Book Review: Sick Fish

Scott Killeen, an award-winning automotive photographer and publisher has set up Build Book USA, a company which chronicles the build process of award-winning custom cars. First seen on Discovery Channel, Joe Rogan’s (the Fear Factor show host) “Sick Fish” Plymouth Barracuda is a fantastic retro-custom car build from the ground up, literally!

Chip Foose, the famous designer lent a hand to design Sick Fish, but was too tied up with work, so he farmed out the build to Rad Rides, a custom shop in Illinois, USA run by Troy Trepanier. The book details in fantastic detail through full colour photography by Killeen, the entire build process of Sick Fish, right from looking for a car, to inspecting, buying, stripping, fabricating, painting and putting the finishing touches on.

The entire Plymouth Barracuda bodyshell was stripped, and custom parts fabricated to improve the bodyshell. A custom-built Hemi engine was built for the car. The interior was fitted with Dynamat Extreme and a high end audio system, Recaro seats, custom upholstery, Autometer gauges, etc. You can also learn a few customiser’s tricks (Too many to detail here so go buy the book!).

It’s a very inspirational softcover book containing over 800 full colour photographs in about 180 pages, that can serve as a reference and guide for all those of us out there who dream of building up a special ‘Hot Rod’ or ‘Custom’ car project. It’s also a guide in how to do things tastefully and creatively. All parts & tool suppliers are listed throughout the book complete with contact details, to help aspiring custom builders.

RATING: 5/5
CONTRIBUTOR: BEN CORLEY (Seven Builder)

BUY THE BOOK: BUILD BOOK: From Concept to Reality (Build Book: From Concept to Reality, Volume 1)