Books / 116 posts found
Practical Engine Airflow
The all new Practical Engine Airflow book by John Baechtel seeks to demystify this complex subject and present the basics of engine airflow in easy to understand terms for the average hot rodder and engine builder. You will gain a fundamental understanding of how air is processed through an engine and how...
New Chevy Big Block Parts Interchange
In the all new edition of Chevy Big-Block Engine Parts Interchange, hundreds of factory part numbers, RPOs, and detailed color photos covering all generations of the Chevy big-block engine are included. Every component is detailed, from crankshafts and rods to cylinder heads and intakes. You'll learn what works, what doesn't, and how to how to swap...
Leo Villa’s Bluebird Album
David de Lara's extraordinary photographic documentary of Donald Campbell’s Bluebirds brilliantly captures the complicated essence of Donald Campbell the man and the magnificent record smashing machines that...
Ford Flathead Engines: How to Rebuild & Modify
Although not the first V-8 engine ever produced, Henry Ford’s side-valve V-8, launched in 1932, certainly qualified as the first mass-produced V-8 sold to the public. Over time, however, the “Flattie” became the go-to powerplant for a whole generation of new hobbyists who were called “hot rodders.” In Ford Flathead Engines: How to Rebuild & Modify, veteran author Tony Thacker and flathead guru of H&H Flatheads, Mike Herman, take you step-by-step through rebuilding a vintage flathead. One of the most important steps is to actually find a good, usable core; many have been sitting for a very long time and […]
Smokey’s Best Damn Garage in Town
Few iconic figures in motorsports are more recognizable than Henry “Smokey” Yunick. Among the colorful individuals of NASCAR’s golden age Smokey was a genuine giant who cast a long and influential shadow. Few have expressed their life and times and indeed revealed their relevancy as well as straight talkin’ Smokey. Smokey thrived on the razor’s edge of creative rule book interpretation with...
Reid Railton: Man of Speed
Engineering proficiency reveals itself in many forms, but rarely does it articulate itself so profoundly that a lifetime of work achieves legendary status. Such is the case with Reid Railton, an engineer whose breadth of accomplishments left an indelible mark on land speed racing and...
Ford Drag Team
Charlie Morris is quite the prolific drag racing author and his book on the Ford Drag Team brings to light all the amazing details of Ford's deep drag racing involvement in the sixties. In this thoroughly researched 200 page book, Morris details the racing exploits of Ford racing legends such as Gas Ronda, Les Ritchy, Dick Brannan, Mickey Thompson, Butch Leal, Phil Bonner, Tommy Grove, Al Joniec and many more. One of the most important aspects of this book is that it highlights the achievements of racers who actually worked with Ford products the way they were manufactured.
Bonneville SCTA Program Books: The First Thirty Years
With the overwhelming interest in Bonneville and land speed racing its great to see so many efforts coming together to help save the salt from disappearing without a fight. One ambitious program recently raised $50,000 to help the SCTA carry on its efforts. Fetherston Publishing is already widely acknowledged for its great book on the history of Bonneville and now it has published a followup with a pair of hardbound volumes comprised of all the original SCTA Bonneville Programs from 1949 through 1968. The books are beautifully bound and what makes them special is that they are original reproductions...
Modern Engine Blueprinting Techniques
Any engine’s performance can be improved through balancing and blueprinting procedures to reduce friction and parasitic losses. Blueprinting is performed to optimize the performance of every part in the engine while critical balancing matches critical weights to...
Souping the Stock Engine
Written by veteran automotive authority Roger Huntington, Souping the Stock Engine still ranks among the classics of early performance books. Published in 1950 by Floyd Clymer books it predates most modern OHV V8s. Huntington expertly relates automotive theory and describes every function of engine performance in exhausting detail. Couched in the technology and lingo of its time, the book nonetheless describes all of the high performance techniques and theories we still pride ourselves on today.
Bosch Automotive Handbook, 9th ed.
The Bosch Automotive Handbook has been serving engineers and enthusiasts alike for decades. The newly revised 9th edition contains all the latest updates. With every new edition the book has increased in size and reputation and is considered an indispensable engineering reference source on automotive technology...
Physics for Gearheads
Physics for Gearheads by Randy Beikmann PhD. provides the detailed explanations you need to fully understand the intricate mechanical functions of high performance automobiles and race cars. Whether your interest is in increasing your engine's horsepower, getting more miles per gallon, or...
