Suggestions for good basic intro to car mechanics books?

[FlaBoy]

Ok, tell me i dont have the coolest girfriend. She is asking me for car books for christmass. She doesnt know a damn thing about them, but wants to, especially since i am obsessed. So can anyone reccomend some good books that discuss the basics of auto-mechanics? Like, how a 4-stroke engine works, what some of the major systems are and how they work, things like that. Maybe some basics on performance. It doesnt need to be turbo-buick specific, jsut a general introduction to being a gear-head i guess. Shes a very smart girl, so they dont need to be dumbed down to grade-school level, but shes not in the math/engineering field, so if it reads like an engineering textbook it may be a little much. Any help would be aprreciated... i DEFINITELY want to encourage this behavior... imagine... no more having to explain to a girlfriend why i had to spend saturday working on my car... she could be here helping me!! Thanks in advance for any suggestions guys!

 

[gofstbuick]

I have a set of State of CA Clean Air Car Course training manual and Student Work book. It describes basic 4 stroke theory, basic forced induction, emission control system repairs, computerized engine controls, ignition, carburetion and fuel injection. I only have two sets and one is my personal copy. So I can send my extra set to you.

 

[John Larkin]

Let her read: http://www.howstuffworks.com . Buy her a visible V8 model and a nighty.