Mike:
He wrote 2 books specifically on tuning Triumphs, which are
getting hard to find. They were written 25 years ago or so. The 2 most
directly applicable books are:
Theory and Practice of Cylinder head modification
Tuning Standard Triumphs over 1300cc
The first can be obtained from Amazon UK, or you might find it
used through Amazon US. The second is out of print, but is available in
a PDF file at:
http://www.triumphclub.co.nz/technical.html
The most detailed books are his books on small block Chevy, but
they require you to buy 4-5 books to get everything: cams, heads, block
work, exhaust, etc. To get a good overall feel for the work involved, he
has a "reader's digest version" Which I will recommend: "How to build
Maximum performance Chevy Small blocks on a budget". This includes some
(but not all) of his data on K&N filters. He also discusses head
porting, and exhaust systems. Much of it is specific to Chevy Engines,
but the head porting stuff can be applied to any engine.
If you want a bit more detail than this book provides, but still
don't want to buy his 5 book set on Chevys, there is a 2 volume set that
has more detail and data, "How to build horsepower" Volume I, and Volume
II. Once again, these focus on Chevy (and some Ford), so the carburetors
are Holley, etc. Lots of good data, but only a limited portion applies
to Triumphs.
A much better book for British car nuts is "Tuning the A-series
Engine". This is for minis primarily, but it has LOTS of data on
camshaft selection, Filters (once again he recommends K&N) stub stacks,
tuning SU carburetors, and lots of detail on head porting and exhaust
systems. This would be probably a better choice for our cars, and it is
more up to date as it includes sections on turbo charging, ignition, and
Nitrous. Since the focus is on a British car, there is more information
on British parts suppliers, SU and Weber carburetors, British piston
suppliers, etc. but nothing on Strombergs =:-(
I think in order of applicability:
Tuning Standard Triumphs over 1300cc
Theory and practice of cylinder head modification
Tuning the A series engine.
The A series engine book is by *far* the most detailed of the
three, with the most hard data. I have reread it about 5 times. It has
MANY good tips and ideas. The first two have specific sections on the
TR6 motor, and on cams and head porting. But once again they are 25+
years old. The A series book was in it's third edition as of 1999, so it
is pretty much up to the minute.
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: Corbitt, Michael [mailto:Michael_Corbitt@ous.edu]
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 8:43 AM
To: Navarrette, Vance
Subject: David Vizard books
Vance,
I'm thinking about picking up one of David Vizard's books to get me
thinking about some of the performance modifications I can make to my
TR6. I know Vizard has written a number of books over the years.
Should I assume that his last one is the best one to pick up? Are there
others that I should also consider looking for?
Mike
Mike Corbitt
Director, Banner Standards Management
Oregon University System
(541) 737-4480
michael_corbitt@ous.edu
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