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Has anyone else been as thrilled as I have been, at least so far, reading Thomas Falconer's "Collector's Originality Guide - 1968-82 Corvette"? Falconer was an avid C3 fan as us and a C3 scholar and 30-year C3 Mechanic. It took me awhile to find a used one on Amazon. It is a major treasure trove of info about each of our C3 hobby cars. Extremely well written, and draws you in. The book's title is deceiving - it is in no way concerned with what decrees an original vs. modified C3 - in fact it celebrates where upgrades were made (i.e. why would anyone keep their original “un"-comfortweave seats vs. upgrading to aftermarket leather seat covers.). Rather, it explains the incredible evolution of the C3 from the view of a technical/Corvette repair shop owner who was a student and beneficiary of the changes and improvements with each C3 model year, written in plain english (by a `to the point' Englishman). It provides many, never before known and behind the scenes reasons for each improvement that was debated and incorporated through the years with interviews with senior GM executives (i.e. Bill Mitchell, GM's design chief); as well as the incredibly detailed/well lit high-color photographs to back it up. I've learned a lot about the car and the surprisingly impressive thought that went into it every year.
While I'm not normally impressed as such - I was on Mustang and other amazing program product team at Ford as part of great things - but, I just wanted to share my positive impressions of this book here for the seriously curious C3 enthusiast as myself. Especially, with us northerners stuck in the Winter doldrums and using the time to learn about and plan projects for Spring reentry in a few weeks.
info only -
Dave
Last edited by Lakeside49; Jan 29, 2020 at 11:52 AM.
I have worn out my first copy of this book, and found a second newer copy. What I love about Tom Falconer is that it is clear he loved the styling and design of the C3 Corvette. It comes out in his writing in this book, and I share many of his perspectives on the car. Many people like Corvettes, many love C3 Corvettes, and then there are those of us, including Tom, that have a much deeper appreciation for much of the design. One thing he points out about rubber bumper cars is that the rear tail light recess mimics the recess of the speedo / tach. It is a styling connection that I found fascinating once realized, as he points out in the book. The car is a thing of beauty, and work of art, exactly how GM designed it. For me, its the perfect car. This book is also a great resource and has many great detail pictures of the entire C3 lineage.
I've read my copy several times. I believe it's now out of print so finding a copy might be a problem.
You're right, Mike (as usual). I could not find one on Amazon, then suddenly one day this past Fall I happened to look again and there were three or four available - I paid around $20 + shipping. I recall a couple of them showed the Amazon sellers as being public libraries. It happens mine wasn't but thanks library donors! One person's dust-catching book can be another person's winter's evening treasure.
On that note, I'm hoping that our own `Dub' will someday get a chance to share his restoration insights with the book he's been writing...
Last edited by Lakeside49; Jan 29, 2020 at 11:44 AM.
Tom Falconer is one of my all-time favorites. He has no B-S in him and parses the wheat and the chaff very well. I love his other book "The Original Corvette".
Tom is the largest and most famous Corvette dealer/ repairer/restorer in the UK....he's been doing it since '78. He has a unique perspective.
His most endearing line for me is; "Buy the last year of every C. 1962, 1967,1982, 1996" etc....man is he right! (I love my 69, but the 82 CE is sooooo refined compared to the beginning of the model run.)
I heard that Falconer closed up his Corvette shop and is involved in bicycles.??
If so, it must have broken his heart. Even the best of the best can only reach up under the C3's compactly designed dash to replace a fuse for so many decades before throwing out a back or something. Also, selling LHD Corvettes in the RHD UK market is apparently not a growth industry. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/02...uk-last-month/ So, probably no way to build a healthy retirement account - or, even sell your business to someone else - without a stream of new customers. So, grateful that we were graced as we were. It would have been great to have met him.
Last edited by Lakeside49; Jan 30, 2020 at 03:12 PM.
Tom Falconer is one of my all-time favorites. He has no B-S in him and parses the wheat and the chaff very well. I love his other book "The Original Corvette".
Tom is the largest and most famous Corvette dealer/ repairer/restorer in the UK....he's been doing it since '78. He has a unique perspective.
His most endearing line for me is; "Buy the last year of every C. 1962, 1967,1982, 1996" etc....man is he right! (I love my 69, but the 82 CE is sooooo refined compared to the beginning of the model run.)
Guy most voted to stay at my house!
Unkahal
He's still very active although he has shut down his operation in Snodland, Kent as mentioned below and now is only doing online sales of parts some of which I picked up recently. Don't know about the bicycles though
Originally Posted by Flyboy1958
I heard that Falconer closed up his Corvette shop and is involved in bicycles.??
I guess I got lucky when I found a cheap copy in perfect condition last month on Amazon. I have to agree, it's a great book. I have a collection of automotive history books and this best I have read by far.
Dave,
Thanks for the heads up. It looks like an outstanding book. I just found one in good condition on Amazon and pulled the trigger. It was quite expensive, but what the hell.
I saw that once. My jaw almost dropped. I think I paid $5 for mine at a swap meet. lol Great book though as everyone has said. He has a few other C3 books that are also great. One of my favorite authors.
Another good book is: Corvette: America's Star Spangled Sports Car. Very detailed!!!
Great C3 Winter Reading Book!
