Quick Start Learning Guide
Finding the right books to learn car design and construction can be a time consuming process. We have spent many hours and have researched over 250 books in the quest to find ones which provide the best value and useful information. In doing so, we have kept approximately 150 of the titles that cover every aspect of design and construction we could think of and attempted to find books of value for every vehicle type (Including Race cars, sports cars and off-road 4×4 machines)
Of the 150 titles, we determined that a small number of them made a lot of sense for those just getting started in car engineering. Hence, the “Quick Start Learning Guide” was born. We’ve selected books for each vehicle type which make sense as “First reads” before or during the concept and design stage. We hope you find it useful.
| Vehicle Type | |
|---|---|
 | Autocross/Solo (Entry-Level) Street type production car-based classes with basic bolt-ons / swap-outs of components. |
 | Autocross/Solo (Mid-Level) Street type production car-based classes with more advanced modifications including engine / suspension / aero |
 | Autocross/Solo (Top-Level) Street/Non-streetable classes with extensive modifications or scratch build. |
 | Bar Stool Racer Kart-style racer featuring a bar stool as the seat mounted on a tube chassis |
 | Custom Street/Import Custom street production car with modifications. |
 | CycleKart Open wheel Pre-WWII GP replica race cars built using motorcycle wheels and small engines |
 | Drag Racer (Junior Dragster) 1/2 scale version of top fuel dragster with scratch-built chassis. |
 | Drag Racer (Production-Based) Drag racing car built on stock production car chassis. |
 | Drag Racer (Scratch-Built) Drag racing car with scratch-built chassis and covering bodywork |
 | Dune Buggy 2WD or 4WD off-road/extreme terrain car with custom bodywork over a scratch-built chassis. Known for large suspension travel and desert racing. |
 | Formula (Non-wing) Open wheel race car with custom bodywork over scratch-built chassis. |
 | Formula (Winged) Open wheel race car with custom bodywork over scratch-built chassis and wing or venturi-based downforce generation |
 | GT Production sports car with modifications for racing |
 | Kart Open/Closed wheel race car built on a suspension-less chassis. |
 | Midget (Full Size) Open wheel race car with custom bodywork over scratch-built chassis. |
 | Midget (Quarter) 1/4 scale midget cars using scratch-built chassis and kart components. |
 | Off-road Truck 2WD/4WD off-road racing truck with custom truck-body style bodywork over scratch-built chassis |
 | Pickup truck (Custom Off-road) Custom production truck built with off-road modifications |
 | Pickup Truck (Scratch-built) 2WD asphalt racing truck with custom truck-body style bodywork over scratch-built chassis |
 | Quad/ATV Modified production quad/ATV. |
 | Rally Road/Dirt/Ice race car built on production car chassis. |
 | Rider Mower Modified production rider mower. |
 | Sport Racer/Sports Prototype Sports prototype-style car with custom fabricated chassis. |
 | Sprint (Full Size) Open wheel car with scratch-built chassis. |
 | Sprint (Micro) Open wheel motorcycle engine powered car with scratch-built chassis. |
 | Stock Car (Production-Based) Stock production car with modifications to run on dirt or asphalt surfaces. |
 | Stock Car (Scratch-built /Late Model) Stock car with scratch-built chassis and custom bodywork. |
 | Street Rod Stylized performance car built on a production car chassis. |
 | Supercar Very high performance street-legal car with a scratch-built chassis |
 | Touring Car Stock production sedan with modifications for road circuit racing. |
Further Research
If you wish to do your own research, Amazon also provides excellent information and reviews. If you wish to start with the full list of our researched books, you can find it in our Books section.