OMG! Finally someone published a How to Book!

I realize that by far this site, as well as many others, is a huge help in trying to restore these cars. But there has never been a complete book with step by step examples of how to restore the Plymouth and Dodge B-bodies from start to finish.

There have been data books, numbers books, and some how to paint or build an engine books. But not a book for the average guy showing them step by step how to do everything to get one of these cars restored.

I just received a pre-release copy of Car Tech's "Mopar B-body Restoration 1966 - 1970" book. WOW! Finally a correct, complete resource. Just to quote from the books back cover;

"This book offers an in-depth reference for restoring a Mopar B-Body. Step-by-step processes guide you through the tasks of metal repair, suspension rebuild, driveline verification, interior restoration, and more. All components are addressed, creating the most complete resource in the marketplace.
With multiple step-by-step procedures and more than 400 color photographs, this is the most complete hands-on book ever written covering these coveted Chryslers. This will be your primary resource when it's time to tackle a full restoration or complete a simple repair on your prized Pentastar. You won't find a cheaper "part" that helps you more than this book."

I have read it cover to cover and it more than delivers. It is on pre-sale with a discount on Amazon right now with a release of November 15, 2015.
Here is the link.
http://www.amazon.com/Mopar-B-Body-Resto...ody+Restoration

Like I said in the subject Finally a book that is worth having.

I am sooooooo hoping they do a book for E Bodes too!

Just ordered mine. Looks like some good reading!

Too bad it goes up to a '70

Mines ordered !

There are a lot of people I do not know.

Who are Kevin Shaw and Mike Wilkins?

What is their standing in the hobby and their background to write a restoration book?

Do they run a restoration shop somewhere?

Pre ordered

Yeah, who is this Mike Wilkins fella...

http://www.moparts.org/moparts/picture/print/pages/Wilkins.html

The Herd book came out years ago. I used to reference it but there was some miss information. Hopefully this new guide is an improvement.

I find it ODD that one of the authors of the book started this thread in this manner. Is this Mike talking in the third person, or is there an inside joke somewhere?



I sure hope so!!

Haha, I did a quick search to see if it was the same guy that wrote the book but didn't come up with anything. So I too preordered. But I wanted to get free shipping on something else I was buying so this offset the cost.

Kevin Shaw......Ive never like much of what he put in print or on the web.

Thats a good reason not to buy the book right off, I think clearly more real world hands on info can be found in this site and from some of the older maybe wiser guys.

Lets collect alot of proper info from the web and from hard working smart fellas, re word a bit of it and chum the waters and collect the cash.

Gotta love the USA.

I'm curious if or how this topic will be addressed in the book and how it will be handled: https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post1706879

Already pre-ordered, just to have it. Maybe the profits will be spend to support the boards, where all the infos were collected? ;-)

Yes I am one of the authors and yes I thought it would be fun to see just how long it would take the Moparts crowd to start bashing a book that hasn't even been seen or read by them. Lets see ... less than a few days.

The book is a step by step "How to" book. It has some articles from many professional shops, like Restorations by Rick, Jefferson Bryant of Red Dirt Rods, and several others shops who are credited in the book. It also has step by step pictures from many of the more than 25 cars I have personally restored as a regular guy doing all the work including paint, body work, and mechanical instead of using a professional mega dollar shop and just writing a check. Then the cars were shown from O.E level to local shows and won 1st at the Mopar Nationals or AACA Grand National Senior awards including several Best of Shows. Most of those cars are either in magazines or in books.

Yes it does have some information that I made sure to document here like the air grabber thread. Why wouldn't I come here just like I have every day since it was the Dallas board. Over the years I have shared information and I have learned information, that is for sure. AND I also referenced Moparts as one of the BEST places to come on the web for Mopar enthusiasts.

Writing this book took over three years using information gathered from the past 45 years. The money we were paid to write it may have equaled $.50 an hour when all was said and done. It has been a labor of love to help the average motor head to buy, research, disassemble, restore, assemble, and enjoy or show their car.

So if you buy the book and you think it is not worth the $29.95 then come here and complain. But to dis it before you even read it... well boys I guess it is a free country.

If you want to see Kevin Shaw's work just go to years of back issues of Mopar Muscle and currently here on Moparts in the Directly Connected Magazine section.

What he said. Is this book be close for a 71 B-Body?

