Ken,
Toured Jack Kane's website. And then I remembered who he is, from his AETC presentation. He is a very knowledgeable and competent guy, the information on his site is "AAAA". He too, has a suggested reading reference list, larger than my list, but, interstingly enough, his list contains most of the books I recommend. Reference Library, Section 5, Engines & Turbomachinery.
By all means, use Jack Kane's list. But start with the recently published books by Bettes & Baechtel, also very knowledgeable guys. Then move on to the classics, and finish with the collegiate level texts. Yes, I know it's a lot of reading & comprehension. It's the price you pay for entry.........
Class, if you want to go fast, you really need to buy the books on the reading list. Library? No way, they want the book back. If your copy isn't dog eared then you haven't read it enough times.
I could not have said it better Dean.
A note on libraries: My local library (in Podunkville, south of the "Cheddar Curtain"
) has NONE of the books on my list. My sister-in-law, Marion the Librarian at a larger, regional library, searched the whole regional library system for the list. Only found 2 titles in reference only sections, which means those books can't be loaned out, only read at that library. The collegiate level texts MAY be available for loan at a collegiate library in a college town somewhere, but don't count on it. Unfortunately, this is pretty esoteric subject matter.
If you have chosen some "oddball" powerplant to be the centerpiece of your LSR project, then you have to accept that almost everybody else will not care about your trials & tribulations. You have to chose to either be able to do the "cipherin'" yourself or have someone like Jack Kane do it for you. And that's BEFORE you start whittlin' out any specialized parts you need..........
If you chose to race something common, such as the ubiquitous small block Chevy, you still need to understand the concepts and be able to do the math. And that's just to be able to sort through the GIANT amounts of parts available, ALL for differing applications............
OR, you can purchase a complete powerplant from a proven competent builder/tuner, that works also. I guess it depends on whether you fancy yourself as an engine guy or a chassis guy.
Last thought. There are some very knowledgeable people on this forum, who are typically willing to lend a hand, if asked. I'm too new to know everyone, but there are people who have been around a long time who can point you in the right direction.
Fordboy