns out to be written by one of the boys who went on to work for NASA. It d struck a chord with me born in a mining village with a father who was a fitter for the NCB, I never did make any rockets but a couple of lads at school got into trouble and finished up being stalked by the Special Branch!

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I didn't really appreciate how much Terry Pratchett had invaded my consciousness until I visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and looked at The "Night Watch" by Rembrandt... and I was looking for Nobby Nobbs!

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Another Pratchett fan here. There are so many quotes from his books which have stuck in my mind. A quick couple;

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to those who think they've found it.
Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.
Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

I recently read 1984 which has definitely left it's mark.

Currently enjoying "Clan of the Cave Bear".

I only discovered a lovely of reading in my late 20s and I feel like I'm still playing catch-up as I enter my 40s.

[Edited on 2/11/24 by ChrisCope]