There are a lot of similarities for the 71 but there are many differences. The book would help you a lot and since I just finished a 1971 4 speed bench seat road runner that won 1st at this years Mopar Nats you can always PM with any questions you may have on your 71.

The problem I see with any restoration guide is that , what may be true for Lynch Rd on April 12th 1969 , may not be true for Hamtramck on May 4th 1970 . Assembly line procedures differed from plant to plant , and from day to day in some cases. The correct way to detail a particular part or sub assembly for a 1970 Windsor Ontario Canada built car may be diffrent than the way they did it in Los Angeles, or St. Louis . And they way they did it in January , could be diffrent than the way it was done in May .
Their will never be a "restoration guide" that can be used 100 % .
Your best way to go is to research cars built at the same plant , during the same time period . You have to look at original unrestored survivors , or OE Gold quality restos from guys like Roger Gibson etc . A P/S bracket for a saginaw pump and a federal pump may be detailed diffrently . Their are Soooo many variables to consider when attempting to restore a car correctly. You just about have to do your research specifically on that car, from that plant , that week , and heavily document YOUR car as you dissassemble it , and replicate what you have found (assuming it is an unmolested example)
Just my opinion.

Greg

Way too many variables.

A fine example is the exhaust hanger plates on an E-Body. In the LA plant the were not screwed in, just glued down.

You are assuming all of that wasn't taken into account? I agree with you but every one of these cars had many things that were common and this book helps you do those things. You always duplicate what you find on your original car! Wow so much of what you said I agree with and you are ASSUMING this book does not take that into consideration????

This book isn't about e-bodies but you put it back the way you find it IF you know that the car has not been altered from it's original condition!

The

Does it cover a detailed diagram of how the airgrabber is plumbed?

If I were working on a B-Body I would not hesitate to have another resource book. Restoring a car is like doing a detailed report. having as many guides and knowing which ones have more correct detail is a plus. There is no single reference book that will give/have all the info for a detailed report/restoration, but having more info is the key to any quality build. It would be nice if a similar book would go to print for an E-Body.

Found this link on "Amazon" . You can look inside too !

Due out November 15th ..........


http://www.amazon.com/Mopar-B-Body-Restoration-1966-1970/dp/1613251920

Very good point Greg !

I Think this book will be a huge asset to all the average joes out there working on their car. I'm not talking about the few who are trying to do a 100 point concourse restoration but all the others who are wanting to do things correctly. Over the last 35 years I've worked on so many cars that the last owners really screwed things up because they didn't have any guidance. For the few that are going for the 100 point car then no, they aren't going to get it all out of one book. They will have to do a lot of research but this can be one more reference.
Kuddos to you Mike for the time that you have put into this.

It's a book written by a very knowledgeable, giving person and if you knew him like I did, you'd realize just how wrong some of you are.

It's a book written for people like me who can't afford to have a restoration shop restore a car and enjoy learning when lack of experience is at play.

It's a book that is only a part of your arsenal of tools needed if you decide to take on the task of restoring one yourself. I've only seen excerpts of the book and those that I've seen are thorough and to the point.

It's a book that gets you started in the right direction and when it applies to your particular task, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

It's a book people. Be nice and realize just that. I just pre-ordered one and I don't even have a B-body but heard that the cut and buff chapter is really good and that's where I'm at now with my car.

Well I've owned Musclecars for 32 years now just getting back into Mopars 3 years ago after playing with other brands. However, started with Mopar when my Dad worked at Chrysler in Trenton, MI back in the mid 60's to early 70's. Small world, I now live down south, turns out Mike Wilkins is a neighbor and now friend and probably forgot more about Mopar's than most I know.

Just my $.02 but people should be excited about new resources for Mopar restorations. The kids into cars today for the most part seem to care less about the classics. Exceptions to the rule of course. But someday, 60's cars will become the Model T for kids today.

The more documention and overall exposure can only be a good thing.

I think not being honest up front is what rubbed alot of folks the wrong way . Speaking in 3rd person, as a way to promote your book is ..strange.
Saying things like you read it cover to cover (I hope so, if you co-wrote the thing) just makes you seem less than honest .
If you wrote the book, just say you wrote the damn book .
Do like Ryan Brutt and say, hey ..I'm getting my book published ..check it out if you want to . Don't come on here and spew a line about , Oh my goddd..someone has finally wrote the most definitive Mopar restoration guide ever seen by human eyes , and I just read it cover to cover , and it was awesome. That's NOT how sane people act . Just saying .
Hey, it might be a fantastic book , but basic Muscle car restoration guides have already been done, as far back as 25 years now , and of course the Paul Herd B body resto guide book came out 20 years ago, and is full of mistakes . I think your mistake was in your choice to 'over hype' the book , as a third party . Let us read the book and decide for ourselves .

