Engine Schoolin'

balaso

balaso

New member
Here in about two years, I should finally have enough income to start work on my ol' Falcon. I am going to look into rebuilding the 200 as a daily driver with mild performance. I am also going to have a ford truck with a 300 in it later this year that may need some work. When that time comes, I want to have a decent working knowledge of how the engine works (beyond fuel, air, spark) and how a rebuild is done (engine bore, milling when and why?) to be able to figure some things out on my own. I was wondering if any might recommend good books on the operation of a motor and rebuild. I am looking fairly in depth so that I can understand camshaft operation as well as how all the components work together and affect each other. Thanks for any info!

-B
 
Ford Falcon Performance Handbook covers the small blocks and the only one I know of for the six. CI sells it and their site has a good tech section that will answer most of your questions. Anything else, you can find right here.
 
Explorer":2co91pho said:
Ford Falcon Performance Handbook covers the small blocks and the only one I know of for the six. CI sells it and their site has a good tech section that will answer most of your questions. Anything else, you can find right here.
Click to expand...

Have it, doesn't really teach engine operation, just getting performance out of those specific engines; general specs. Example, pushrods. . .it talks about various pushrod configurations, but not what a pushrod is or does for the engine and how it works with other components. I need to understand actual operation/function of engines in general I am a tech kinda guy and prefer to get as deep as I can. The handbook assumes some internal engine knowlede of which i have very little.

EDIT: something along this line but a lot more in depth.
 
Consider searching for a 6 month program in your area that teaches mechanics. But then again, from what I understand these engines are as simple as they get.

I'm sure it will be hard to find a class that covers these engines equally like they do with newer and more powerful engines but I'm also sure you can search the net for anything else that you may need. Also, consider looking through YouTube. I've found some really good videos from the 80s there that go a lot into depth on engines and they are really informative.

Good luck!
 
I have an old copy of a book titled "Complete Car Care Manual" published by the Reader's Digest; it is about the best book I have ever seen for beginners and it sounds like what you are seeking, reckon it's long out of print now as its copyright date is 1981. Perhaps you could find it at a library or Amazon, etc.
Joe
 
Positively Ralf":3nxn9lnp said:
Consider searching for a 6 month program in your area that teaches mechanics.
Click to expand...

I will look into that. It most likely will not be feasible with my shift based job schedule.

Note: Not necessarily looking specifically for 144-250 "Small Block" six engine info. More focused on 6&8 cyl combustion engines in general. Trying to get a “good” mechanics understanding of engines.
 
Lazy JW":2qism56y said:
I have an old copy of a book titled "Complete Car Care Manual" published by the Reader's Digest. . .
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Hmm, closer. I will see if my library can find it. Working on military aircraft, I would have called what I am looking for, "theory of operation".
 
balaso":281u7qjt said:
Lazy JW":281u7qjt said:
I have an old copy of a book titled "Complete Car Care Manual" published by the Reader's Digest. . .
Click to expand...

Hmm, closer. I will see if my library can find it. Working on military aircraft, I would have called what I am looking for, "theory of operation".
Click to expand...
Yup. This is it, pretty basic but I really think it's what you want. I too worked on military aircraft and am familiar with the words "theory of operation".
Joe
 
Very cool, I was hoping someone would understand the term as it is what I relate to. Most of my mechanical experience and knowledge is aircraft. Yes, I am looking for the general systems book for engines! :D

My library had it, I will start there then see if I need something with more meat to it.
 
I got a Bosch Automotive Handbook for Christmas from a guy at work, I havn't busted into it yet because I'm reading the other books I got first. At a quick glance, the Bosch book seems to have a level of information and detail similar to the Machinest's Handbook.

I don't think it's going to cover rebuilding an engine but I'll let you know what I find in the coming weeks.

EDIT: linky to table of contents.. http://www.sae.org/images/books/toc_pdfs/BOSCH7.pdf
 
'68falconohio":1uncnw5s said:
I got a Bosch Automotive Handbook for Christmas from a guy at work, I havn't busted into it yet because I'm reading the other books I got first. At a quick glance, the Bosch book seems to have a level of information and detail similar to the Machinest's Handbook.

I don't think it's going to cover rebuilding an engine but I'll let you know what I find in the coming weeks.

EDIT: linky.. http://books.sae.org/book-bosch7
Click to expand...

I will see if I can find that at the library too. Yea I figure I will need several books, don't expect everything I want to know will be in one volume. But hey, I figure I have a year and a half to get book smart about it. Then will come the practical application that will probably change everything I thought I learned, :rolflmao:
 
balaso":39ev7mtd said:
.... I will start there then see if I need something with more meat to it.
Click to expand...

Great! You will need more later for sure; the Reader's Digest book just tells how things work, not how to rebuild, but it will get you well on your way.
Enjoy,
Joe
 
'68falconohio":2ea1c4uk said:
balaso,
I just changed the link to the table of contents so you can see what it has to offer.

Stephen
Click to expand...

holy cow, LOTS of info. Hopefully the library has it. That is going to take a while to digest by the look of it, but may get me on the way to where I want to be.
 
balaso":ru62vqks said:
'68falconohio":ru62vqks said:
I got a Bosch Automotive Handbook for Christmas from a guy at work, I havn't busted into it yet because I'm reading the other books I got first. At a quick glance, the Bosch book seems to have a level of information and detail similar to the Machinest's Handbook.

I don't think it's going to cover rebuilding an engine but I'll let you know what I find in the coming weeks.

EDIT: linky.. http://books.sae.org/book-bosch7
Click to expand...

I will see if I can find that at the library too. Yea I figure I will need several books, don't expect everything I want to know will be in one volume. But hey, I figure I have a year and a half to get book smart about it. Then will come the practical application that will probably change everything I thought I learned, :rolflmao:
Click to expand...
See if your library is online, that way you can browse and reserve stuff.
Often my library has book sales, usually like $5 for a bag of books. I lucked out and got a whack of manuals for different stuff.
and this:
http://books.google.ca/books?oe=utf-8&c ... arch+Books
 
JackFish":fikfyyp1 said:
See if your library is online, that way you can browse and reserve stuff.
Often my library has book sales, usually like $5 for a bag of books. I lucked out and got a whack of manuals for different stuff.
Click to expand...

Yes, the library here is online. Unfortunately, we do not have the book here in town. However, the library staff is pretty dedicated and found other libraries around the country that have it and are going to get one of them to send it up as a loaner. Sweeet (y)
 
Cool! If you find that you want to own it, or other books, http://www.half.com seems to be one of the cheapest ways to get books. I started getting my textbooks there after being gouged by the campus bookstores the first quarter. Paying $110 for a used book and only being able to sell it back for $25 taught me a lesson. :devilish:
 
Lazy JW said:
I have an old copy of a book titled "Complete Car Care Manual" published by the Reader's Digest; it is about the best book I have ever seen for beginners and it sounds like what you are seeking, reckon it's long out of print now as its copyright date is 1981. Perhaps you could find it at a library or Amazon, etc.
Joe
Click to expand...

I used to have another book by Reader's Digest called "How to fix anything" or something along those lines. I remember it had a few pages of basic engine knowledge, overhaul procedures, how to diagnose problems, and it also a really big troubleshooting flowchart.

The same book had chapters on appliances, TV's and radios, small engines, power equipment, etc etc.
 
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