Читать книгу Muscle Car Brake Upgrades - Bobby Kimbrough - Страница 6

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My life has centered around maintenance from the time I was born. I performed my first brake job in the 1970s, and I have changed every brake pad and rotor on my personal vehicles since that time. Sometimes it was out of financial necessity (I couldn’t afford to pay someone else to do it) and sometimes out of desire. Even with extensive experience over a range of domestic and foreign cars, there is always more to learn. It takes a village, and in my case a fairly large town, to raise a proficient brake technician. I wish to acknowledge some of the people who contributed to this project.

Without car enthusiasts, none of this is needed or practical. Everything we do in the automotive aftermarket revolves around the end user: the car nut. Acknowledgements would not be complete without a tip of the hat to all the muscle car fanatics. Thank you.

One of the many people who helped with this book is Mr. Ed Zinke. He put me in contact with the right people to get answers and is also a valued personal friend. Ed is a highly respected media professional who was awarded SEMA’s Robert E. Petersen Media Person of the Year award. His insight and contacts were invaluable when I needed very specific help.

Todd Ryden’s unwavering support and help ensured this project got off the ground from the beginning. His photography support and knowledge about the different brake systems filled in the gaps in my own experience. His words were the glue that bound the rest of the work together. I have enjoyed our collaborations and can’t wait for the next one to occur.

Longtime friend and brake systems expert Michael Hamrick provided much of the information from Wilwood Engineering. For a full year he was willing to take my calls and answer my emails full of questions, expecting nothing in return. Much of the work within this book was possible because of his help.

Cathy White of Classic Performance Products (CPP) assisted with specialized material and information on OEM replacement brake systems. Cathy pulled back the curtains and showed the inner workings of CPP’s manufacturing process. That information was critical in the composition of this book.

My “go-to” guy on brakes has always been Mark Chichester of Master Power Brakes. His honesty and integrity put him at the top of my list. He is very quotable, as evidenced by the many Chichester quotes within these pages.

Todd Gartshore was a force in the industry and the face of Baer Brakes for many years. Todd helped me and many new writers understand how media and brake systems work. When Todd passed away, there was a massive hole that needed to be filled. Rick Elam has stepped up and filled that void. I will always cherish what Todd and Rick have done to support the industry.

Adam Keiser at Performance Friction Brakes helped connect the points for high-performance brake systems. His support was added late in the progress of this work, making me regret not reaching out to him sooner. The next time I attempt a brake project like this, he will be my first contact.

Jeff Smith, one of the most experienced technical writers on the planet and personal inspiration, played a huge role in this book. His invisible hand guided much of the work done here. My friend and employer, James Lawrence, served as my role model in digging for information. I used his questioning technique to drill down to the core of a subject.

Many of my current and a few of my past coworkers at Power Automedia are responsible for moral and mental support during the arduous hours of compiling information and organizing it into a workable form. Scott Parker, Andrew Almazon, Brittany Poleon, Kaley Lione, Michael Harding, April Taylor, Lloyd Hunt, Kevin McIntosh, and David Cruikshank are all responsible for providing the motivation to keep going. Shawn Brereton’s push to keep an eye on quality reporting put an edge on the total project. It is a pleasure to know and work with people of this caliber.

My personal friends and industry leaders, Jason Snyder and Brian Shephard, helped keep my focus on the task at hand. Brian led by doing; Jason led with firm guidance. Special thanks to Kevin Shaw for reminding me why these documents are so important. It is hard work, but worth it in the long run.

For every gearhead, the people that always seem to go unrecognized are the neighbors who are subjected to a rusty junkyard of project cars and beating and banging at all hours of the day and night. I’m fortunate to have the most understanding neighbors and recognize the tolerance of Dave and Pattie Nellis. Dave is always there to hold a flashlight, fetch a wrench, or push a broken car. I may have been able to do this book without you, but I would not have wanted to.

Finally, my personal mentor and teacher, Ed Justice Jr., inspired the will and desire to do something that may help other enthusiasts. Ed and his family have always gone the extra mile to preserve automotive history and help forge new technology in the automotive aftermarket industry. The Justice family talks the talk by walking that straight line every day. Without Ed’s leading by example and his sage guidance, I would have never attempted anything of this magnitude.

Anyone who has taken on the task or authoring a book knows the mountain of work involved. Without this village of support, no publication would ever get done.