Greg

Hi, I'm Kevin Shaw. I've been in publishing for 14 years. I was the Associate Editor for Mopar Muscle for a few years during Randy's tenure, and later the Senior Editor for the Power Automedia Group before launching www.directlyconnectedmagazine.com earlier this year. We have our own section dedicated to the magazine here on Moparts, stop in and check it out HERE if you like.

Admittedly, there are a great deal of wiser minds than I who contributed their know-how, experience and skill to this book. It was merely upon me to try to lace it all together into a cohesive guide. As it is with all of these books, there's gonna be some flubs. Mike and I worked tirelessly to catch as many as we humanly could, but we're certain many eagle-eyed Moparts members will spot a few.

Although Mike is one of the top OE judges in the nation for '68-'70 B-Bodies, I claim to be no such encyclopedic expert of said content. I just knew we could do it with the right help, insight and research. This was a passion project as we felt there simply wasn't such a guide available on the market today. Many of you simply won't need it. And that's OK. But we wrote this for the guy who might not know where to look for the right answers, or even what questions to ask.

This book is not a 100-percent step-by-step on how to go from a basket case to a OE Class winner. CarTech begged us to dial it back more than once. But this is a pretty solid guide to getting your car looking and riding right, and close enough to appease 95% of the hardest of the hardcore Mopar lovers. And that, we felt was pretty dang good.

God bless,
Kevin

Sounds like a great tool to me. I'm into Abodies but I will have to have one! Thanks guys!

Greg, thank you. My thoughts exactly. It wasn't what; it was how.

I'm happy for Mike and his book. I'm sure it was very difficult to put it together. I hope it is a useful book and he sells a lot of copies. I'll probably try and find a copy.

Kevin, thank you for the introduction and thank you for your work on the book.

Really??? Here??? What difference would it have made. If I posted "I have a book" people would have said you are promoting your book, so I thought it would be fun to post it as if I wasn't the author..... guess what same result. By the way "god" only has one "D" At least I made you look!!! HA! Never said it as the best book ever published, you did.

It is still the same book a REAL help to all the average Joe's out there who are trying to build their own car!!! Wow who would want that?

Basic restoration guides already published?? Whose??? Everything already published is nothing but a numbers book with plenty of incorrect information.

You have a problem with it? Don't buy it! I promise you it is way better than any previous book that has been published. Read it and then post my friend! By the way I might not be sane but I do know what I am talking about!

Greg Donahue and Paul Zazarine published this one 25 years ago. It was a pretty good read. I bought it when it first came out . Just a basic guide, with 1,300 pictures . Although not Mopar specific , it does cover alot of territory . Latter on, they changed the cover .
No doubt, you put alot of blood sweat and tears into your book , I am not knocking you for that , and I applaud your enthusiasm and interest in this subject . I am sure your book is great . Your "well duh" comment in response to my post is what kind of set me off , to be honest .

Greg

but have you read it?

Why wouldn't a publisher read something that they publish? If I was the publisher, I'd be sure to read over everything checking for typo's, grammar, etc.

Kevin and I are not the publisher. Car Tech is the publisher. It has been edited by their professionals many times. They came to us and ask us to write the book. Something I was hesitant to do knowing all the differences that are inherent in these cars. So I wrote all of my sections acknowledging those differences focusing on How to do it yourself.

When writing a book you do it in many different pieces and then you finally get to see the finished product all put together. As I said when I finally got the finished product I sat down and read it cover to cover. Not to edit it but to see if it was something that I would see as a helpful tool to the average guy building his car. It was just that.

Sorry Greg It was a bad choice of words. I apologize. I have used your services over the years and have always been happy with the results. I went back and took out the poor choice of words.

Ugh. More times than I can count.

Kudos Mike & Kevin for your dedicated involvement in this guide. I have a deep passion for these cars and look forward to this book. Even though I've had hands on experience with several cars for years now, there is always more to learn. To be clear, In my post above I meant no disrespect. I was simply stating this isn't the first book specific to B bodies. I preordered two copies, one for me and another for a good friend I'll surprise for Xmas if they show up in time. This had to be a daunting task compiling all this info and images. Thx again for your contributions to our hobby! Tim

if it just shows how to PROPERLY, remove and install all the exterior trim its worth it.