Supercharged! Design, Testing and Installation of Supercharger Systems
Corky Bell is widely acknowledged for his expertise in turbocharging and supercharging. His new book Supercharged! Design Testing and Installation of Supercharger Systems is the ideal reference book for both novice and experienced forced induction fans. The book primarily covers fuel injected applications with very little mention of carbureted setups. That said, many of the calculations and math still apply and a dedicated effort can still make use of them. In effect this is a near textbook treatise on fuel injected forced induction and it includes the planning, construction and implementation of an intercooled BMW engine with electronic fuel injection […]
The Crew Chief’s Son
From 1957 through 1965 car owner and racing mechanic Louie Clements traveled NASCAR's emerging Grand National stock car racing series and he brought his entire family, wife and five kids along for the ride. Now Michael Clements brings those days alive with...
French Flathead V8 Block Prep Handbook
Vern Tardel's French Flathead V8 Block Prep Manual is a valuable reservoir of tips and knowledge about the coveted Ford/Simca flathead cylinder block. Early Ford hot rodders will enjoy this technical look a prepping the French flathead V8 block for high performance use...
New Ford Y-Block Build Book
There hasn't been a good Y-block book since well, since Ford Y-block V8s were in vogue more than 50 years ago. Charlie Morris' new all color rebuild and modify book offers a real shot in the arm for Y-block fans, particularly those who are...
Frank Lockhart, American Speed King
Racing icons sometimes achieve immortality under the cruelest of circumstances, particularly in the early days of motor racing when perishing tragically in a hurtling mass of twisted angry metal was often the norm. Such was the case of Frank Lockhart (1903-1928). Frank Lockhart bookEjected from his tumbling land speed record car during a violent crash on an unforgiving Florida beach...
BONNEVILLE A Century of Speed
The 100th anniversary of land speed racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwest Utah is fittingly celebrated in “Bonneville: A Century of Speed” by David Fetherston with Ron Main. Debuting at the 2014 Grand National Roadster Show...
David Kimble’s Cutaways
David Kimble's incredibly detailed full color cutaway art is in a class all by itself. It has anchored countless magazine articles, posters, press materials, special showings and innumerable displays of automotive fine art where precision and detail are absolutely necessary to reveal the inner workings of engines...
The Dawn of Pro Stock
As spawned in the early seventies, the Pro Stock class introduced a powerful new force in drag racing. Evolving from the popularity of Super Stock class racing, Pro Stock quickly became a fan favorite. Drag racing fans came to see the Funny Cars, but hardcore racing fans were clearly there to see the Pro Stock cars with hero drivers slamming gears behind...
How to Build Max-Performance Pontiac V-8s
We review a lot of engine tech books and find this iteration of CarTech's max power Pontiac book an informative look at what's currently out there in the world of high performance Pontiac hardware. And it provides the reader with six great sample engine builds from four top Pontiac engines builders. These builds range from 500 HP to 1200 HP and include hardware that many...
The Cars of Trans Am Racing, 1966-1972
Some of the best hardcore sedan racing ever seen occurred in the sixties when thinly disguised factory racing teams battled tooth and nail for on track supremacy with newly minted factory muscle cars in the wild SCCA Trans Am series. Effectively the road racing equivalent of factory stock car racing the Trans Am was hotly contested with the nimble pony cars of the day; Camaros, Mustangs, Firebirds....
Sensory Overload
Toby Brooks book about the history of the Street Machine Nationals reveals the intimate background of a simple car show that blossomed into a full blown cultural phenomenon; spawning the still popular Pro Street movement and multiple generations of dedicated gearhead followers. With endless research and considerable insight Brooks investigative skills probe the inner workings of America's favorite car show...
Grumpy’s Toys
Grumpy's Toys offers a long overdue examination of drag racing legend Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins and the 17 Chevrolet race cars that bear one of the most famous names in drag racing. Author Doug Boyce delivers a fascinating and surprisingly personal look at “da Grump’s” extraordinary career and the legendary cars that represent one of drag racing’s most influential...
The V12 Engine
V12 engines from a broad range of manufacturers are examined in detail. Readers learn the purpose behind each engine’s design philosophy, design features, performance, applications, problems and a few failures. What ultimately emerges is essentially the “Last Word” on V12 engine, development and usage from an extraordinarily well qualified authority...