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Articles by Brad Bowling
Books by Brad Bowling
Books with Features by Brad Bowling
2005
Modified Mustangs Bowling’s Alley – Saleen Coupes, Oct.-Nov. 2005
2006
Mustang Monthly Mark LaMaskin’s ’88 Saleen SA-5, Jan. 2006
2007
Cars & Parts Balance, Sep. 2007 2008
Cars & Parts Spain, Jan. 2008
2009
Cars & Parts Genius, Jan. 2009
First Gear - Mustang BOOK NO. 13 MBI asked me to write a book aimed at beginners to the Mustang hobby as part of the company's successful "First Gear" series. TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON Bentley Publishers - Cambridge, Mass. Release date: 2007 BOOK NO. 12 I'll be announcing details on this book as it gets closer to publication.
Mustang SpecialsKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: Summer, 2006 BOOK NO. 11 Jerry Heasley and I have once again collaborated on a great Mustang book. Here is the Introduction from that upcoming book. The authors tried to establish several solid criteria for determining which cars would be included in this book about special edition Mustangs. Some were easy choices – the ’68 California Special and High Country Special quickly went to the top of the list. Others were cause for debate: the ’65 Shelby GT-350R and certain Saleen and Roush models, for example. It’s not that we liked or disliked some Mustangs more than others, but we had to eliminate models that were certainly “special” in some ways but could not truly be considered special editions. The ’71 Mach 1 with a 429-cid Super Cobra Jet V-8 is obviously a hot car (and more rare than some models Ford labeled “limited editions”) but we deemed it to be a production model (Mach 1) built with an optional factory engine. Our guidelines for adding to or eliminating from the list read something like this:
1. A special edition is an offshoot of a regular production model. Were we able to include every regional or dealer promotion in this book? No, obviously there are many of these cars still waiting to be discovered out there. And don’t even think about finding an entry for every Mustang with special order paint in here. That’s the kind of in-depth research that Tony Popish has performed through his Horse of a Different Color registry and newsletter; it would take a 300-page volume just to discuss all of his findings. What should you do if there is a Mustang in your driveway or garage with unusual markings or features that might indicate a promotional package? First, enjoy driving it. Second, surf the Internet for online registries that know something about your car. Failing that, create your own Web registry so people can start coming to you with information.
Mustang Field GuideKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: August, 2005 Page count: 410 BOOK NO. 10 At a glance you will be able to identify the different years and models of Mustangs in the portable Mustang Field Guide. This take-anywhere, pocket-size spotter's manual will become an invaluable reference for Mustang enthusiasts as it explains such "inside" hobby references as "K-code" engines, "IRS" suspension and the all-important differences between Shelby's GT-500 and GT-500KR models.
Drive It Like You Stole It! Publisher TBA Release date: TBA BOOK NO. 9 This book took 14 months to research and write, and thousands of miles of travel. In 2004 I attended 11 different types of advanced driving schools around the country and enjoyed a variety of unusual and fun cars, trucks, motorcycles and race cars. I also spent some time touring the areas around the schools, so the book has a good deal of travel information and observations. For this project I moved full-time into the realm of professional digital photography and captured more than 12,000 images with my new Canon D10 for this all-color book, nearly 400 of which will find their way onto its pages. All of the training I took taught me something about a car's performance and/or control - sometimes at low speeds (for example, the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and Land Rover Experience Driving School in Asheville, North Carolina) but often at much higher velocities (such as the Skip Barber Racing School at VIRginia International Raceway and Richard Petty Driving Experience in Las Vegas). I crushed cars with Bigfoot in St. Louis, got chased by Corvettes in my Mustang around Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina, rode a Buell Blast in Harley-Davidson's Experienced Rider program in Memphis and learned how to drive sideways at the Team O'Neil Rally School in Dalton, New Hampshire. Drive It Like You Stole It! is a great read for anyone interested in taking advanced driver training, but it is also a fun book for those who like to get in the car, point toward a new destination and go! UPDATE Krause Publications was originally slated to release this book in 2005, but was purchased by another company before my project went into production. New management slashed many titles out of the schedule, including this one. I am currently shopping the manuscript to other publishers.
Standard Catalog of Mustang - 2nd EditionKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: In Print Page count: 304 BOOK NO. 8 Krause Publications enjoyed such success with the original Standard Catalog of Mustang I wrote in January of 2002 that they asked me to update and expand it. I built the second edition from scratch, with about 80% new photography and nearly 50 more pages. View some photos I shot for this book.
The Saleen Book - 1984-200320 Years of Saleen Mustangs Driveway Books - Concord, N.C. Release date: In Print Page count: 430 BOOK NO. 7 From its first production year in 1984 - when a total of three Saleen Mustangs were built - to today's supercharged, 445-horsepower S281-E, every model is detailed and illustrated in full color. Each chapter includes historical narrative about the company, a guide for identifying the various models and body styles, a chart listing running changes made during the year, production numbers, a registry of every Saleen Mustang ever made, a Ford data plate decoder, exclusive photography and sidebars devoted to Saleens with unusual stories. View some photos I shot for this book.
The NASCAR Art of Sam BassDavid Bull Publishing - Phoenix, Ariz. Release date: In Print Page count: 192 (Publisher's Edition) Page count: 180 (Regular Edition) BOOK NO. 6 NASCAR artist and motorsports designer Sam Bass is the man whose skills with a brush and paint have immortalized the greatest race car drivers of our time. The gallery bearing his name is a walk-in, three-dimensional experience of things past, where a glance in any direction recalls the driving talent of Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Harry Gant, Bobby Labonte and many others. I began writing this book with Sam in March of 2002, which means I had more time to research the material than any other project I've undertaken. During that time, database wizard Bradley Spry and I built a new Web site for Sam's company - which I maintained until 2004 - and I began writing nearly all of his press and historical material. This immersion into Sam's history gave me some great insight, which I hope is passed along to the reader.
