Pickup truck (Custom Off-road) Quick Start Learning Guide
Get started on your race car project today with this Quick Start Learning Guide to help you choose books that will provide the best initial value, information and guidance.
Tips On Choosing Books For a Custom Off-road Pickup
To build a fully capable custom off-road truck from a production pickup, it is important to have an understanding of how the truck will behave on the terrain you intend to drive it on. We suggest starting with a book on vehicle dynamics which offers insights not only into handling but also weight distribution effects as well. Some 4×4 books provide chapters on this topic, and for most people this will be sufficient. Special stage rally books or internet sites might provide some additional knowledge as well due to their shared multi-surface nature.
To help in planning and customizing/fabricating, you should look at books that teach chassis/suspension modifications (lift and articulation improvements for nimble handling), engine modifications if more power is needed, and other components that enhance the performance/recovery of the truck.
| Bodywork | |||
 Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair  (4.5 / 5)Provides instruction on repairing damaged and rusty bodywork. Covers tools, preparing/cleaning sheet metals, fabricating sections and patches, welding options, fitting and smoothing, metalworking and finishing. Get "Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair":    | |||
| Driving | |||
 4-Wheel Freedom: The Art Of Off-Road Driving (4.5 / 5)Teaches basics of 4 wheel drive vehicles and off-road driving techniques. Chapters on basics of 4 wheel drive, selecting a 4x4, customizing and upgrading, and off-roading techniques. Off-road techniques include crawling, hills, recovery/winching, snow, ice, mud, and crossing streams. Get "4-Wheel Freedom: The Art Of Off-Road Driving": | |||
| Fasteners/Joining | |||
 Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook  (5 / 5)Teaches how to use the correct fasteners and fastener materials. This book includes extensive information on fatigue properties, joints, mounts, and vehicle plumbing. Get "Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook": | |||
| Interior | |||
 Custom Auto Interiors (4.5 / 5)Step by step guide on creating custom auto interiors. Includes over 800 color photographs and instructions to guide builders through the process and techniques. Get "Custom Auto Interiors": | |||
| Materials/Fabrication | |||
 Metal Fabricator's Handbook  (4 / 5)Teaches welding techniques, metal forming, hammerforming and practical metal fabrication projects. Project include forming custom body panels, tanks, roll cages/safety cells and exhaust headers. Get "Metal Fabricator's Handbook": | |||
 Racer's Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers and Materials (5 / 5)Provides introductory and more advanced information about metals, metal fatigue, composite fibers and the uses of a wide variety of materials in race cars. Get "Racer's Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers and Materials": | |||
 Welder's Handbook : A Guide to Plasma Cutting, Oxyacetylene, ARC, MIG and TIG Welding (4 / 5)Teaches the essentials of fabricating with metals including metal properties, welding equipment, jigs, welding safety, brazing, cutting, and forming. The book goes into details on types of welding as well as consumables, fluxes and sample projects to practice with. Get "Welder's Handbook : A Guide to Plasma Cutting, Oxyacetylene, ARC, MIG and TIG Welding": | |||
| Powertrain | |||
 David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower (5 / 5)A guide to designing the engine as a system and constructing it to produce maximum horsepower. The design aspects use the airflow through each part of the engine as a basis for instruction. Provides detailed information on how to select, modify and tune each component to work at peak efficiency with others in the engine. Get "David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower": | |||
 High-Performance Differentials, Axles, and Drivelines (4.5 / 5)This book explains how to select and match driveline components to engine power output to minimize or eliminate driveline breakages. Also covers gear ratio selection, differential rebuilding and driveline components. Get "High-Performance Differentials, Axles, and Drivelines": | |||
 Performance Exhaust Systems: How to Design, Fabricate, and Install (4 / 5)Explains how to design and construct exhaust systems matched to the engine to optimize power. The book includes theory and practical design of the entire exhaust system (headers, resonators, catalytic converters, mufflers) and teaches how to fabricate or select and purchase the individual components to match the design. The book also shows metal working techniques for fabricating full-custom systems. Get "Performance Exhaust Systems: How to Design, Fabricate, and Install": | |||
| Suspension | |||
 4x4 Suspension Handbook  (3 / 5)This book provides readers and 4x4 designers with an understanding of the various types of 4x4 suspension systems in use. This study of the various types available from major manufacturers includes early and modern systems from Jeep, Toyota, GM, Dodge and Ford. Get "4x4 Suspension Handbook": | |||
 Four-Wheeler Chassis and Suspension Handbook (3 / 5)A compendium of articles presented in Four-Wheeler Magazine about 4x4 chassis and suspension how-tos and aftermarket suspension systems installations. The focus of the material is increased ground clearance and articulation. Get "Four-Wheeler Chassis and Suspension Handbook": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling | |||
 How to Make Your Car Handle (5 / 5)Teaches how to improve vehicle handling through suspension and chassis modifications and understanding vehicle dynamics. Includes basic suspension theory on roll centers, roll axis, camber change, bump steer, anti-dive, ride rate, ride balance as well practical chassis modifications. Get "How to Make Your Car Handle": | |||
 Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning (5 / 5)The fundamentals of race car vehicle dynamics in a clear, well-written text. Explains suspension, weight dynamics and vehicle handling behaviours in a way that permits the designer to understand cause and effect and improve their race car design, vehicle tuning and even driving. Get "Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning": | |||
| Whole Car (Design and Build) | |||
 Four-Wheeler's Bible (4.5 / 5)A guide to 4x4 vehicles, modifications, off-road driving techniques, handling emergencies, recovery techniques. Provides insights into preparation, controls, traction, and navigation. Get "Four-Wheeler's Bible": | |||
| Whole Car (Overview/History) | |||
 The Off-Road 4-Wheel Drive Book: Choosing, using and maintaining go-anywhere vehicles (4 / 5)Advice from a 30 year veteran of 4WD machines. Explains what to look for in off-road machines and which vehicles are best for various terrains and conditions. This book includes a catalog of vehicles as of its publishing date. It also includes information on driving in and recovering vehicles from hostile environments,and includes planning expeditions and survival techniques. This book could potentially be used to determine requirements for an offroad 4x4 machine build project. Get "The Off-Road 4-Wheel Drive Book: Choosing, using and maintaining go-anywhere vehicles": | |||
| Whole Car (Preparation) | |||
 Prepare to Win: The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Professional Race Car Preparation (5 / 5)Carroll Smith's guide to preparing a race car for competition. Includes information about fasteners, riveting and welding, basic metal working, plumbing , fuel safety cells, electrical, brake system, clutch, suspension, wheels, tires, engine and gearbox and more. Get "Prepare to Win: The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Professional Race Car Preparation": | |||
More Information
For complete information on the design and construction of the Pickup truck (Custom Off-road) race car type and a full listing of books and learning resources, see our Pickup truck (Custom Off-road) race car type article.
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