Books on engine building or modification

[Camron201]

Hi, I'm looking for some good books on engine building or modification. Any suggestions or preferences would be appreciated.

 

[mender]

What engine are you building? There are quite a few good books out there; the one that's right for you will depend on your project and your experience level.

 

[Camron201]

I mostly work on off-road motorcycles for professional racers. I've been building slightly modified engines for a while, but I'm always wanting to learn. That's my main area of interest. Although I do have a 70 el camino and chevelle that I work on, both big block engines. I wouldn't mind having some books for those also.

 

[mender]

I have quite a library of books; is there a particular area that you're interested in? Are you after general or specific info, racing only/street, fuel injection/carbs, etc? What books do you have now, and what did you like/dislike about them?

There are a lot of books about building the small block Chevy, as expected. There has been a tremendous amount of development and research done on these engines because of their popularity but a lot of the info can be applied to other engines as well. If you're just trying to decide on a good combo for your El Camino, "How to Hodrod Your Big-Block Chevy" might be what you're looking for, or look in your back issues of the car mags (I assume you have some) for appropriate articles.

As a start for more in-depth reading, here is a quick list: Performance with Economy, High Performance Engine Assembly Guide, How to Blueprint Your Engine, The Racing Engine Builder's Handbook, Stock Car Racing Engine Technology. More specific: Dyno Tuning and Testing, Engine Management - Advanced Tuning, High Performance Ignition Systems, High Performance Camshafts, Engine Airflow.

Many more good ones out there depending on what you're after, including ones that give an insight into what was happening at a given time ("The Chevrolet Racing Engine" by Bill (Grumpy) Jenkins, copyright 1976).

 

[Camron201]

Thanks for your reply, I have "Four Stroke Performance tuning by A. Graham Bell", "Engine Air Flow", "Holley Carburator tuning", "The Racing Engine Builders Handbook", and "John B. Heywood's Fundamentals of the Internal Combustion Engine". I really like the Holley carb book, as it was easy to read and got straight to the point. Engine air flow was pretty basic and not very helpful. I like John B. Heywood's book, even though it's some pretty hard reading.

Although I enjoy books specific to my cars, I am more looking for books to help me build these new four-stroke motorcycle engines. I really enjoy this, and hope to make a career of it.

Since I don't think there are any books out there specific to this, I'm looking for more general engine knowledge books to help me. I need/want to learn more about EFI and ignition programming, since the new bikes are EFI. I also want learn about single cylinder crank balancing. And obviously porting, airflow, camshafts, and valve train. Basically anything that can make an engine more efficient (more HP) would be helpful.

I will look into the books you listed in your third paragraph. These seem like the kind of books I am looking for. Thanks for your help. Any advice, or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[mender]

Yeah, sometimes finding the exact book is quite a challenge, and even finding one that is close can be hard. Sometimes you have to look for ones that you hope will be related; books about Honda engines will likely be more beneficial than the Ford FE series but I have yet to buy a book that I didn't get something out of, even though it was only a sentence or two. A synthesis of all the books you read is going to form the basis for your understanding of engines. That's why I have so many (about 100)!

I also have Heywood's book and find myself referring to it more often than I initially thought I would; great on theory but not very specific about the how-to. For that I dig out the S-A Design (Cartech books), HP Books, and sometimes the Motorbook Powertech Series books and reread the pertinent sections. Look up the book lists for each of those and you should be able to find books that will fill in the gaps.

Two EFI books to start with might be SA 135, "Engine Management - Advanced Tuning", and SA 161, "Designing and Tuning High-Performance Fuel Injection Systems", both by Greg Banish. Be aware that most books will contain a lot of the same material and by the same author but is presented slightly differently depending on the focus of the book. I find a good author that presents things the way I like and purposely buy more, even on the same subject because one usually leads into the next. These two books are an example of that, with his first book being more of an intro and the second leading into the application.

I also try to find another author on the same subject, to compare and verify what is being stated and also to fill in some gaps that might have been left by the other author. Again, that's why I have so many books and have found every one of them to be well worth the $20 (or so) purchase price. I go to swap meets and look for old engine books too; sometimes $1 will buy you a priceless blast from the past, like "Hot Rod Carburetion and Fuel Systems", circa 1964 with the exotic period-correct induction systems described in detail, ideal for someone like me who in addition to building engines for current national series builds hot rods and such during the winter months. You never know what someone is going to insist on having!

Airflow is (almost) everything, and figuring out how to pack the air in is a life-long pursuit. The interaction between cam timing and intake/exhaust resonance will likely be of most importance to you re: the motorcycle engines, and that still seems to be as much art as science although it's much better understood these days. There are some older books on the theory; "Scientific Design of Exhaust and Intake Systems" by Philip Smith, 1971, somewhat dated but a good primer.

You're very fortunate that there are so many books out there now; when I started thirty years ago most of the info was scattered through the various car magazines, and I had maybe ten actual books to choose from.

 

[mender]

Speaking of finding the right book, this might be it:
"Design and Simulation of Four-Stroke Engines" by Blair; apparently the guru of GP motorcycle engines.

I don't have it but it seems to be getting very good reviews. Here's an article by him:
http://www.profblairandassociates.com/pdfs/Back_to_basics.pdf

He contributes to Race Engine Technology magazine which I also have but hadn't really noticed his name - I'll be watching for it now!

 

[Camron201]

Thanks Mender! I will look up the books by "blair", and start making a list of other ones to buy, based off your suggestions. A lot of people take for granted all the information there is theses days. But I know a little reading can go a long way and hope to take advantage of it.