BY DANIELLE MEDINA
Correspondent
Tom Benford, of Brick, has written five books about automobiles, and Corvettes specifically, in the last few years. On paper, Tom Benford is living life in the fast lane. In the past 12 months, the Brick Township resident has had five books released — three on Corvettes and two automotive books — and at least three more projects are waiting in the wings.
On Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Benford will be signing all five of his car books at Barnes & Noble, Chambers Bridge Road, Brick.
“It certainly has been a busy year,” Benford said, “but that’s the way I like it. I prefer to have a full schedule.”
Benford hadn’t planned on such an aggressive timetable, but when all his book proposals were accepted at the same time, he said, he had to “seize the moment.” Working between 10 and 12 hours a day, six days a week, he sometimes found himself working on three books at once.
“It got to be a blur after a while,” Benford said.
Helping him along in the process was Benford’s wife of 26 years, Liz, who aided in research, provided dates for chapter deadlines and kept him on a tight schedule.
Benford, a self-proclaimed “car nut” since he was a teenager, said he chose to produce books about the Corvette because of the iconic role the car has played in American history.
“From day one, it was America’s first and only sports car built entirely for speed, performance and handling,” he said. “It continues to be the pacesetter in automotive design, and they keep making it better and better.”
In “Corvette: 5 Decades of Sports Car Speed,” released in November 2003, Benford chronicles the history of Amer-ica’s beloved sports car, while photographer Randy Leffingwell provides the pictures. Released in May 2004, “Corvette Performance Projects 1968-1982” is a how-to manual for Corvette owners. The “Corvette Illustrated Encyclopedia,” released in August, has over 300 pages and more than 700 entries.
“It’s the Ginsu knife of Corvette books,” Benford said.
Last month, Benford’s two other automotive books — “The Street Rod” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Restoring Classic Cars” — were released. “The Street Rod” is a coffee table book that provides the history of the hobby through photographs and car profiles. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Restoring Cars” is a how-to on finding and determining the value of classic cars, while detailing the hours, tools, space and expenditures a restoration entails.
Benford’s love of classic car restoration began in 1995 when he and Liz, on vacation in Cape Cod, spotted a 1933 Dodge 5-Window Coupe. The Bensons restored the car, named Screaming Mimi, and began driving it to cruise nights and car shows, where the car has won more than 60 trophies.
After that, Benford began acquiring vintage Corvettes, starting with a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Split Window Coupe. He now owns a total of seven Corvettes that span four decades. Two of those cars, a maroon 1967 Sting Ray Coupe and a 1976 Custom Coupe, known as “The Shark,” will be on display outside Barnes & Noble the day of his book signing.
“We’re hoping to create a little hoopla,” Liz Benford said.
Benford, who is also a contributing writer to various Corvette magazines, has also authored three books on computer science. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including a Joint Legislative Resolution of the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey citing his meritorious efforts and long and distinguished body of work focusing on the history of the Chevrolet Corvette and the collector car hobby in general.