Blood Sweat Gears The Story of the Gray Ghost and the Junkyard Firebird (Audible Audio Edition) David G Barnes Joseph B Kearns Books
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In 1971, could a little group of unknown automotive engineers independently design and build a race car from an old 1964 Pontiac sedan and really compete against professional, factory-backed racing teams? Blood, Sweat & Gears is based on the true story of a small group of GM Pontiac Division engineers who did just that - they independently created a race car in 1970 from an old 1964 Pontiac Le Mans with 80,000 miles on its odometer. Without factory support and on a shoestring budget, they seriously competed in the 1971 televised Trans-Am road racing circuit against professional, well-financed, factory-backed racing teams and won the hearts of fans and the press, who dubbed their car the "Gray Ghost". The following year, they did it again, starting with a wrecked Firebird from a junkyard and shocked the racing world at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Blood, Sweat & Gears is an inspiring, fact-based underdog story of hard work, ingenuity, and competitive American grit that has never before been fully told.
Blood Sweat Gears The Story of the Gray Ghost and the Junkyard Firebird (Audible Audio Edition) David G Barnes Joseph B Kearns Books
I had been well aware of the exploits of Herb Adams and the 'Grey Ghost', having read the race report in R&T back in the day...This story is reasonably compelling on its face, and it has a very tangible technical element as well. But this book either misses or ignores that by assuming that its audience is comprised of six year old kids. The REAL elements of the story that give it technical appeal are overlooked (Like maybe "Mr.Adams, what exactly did you do to a 1964 Tempest to make it compete successfully with a bunch of brand-new, factory sponsored cars?") in order to emphasize that a bunch of privateer grease monkeys did this...
Also missing are many of the names involved...Jerry Titus for one (legal reasons I suppose), so many of the story's luminaries become relegated to having derisive titles attached to them ("pony car driver") rather than becoming real people.
Lastly (and without ruining the story) the ending is strangely truncated. I enjoyed reading the book, but it could have been so much better. Mention is made of the fact that this is Barnes' first effort, and it shows somewhat...
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Blood Sweat Gears The Story of the Gray Ghost and the Junkyard Firebird (Audible Audio Edition) David G Barnes Joseph B Kearns Books Reviews
Seriously, Herb you expect me to believe you remember word for word what you said 44 years ago during breakfast? Herb's ego is a little to big. Yes, the results are accurate, but I'm not sure if Herb really had two pancakes for breakfast or just one.
The book is well written, the stories within interesting. The subject itself is unusual and is nice it is covered. That said the one glaring issue with this book is the complete lack of photos. The ONLY photos are on the dust cover, There are ZERO photos inside to show you who and what they are talking about. This book would be 5+ stars if there was just a small amount of photos, which to me are important when telling the story of such an usual set of races cars and the people behind them.
As one of the participants in the original events this story is about, I am far from a disinterested reviewer. For what its worth, i have been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive comments from people I have met in recent years, some serious gearheads and others with no more than a passing interest in cars.
If you want to know about all the tricks used to make a car go fast, look elsewhere. But if you remember the Pony Car Wars, and reading about Mark Donahue, and the other heroes that raced them, you probably will enjoy this.
It also really captures the commitment and hard work that went into fielding a competitive race car in that era, which in many respects was a far cry from the gleaming semi-truck transporters you see in today's professional racing series. Not to mention the trials and tribulations of, for instance, dealing with a burned out trailer wheel bearing in the middle of Nowhere, Canada, and still making it to the track in time to qualify for the race. The book also captures the politics at General Motors, and how in spite of it, a small highly capable and dedicated group could still show off their pride in the brand.
Loved this story about how back in 1971,a team of talented Pontiac engineers, turned an 80,000-mile 1964 Tempest, into a Trans-Am road racing series contender. The fact that they did this without factory support against professional, well-financed, factory-backed racing teams, shows what hard work, dedication and the love of racing can accomplish. But the story does not end there. In 1972 they did it again by building a race car out of a junkyard Pontiac Firebird. A very well-written, easy-to-read book.
If this book were published in 1971, when I was 14, I would still think that it was talking down to me.
This was such a great time in TransAm. This book made it sound like a Scooby Doo episode.
Why does it use phrases like, "popular racing driver", instead of "Jerry Titus"? "Major Tire Manufacturer"? "Car Wax Manufacturer"? I'm surprised that they said, "Bob Tullius" and "Lime Rock".
When I saw this book appear I purchased my first chance. This book being about Herb Adams, whom I have met, and the Gray Ghost and the Firebird, all interesting topics, I thought this would be a very interesting book. I was very disappointed. Part of the problem is I know too much about these subjects already, but I felt that this book was very sophomoric. Herb Adams was portrayed so shallowly when I know he can be very feisty and is extremely knowledgeable. The same can be said for the portrayal of Bob Tullius. All the characters were written very shallow. I was also hoping there would be more technical facts about the cars. The book also had some inaccuracies and contradicting information. The author spends considerable time describing track layouts that I don’t think are necessary.
If you know nothing about the subjects in the book you might learn something, but not much. If you do know something about these subjects, I would leave the book on the shelf.
This book reads like an assignment from a freshman creative writing course. The author, unfortunately, seems to have missed the lecture on historical fiction and thinks that you can’t include any facts in a work of historical fiction. The author notes that the book is, "... a work of historical fictional." Reading many parts of the book turns into a guessing game, i.e. “Who is he talking about in this section?”
The book begins with the death of Jerry Titus. His name is never mentioned and he is repeatedly referred to as ‘the Pontiac driver’. During the sections on races the other cars are described as ‘an orange Mustang’ or ‘a red, white, and blue Javelin’. Drivers’ names are never mentioned. This absence of information makes the chapters on specific races much less vivid. The lack of technical detail is also annoying. A more skilled author could have made this a great story.
I had been well aware of the exploits of Herb Adams and the 'Grey Ghost', having read the race report in R&T back in the day...
This story is reasonably compelling on its face, and it has a very tangible technical element as well. But this book either misses or ignores that by assuming that its audience is comprised of six year old kids. The REAL elements of the story that give it technical appeal are overlooked (Like maybe "Mr.Adams, what exactly did you do to a 1964 Tempest to make it compete successfully with a bunch of brand-new, factory sponsored cars?") in order to emphasize that a bunch of privateer grease monkeys did this...
Also missing are many of the names involved...Jerry Titus for one (legal reasons I suppose), so many of the story's luminaries become relegated to having derisive titles attached to them ("pony car driver") rather than becoming real people.
Lastly (and without ruining the story) the ending is strangely truncated. I enjoyed reading the book, but it could have been so much better. Mention is made of the fact that this is Barnes' first effort, and it shows somewhat...
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