Yep especially the drip rail, I've tried everything including bottle openers and found tapping it with a block if wood works best for me

Glad there is a new resource and I'm hopeful that it's more useful than the Herd book. Mike, I do think you could have chosen a better way to announce its existence on here but there's no point in dwelling on that now.

Best of luck with the book sales,

Cheers,
Dave

Does this book go into detail on how to put everything back together, for example, door glass (quarter window, main door, pop out and roll up back side glass), door handle linkage, wiring, etc.?

Great questions, Mark. Unfortunately, much of the minutiae that you mention was literally CUT OUT of the book; forcing us to dedicate huge portions of the book to hanging quarter panels and replacing roof skin (which most do-it-yourselfers simply wouldn't do).

We did document much of what you're looking for, but again, it laid on the cutting room floor until recently. You'll find the first of many of these smaller technical tutorials on www.directlyconnectedmagazine.com under the "TECH" headline.

but...but...but

A lot of that can be found in the Factory service manuals.

I for one am ordering this book. If I think of all the hundreds, or thousands, of dollars spent into buying "correct" reproduction parts that did not work by me and I bet by many of you, the price of this book is truly insignificant and if it will give me only one or two good advices it will be well worth it. I am working on a very significant 69 Roadrunner I had for45 years and don' t want a 100% correct restoration, just a very good one, and I think this book will help. Thank to the authors for this effort, and please read it before slamming it!

I will be ordering the book. Perhaps you can "self publish" another book, call it "part 2". This book can contain all the technicals of how to actually restore all the "minutiae" that is missing from the first book. It should be fairly easy to do since you have all the information already.

Sorry I have been out of pocket for several days working on my daughters first house. Plumbing, tile, carpet etc. I try just like most of you do, to never have to pay someone to do what I can do... and do it right.

Here is a link to one of the articles I submitted to the publisher for the book. BY the way based on previous posts there isn't any substitute for the factory service manual. At least half of the posts on Moparts would not be posted if they read the manual!

Here is a step by step of how to restore the pop out rear windows in a b-body posted on the on line mag Penta Star Power.
http://www.flipdocs.com/showbook.aspx?ID=10011589_638690
Page 114 - 124.

That is what you will find throughout this book. Practical step by step help.

What we were unable to include in the printed book we will offer on line at Directlyconnectedmagazine.com. It is free and we only want to help everyone with completing their dream car.

Thank you

Having the book is good, what I wish I had was someone local to help me finish my charger. I will be decades without a little mentoring...anyone near Salt Lake know about Mopars? Tim

Read much of the book for the 1st time last night. Very well done!

Lot's attention to detail which is prefect for someone OCD like myself.

Got mine from Amazon yesterday! Nicely done. Lots of good stuff!! Cant have too much of it!!! Thanks!!

The books showed up today but they're both Xmas gifts. One for me from my GF but she wouldn't let me look at them yet

Mine is to be delivered tomorrow!

I ordered the book because of your first post thinking you were impressed by this publication. Then when it came out that you were one of the Authors I couldn't help but feel a little duped. Received the book yesterday and yes it has a good deal of knowledge but nothing I didn't know or see in print before.
Frankly if I didn't order as quickly as I did I never would have. Kudos to you but it will basically sit on the shelf with all the others I've purchased over the years.

At least this one doesn't have pictures of cars that were restored incorrectly years back like most other publications.
Ron

I too received a copy and browsed through it. I'll give it a more detailed read in the next couple weeks. My first thoughts are that it's a great piece, not a complete how-to. It's laid out right in the front of the book to not take on more than you can honestly expect yourself to do.
I do not think a book like this can give every single reader everything they need to know to approach a project. BUT, the book along with other reference material, and input from others (yep even on this site) will assist many taking on a project.
For less that the cost of a tank of fuel, what's to lose?

Considering the cost of the book and the knowledge gained it's an easy $29.95 to lay down. Again, if you're looking for a 100 point restoration there's nothing out there other that will EVER capture that. Even the 100 point guys would have things wrong if the assembly line workers looked over their cars.

What your getting is a How To book that will help you get your project car back onto the road and looking pretty good.