Building a Special by Ant Anstead

Ant Anstead’s Building a Special brings the Haynes story full circle, coming 61 years after the original Building a 750 Special was written by John Haynes, Haynes Publishing’s founder, when he was still a schoolboy. 

This book is a TV tie-in, following the 12-part TV series Ant Anstead Master Mechanic, aired on Motor Trend, part of the Discover Network in the US and UK, following Ant Anstead's build of his own-design 'special' car, taking inspiration from the Alfa 158 – the first World Championship-winning F1 car, which raced from the 1930s until the 1950s. The 12-part TV series followed Ant's build of the car, from the first design ideas, through the construction, culminating in the debut of the car during the 2019 US Grand Prix weekend in Austin, Texas.

The book follows Ant's personal build of the car, as documented in the TV series, from the selection of the donor MG TD for the chassis, and Alfa Romeo Spider for the engine and gearbox, through modifying the chassis, building the suspension, steering, brakes, bodywork and interior, and putting all the components together to produce a finished one-off 'special'.

Heavily illustrated throughout with photos, technical drawings and sketches, and written in Ant's own words, this book expands on the TV series, providing more detail of the components (including dimensions), engineering and techniques used to build the car.

Content includes:
Introduction, the history of specials, planning, donor car, chassis, suspension, steering, rear axle, engine, fuel system, cooling system, ancillaries, exhaust, gearbox, bodywork, braking system, cockpit, wiring, preparation and painting, testing, setting up and making road legal.

The author, Ant Anstead is a car nut and TV presenter whose presenting credits include For The Love Of Cars and Building Cars Live. He is currently co-presenter of Discover Channel's Wheeler Dealers, alongside Mike Brewer, and recently had his own Motor Trend Series – Ant Anstead Master Mechanic – around which this book is based.