I want to design an engine but I don't know where to start. I've looked around the internet but they only show how they work and not how their designs were arrived at. Someone please point me in the right direction... a book, website anything

You won't find any designs for engines. Most engines that have been designed are protected by a patent that is renewed every 50 years. You will have to pick someone's brain and arrive at a completely new design.

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Originally Posted by tickle

Most engines that have been designed are protected by a patent that is renewed every 50 years.

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Not quite true. Patents are valid for 20 years max from date of filing, not 50, and after that they cannot be renewed. But it is true that engine design is proprietary, so not generally available. Just as you can't find design information for an Apple iPhone on line, you won't find plans for the Corvette LT4 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine on line either.

It might help if you explained what your goal is here. Furst - what kind of engine are you interested in (model airplane, weed trimmer, lawn mower, garden tractor, automobile, truck, aircraft, space shuttle)? If it's for the automobile industry -are you looking for info on how basic parameters are arrived at, such as number of cylinders, displacement, naturally-aspirated versus turbo or supercharger? Much of those decisions are market driven, based on the parameters of the car that the engine is going into. Clearly the goals for an engine in a Prius are very different from the goals for an engine in a freightliner truck - parameters such as power, fuel economy, available space in the vehicle, weight considerations, and manufacturing cost all drive these decisions. Or are you truly looking to design an engine from scratch, with plans suitable for manufacture - engine block, pistons & rods, cam shaft(s) crank shaft, lifters, cooling, oil, turbo/supercharger. etc? If you have a design firm available with 10-15 engineers, plus a few million dollars for prototypes, tooling, testing, CAD software, test labs, etc you could probably have it done in a few years time.

Do you have the educational back ground for such an endeavor or the experience that would guide you? Design requires many calculations. Can you do that?

Here's a sight,

How to Design an Automotive Engine | eHow

There is much advanced knowledge you need unless you are some kind of genius.