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| ISBN: 9781934709405 RRP: £nk Format: Paperback, 176 pages, 210mm x 270mm, 2011 Photos/Illustrations: Colour illustrations Subject: Cars Publisher: Cartech Author: Steve Magnante |
Rusted Muscle: A Collection of Derelict Dream Machines by Steve Magnante
Seeing vintage muscle cars languishing in junkyards never fails to generate an emotional response. Whether it’s the desire to rescue the car and bring it back to its former glory, the want to strip it of rare parts for resale, or the memory of a similar car from one’s past, the image of a car built for speed that’s been laid to waste draws and keeps one’s attention.
In Rusted Muscle, noted author Steve Magnante takes us on a tour across the country, sharing his most memorable imagery that he’s collected. Acquired over years of travel, Magnante’s images are stirring, but he also shares important information about the cars when describing them. He may share production numbers regarding a particular year, make and model, or de-code the pictured vehicle’s VIN number or data plate to discover how it was equipped when new. In some cases, the cars pictured are quite rare, whereas others are much more pedestrian. This adds another dimension to the book beyond the stirring images. While other books have shared junkyard photography in the past, none have been focused purely on domestic muscle cars, and none have included the level of information acquired about the subject cars like Rusted Muscle does.
Considering the immense popularity of muscle cars today, seeing a collection of well-researched derelict examples like this assures enthusiasts that plenty of entry-level fodder still exists. It encourages the reader to search for buried treasure, and pursue their own muscle car dreams.
Review by Gordon Hamilton
Rusted Muscle by Steve Magnante (say Mon-Yawn-Tee) is the type of book you either get or don’t. If you are one of the former then Rusted Muscle is a real find. It’s soft cover 176 pages all full colour photos throughout.
Magante is a true car enthusiast and an expert in the muscle car and hotrod /nostalgia drag car field,having been a regular contributor to Hot Rod and Car Craft magazines amongst others.
The book covers most makes and (performance) models from the glory years of muscle car production mostly located in car scrapyards that specialise in these type of cars. A lot of the cars are total wrecks and this is where Magantes expertise really shows,as he decodes vin plates and lays out the evidence for the exact model,engine and options the cars once had. Towards the back of the book there are some U.S. Powered but not produced cars,Jensen interceptor etc. and these are decoded and described with the same expertise as the domestic product.
Long time readers of Hot Rod will recognise some of the cars as they were featured in the rust at peace articles in the magazine a few years ago.
Overall a very expertly written and produced book that will leave the reader dreaming ‘what if I could get my hands on that car’
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