Technically detailed historical accounts: Engines

[ivymike]

Would anyone have any recommended books about historical engine design efforts, that are fairly technical in nature?

 

[PJGD]

Ivymike;

I will take a stab at this, since no one else has, although it was not clear how technical you are expecting.

Some Unusual Engines; Setright, LJK; MEP; 1975

Valve Mechanism's for High Speed Engines; Smith, Philip H; GT Foulis; 1967.

The High Speed Internal Combustion Engine; Ricardo, HR; Blackie; 1968.

The Classic Twin-cam Engine; Borgesson,G; Dalton Watson Ltd; 1981.

The Internal Combustion Engine in Theory and Practise; Taylor,CF; MIT Press; 1985.

These are just some books in my library which might fit your description, but if you provide more specifics on what you are looking for, I may be able to recommend others.

PJGD

 

[ivymike]

I'll see if I can find any of those. I was looking for book that tells a good story about an engine, but includes a moderate amount of detail about technical hurdles that were encountered and the resulting adaptations.

 

[GregLocock]

Setright might be the biz - he likes stories. I haven't read any of his books but judging from his writing in Car magazine I can't say I like his writing style and his tastes seem to be eccentric to the point of ostentation, but he is an entertainer. Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[PJGD]

OK, I have some more suggestions for you: ­

Climax in Coventry; Hassan, Walter; Motor Racing Publications; 1975 (Essentially this is a biography of Walter Hassan, but tells the story of how Coventry Climax got into building racing engines, and also the genesis of the Jaguar V12 engine).

Cosworth: The search for Power; Robson, G.; Patrick Stephens; 1990 (An in-depth story of Cosworth)

The Designers; Great Automobiles and the Men who Made Them; Setright, LJK; Follett Publishing; 1975 (As it happens, I like Setright's style!).

The Development of Piston Aero Engines; Gunston, W.; Patrick Stephens; 1993.

I have some other suggestions, but that should hold you for a while!

PJGD

 

[ivymike]

On Sept 12, 2002, PJGD wrote:
The High Speed Internal Combustion Engine; Ricardo, HR; Blackie; 1968.


I just asked for this book for xmas, and got scolded for it... have you checked the price? Wow.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/021689026

 

[ivymike]

that link doesn't seem to work anymore. They had a used one for $315, and another used one for $480

 

[Mattman]

Bookfinder.com had one for $175, and many much higher.

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?st=sl&ac=sl&qi=AttBEKXjPpGdMV2geX9JSlVAttLHlI9J:12:32

 

[PJGD]

I got my Ricardo "bible" in 1968 when I was an apprentice. The price, being subject to the law of supply and demand, should tell you something about how good it is. I also have the 1953 edition.

PJGD.

 

[ivymike]

I happen to know some people who work at Ricardo, Inc... perhaps they can find a copy in the company library and let me take a peek at it.

 

[GregLocock]

Here's another that every engine designer should read and digest:

Kerr Wilson, "Practical Solutions to Torsional Vibration", Chapman & Hall, 3rd Edition. 1963

Rather restricted subject matter, but a real classic




Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[PJGD]

The Kerr Wilson book is one that I do not have, but I am aware of it's credibility within the engine design community. My particular "poison" is the Jowett Javelin and Jupiter, the engines of which got through crankshafts at an alarming rate (frequently 25K miles). It was not resolved until Jowett's Chief Engineer at the time (Charles Grandfield) made a pilgrimage to Dr. Wilson circa 1952, who proposed an oval web crank which subsequently proved to be unbreakable in normal service.

PJGD.

 

[gbent]

If you are interested in diesels, I remember a couple of books I borrowed from a friend. They were written by Lyle Cummins. One was about his father, Clessie Cummins (yes, that Cummins). The other was about Rudulph Diesel. I have no idea what the exact titles were, or where to get them.

 

[ivymike]

greg-o, that K-W book sounds like a must have. It's on the xmas list. I'll start hunting down some of the others in the near future, so I can sniff them and look at the pictures, etc.

 

[PJGD]

Another book which qualifies but which may be too old to be of strong interest to you is: "Georges Roesch and the Invincible Talbot" by Blight, Anthony; Grenville Publishing Co Ltd.; 1970.

I have just picked up my first edition and am avidly reading it again. Essentially, Georges Roesch designed, built, and the Talbot company raced the cars in the late '20's and early '30's in Europe. They were very advanced for their time in terms of robustness and efficiency, and were able to get DOHC power from prosaic OHV engines. The advantage was in the details.

PJGD