Automotive books by David Bird
Purchase books from Amazon click here Cars with Character Volume 1: Stories of Cars & Owners, Parker, A. John, Bird, David, eBook - Amazon.com
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The first in a series of books relating the stories of many car enthusiasts and the cars they own or owned. Cars with Character consists of over 40 years' worth of research which led to many articles and stories being written. Many of the stories you'll find in these volumes have never been published before.
Intrigued with the motor car by the time he was four years old, A John Parker has owned, photographed, restored, researched and written about old cars for much of his life. He and two worn 35mm Pentax cameras have travelled many, many thousands of kilometres discovering old and new motor cars with the idea of 'shooting' them in their natural habitat.
Born in Geraldton, Western Australia in 1945, A John Parker wonders where his love of motor cars comes from. As he started school, A John intrigued his mother by being able to walk past a line of parked cars as they went shopping, deciphering the name of each marque at the kerb.
In 1964 A John acquired a 1949 Austin A40 Devon. In 1969 he was attracted to restoration by a fellow enthusiast, Alan Jeffree. Thus, A John, with no formal mechanical or trade background, returned a 1927 Model T Ford to the road.
As a motoring historian, A John has dedicated his time to motor car research. Part of his research into the West Australian motor industry saw him spending many hours pouring over some of Perth's most interesting motoring material.
In the late 1990s A John teamed up with David Bird and Ian Newman to create a video production business – Aldislamp Productions – to further the dissemination of Western Australia's motoring history via DVD and electronic means.
Like A John, David was fascinated with cars from an early age. From around the age of 3, he was adept at naming cars as they passed by - using the shape of the tail lights as a reference! Growing up in the 1960s and '70s in the U.K. he alternated his love of cars with aviation. Naturally, cars were more accessible.
On his 15th birthday, he received a 1967 Riley Elf Mk2 as his gift. This car was used to learn from – mechanical bits, trim, panels, etc. - which has served him well. Since then he's owned quite a few 'classics', including a 1967 Mazda 1500, 1981 Mazda RX7, a mid-'70s Citroën GS Break, Mk1 Fiat 127 and a very late production Australian Mini (1977).
David focused his work around computers from the mid-1980s. This led to being one of the pioneers' in Australia of non-linear video editing (video editing using a computer). Combining this with his car interest and knowing A John and Ian Newman (another classic car addict) saw Aldislamp Productions formed – a team that created some wonderful DVDs in its time.
A John and David have now teamed up again to combine A John's written and photograph article library with Davids's computer skills to offer a 'slightly old-fashioned' book format publication.
In this volume:
Wolseley 24/80, Citroen SM, Cars of My Youth, Leyland Princess, Datsun Bluebird, Selden Patent, Suzuki Cappucino, Morris Traveller, Ford V8 Victoria, Polish Motor Industry 1983, Maserati 3200GT, Professor Wilkinson, Hillman Hunter GT, Datsun Sunny, 1934 Chevrolet sedan, Memories of Austin/Rover, Mazda 1500SS, Fiat 1500 Mk2
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