1979 to 2004 Mustang Buyer's GuideMotorbooks International - St. Paul, Minn. Release date: In Print Page count: 208 BOOK NO. 5
Excerpt With the introduction of the all-new, practically sized and smartly styled Mustang, Ford announced to the world that America's favorite pony car was facing a bright and, literally, turbocharged future. As is its habit, Ford built the new Mustang around a platform it would share with other, more humble cars. Deep down under the new pony's distinctive sheet metal was Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr DNA in the form of the "Fox" unit-body platform. Nearly 75 years after the Wright brothers showed off a working definition of the term �aerodynamics� at Kitty Hawk, Detroit came to understand that incorporating basic principles of aviation science into passenger car design could pay off in big ways. A car shaped like a barn door requires an enormous amount of horsepower -- and precious fossil fuels -- to push through the air at 60 miles an hour; however, a vehicle designed more like a drop of water can �cheat� the wind. View some of my Mustang photography.
Complete Wheel & Tire Buyer's GuideKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: In Print Page count: 176 BOOK NO. 4
From the Introduction You know what The Sit is. The Sit makes your ride look like a street fighter ready to get busy � it makes it bristle with attitude and calls attention to itself without having to say a word. When your car has The Sit it no longer resembles a machine driving down the street � it prowls like a wild animal with a purpose. No matter what other modifications you make to a car, if the hot motor, neon tubes, whack paint job and custom interior aren�t backed up by the right set of rims and rubber...well, you ain�t got Sit. You know what The Sit is. You just may not know how to get it yet. Between the covers of this book is an education on wheels and tires, the two most important elements of a good Sit. View some photos I shot for this book.
Mustang Buyer's Guide 1964 1/2 to 1978Motorbooks International - St. Paul, Minn. Release date: In Print Page count: 168 BOOK NO. 3
From the Introduction The 1964� Mustang, on the other hand, was nothing more than a giant corporation�s attempt to gain younger buyers with a sporty, inexpensively restyled version of an existing economy car. With planned obsolescence a way of manufacturing life in America for most of the 20th century, it was Ford�s intention to make the Mustang look dated and feel old within two or three years of its introduction � guaranteeing a cycle of �must-have� buyers for a shinier 1967 crop, and another for 1969 and so on. Re-designs and a wider range of powertrain options were already in the works even as the very first Mustang � a white convertible that would accidentally be sold to commercial pilot Stanley Tucker before returning to Ford � rolled off the assembly line. As old cars go, a Mustang in good condition is dead reliable and comfortable for daily driving or travel. The reason classic Mustang ownership requires a stack of parts catalogs and the phone number of a trusted mechanic is that no car built after World War II was designed to be on the road four decades after construction. Sheet metal rusts. Engine parts wear out. Suspension components corrode and collapse. Weatherstripping becomes black chalk. The rewards for restoring and maintaining such a fine piece of America�s automotive past are equal to the number of pitfalls awaiting the uneducated buyer. Consider this book the equivalent to a semester of Mustang 101. View some of my Mustang photography.
Standard Catalog of MustangKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: In print Page count: 256 BOOK NO. 2
From the Introduction Without those connections and links it would be impossible to assemble the information that makes up books like the Standard Catalog of Mustang. During the writing of this book, it was my privilege to spend three months in the world of Mustangs visiting with its friendly, enthusiastic citizens. While this list does not cover every person I spoke to in the course of my research, I hope it gives due thanks to most of the folks who steered me in the right direction, answered lots of trivial questions or let me photograph their beautiful cars. View some of my Mustang photography.
Mustang - America's Favorite Pony CarKrause Publications - Iola, Wis. Release date: In print Page count: 336 BOOK NO. 1
From the Introduction The Mustang created, defined and dominated the pony car market. One need only look at its competition in 1964 (the now-defunct Corvair Monza) and in 2001 (the soon-to-be-defunct Camaro/Firebird) to realize that the Mustang occupies a unique niche in our culture. It's more than a car, in the same way Route 66 is more than an old highway and Elvis is more than another popular singer. No, there's no easy way to describe the phenomenon, but this book contains more than a sideways glance at the often triumphant, sometimes troubled legend of the Mustang. This book is an expansion and updating of an earlier work written by John Gunnell for Krause Publications titled Mustang: the AfFORDable Sportscar. Gunnell is the editor of Old Cars Weekly, and has written 10 books on a variety of automotive subjects. View some of my Mustang photography.
The All-American Hot Rod Featured material: p. 140-149
Excerpt No matter what name you apply, it can be argued the unstoppable underground alcohol industry that first became a political issue during the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion has given birth to a uniquely southern regional folklore, a successful movie/television sub-genre and an automotive culture that runs the gamut from hot rods to stock cars.
Mustang Legends Voyageur Press - Stillwater, Minn. Release date: In print Page count: 160 Featured material: p. 104-133
Excerpt Cars of all makes and nationalities figured heavily in the Bond films, often used as a form of shorthand to character development and plot direction. Henchmen generally skulked about in nondescript, often underpowered cars indigenous to the film�s locale (the Ford Cortina from The Spy Who Loved Me comes to mind). Beautiful but deadly women got around in the flashiest of sporty cars, preferring convertibles for their being-seen value (the Toyota 2000 GT in You Only Live Twice). Evil villains plotted and schemed their way to world domination from the luxurious rolling confines of their giant sedans (the Mercedes-Benz 600 in On Her Majesty�s Secret Service).
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