For Flux Sake: Beer, fags and opposite-lock

For Flux Sake: Beer, fags and opposite-lock

Contrary to popular belief, ‘Fluxie’ did not enter the world on full opposite-lock, nor did he have a cigarette in one hand and a pint in the other. Destined to race, he never got the biggest breaks but he did become one of motorsport’s most colourful and best-loved characters, someone who has always lived life to the full.

Ian Flux’s autobiography tells it how it was, covering not only the highs — including five championship titles — but also the many setbacks. Along the way we laugh with him about much of it, particularly the pranks, but also learn about some dark times that he has never previously divulged.

  • Early days: growing up on a farm, first kart aged 6, muddling through in the classroom, lots of laughs — but also sexual abuse from a schoolmaster and an early racing mentor.
  • The spark ignites: starting to race in 1970 with a Formula 6 kart, then onwards to Formula Vee; brushing shoulders with Formula 1 working for the Token and Graham Hill teams.
  • Grabbing the chances: a Formula Vee title in 1975 leads to Formula 3 and Formula Atlantic, but still with various jobs to make ends meet, including as mechanic to motorcycle racing legend Giacomo Agostini for his four-wheel efforts.
  • Diversifying into sports cars: successful adventures in Sports 2000 and Thundersports, winning championships in both, plus Thundersaloons.
  • A true all-rounder: going into the British Touring Car Championship from 1988 in a wide range of tin-tops; racing a Jaguar XJR-15 in the big-money 1991 series held at Grand Prix races, including Monaco.
  • Championship double in 1996: the ‘golden year’ in the TVR Tuscan Challenge and the British GT Championship, the latter with a McLaren F1 GTR.
  • So much else: racing on into recent times, notching up nearly 50 years on track; testing competition cars for Motorsport News; driver tuition and track-day demonstrations.

This is a very different kind of racing driver’s memoir, with lots of laughs along the way together with searing personal honesty.

Ford 351 Cleveland Engines: How to Build for Max Performance

Ford 351 Cleveland Engines: How to Build for Max Performance

Ford’s 351 Cleveland was designed to be a ‘mid-sized’ V-8 engine, and was developed for higher performance use upon its launch in late 1969 for the 1970 models. This unique design proved itself under the hood of Ford’s Mustang, among other high performance cars. The Cleveland engine addressed the major shortcoming of the Windsor engines that preceded it, namely cylinder head air flow. The Windsor engines just couldn’t be built at the time to compete effectively with the strongest GM and Mopar small blocks offerings, and the Cleveland engine was the answer to that problem. Unfortunately, the Cleveland engine was introduced at the end of Detroit’s muscle car era, and the engine, in pure Cleveland form, was very short lived. It did continue on as a low compression passenger car and truck engine in the form of the 351M and 400M, which in their day, offered little in the way of excitement. Renewed enthusiasm in this engine has spawned an influx of top-quality new components that make building or modifying these engines affordable.

This new book reviews the history and variations of the 351 Cleveland and Ford’s related engines, the 351M and 400M. Basic dimensions and specifications of each engine, along with tips for identifying both design differences and casting number(s) are shown. In addition to this, each engine’s strong points and areas of concern are described in detail. Written with high performance in mind, both traditional power tricks and methods to increase efficiency of these specific engines are shared.

With the influx of aftermarket parts, especially excellent cylinder heads, the 351 Cleveland as well as the 351M and 400M cousins are now seen as great engines to build. This book will walk you through everything you need to know to build a great street or competition engine based in the 351 Cleveland platform.