Picked up some factory manuals at Carlisle as a single bulk lot. Duplicates Id consider selling....

[ck80]

In no particular order.... it's kinda like a Manual, but, more of an oddity:

Begs the question, if you need an audio introduction to know how to work your car, wouldn't you need to hear the instructions on operating the radio before you could operate the radio to hear the instructions?

Next up, apparently they also made manuals with the purpose of teaching how to properly hook and tow pretty much every car line of a given year.

It's not about towing WITH your vehicle, it's how to tow the vehicles themselves. I wonder if it was for towing companies, or, dealerships?

Next got a couple owners manuals. Malibu ones I'll probably keep one for me and pass the others on:

A couple body Service manuals

Some eaton manuals

1970 and 1975 service manuals

Of all those, the Olds came as a bulk package, along with a plastic GM tub:

Of all those, a 1978, two 1979, a 1981, and the two 1984 Chassis Service manuals (not electrical) are spares against what I've already got so I'll be re-homing those.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Nice stash of info!

 

[ck80]

Nice stash of info!

Even better was a guy came running over to me about a dealership he bought out after id made the deal on these. He got all their stuff some years ago in MD, asked what kind of stuff I was interested in because he'd like to sell as many in one lot as he can, cheap, just to have them out of his way.

So, I may end up headed to the truck nationals at Carlisle in a few weeks so I can meet up with him and grab them. He's supposed to send me a list.

Some people like to Google, or find a pdf... when I'm working on something my hands are dirty or greasy. I don't like having left out on a table or touching electronics. Nothing beats paper.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I can say for sure that I would not be where I am in this 'hobby' without my factory manuals and tools. I make it a point to aquire the FSM for whatever I own, then I can deal with it intelligently. What pisses me off, is that around 2010 they stopped printing paper manuals. I detest CD manuals with a passion. I was even able to rebuild my Evinrude 48hp gearcase with the FSM, and I found all the special tools on Fleabay.

 

[ck80]

I can say for sure that I would not be where I am in this 'hobby' without my factory manuals and tools. I make it a point to quire the FSM for whatever I own, then I can deal with it intelligently. What pisses me off, is that around 2010 they stopped printing paper manuals. I detest CD manuals with a passion. I was even able to rebuild my Evinrude 48hp gearcase with the FSM, and I found all the special tools on Fleabay.

I obtained a .pdf manual for my s197 mustang out of necessity. It is over 5000 pages.

I think there are so many variations on parts coming from so many suppliers and so much BS to wade through they went electronic for that reason, necessity born of volume.

Strange thing though, sometime around the mid 1990s then to the late 1990s, the same.car, with roughly the same engine choices, options, etc, you look at the factory manual and it went from 1 volume, 2-3" thick, to two volumes, 2 inches thick each, then to 3 volumes, a total of 7 inches thick, all without a significant refresh/redesign.

I'm curious as to the why and how, and.never tried to figure out what got longer. But I suspect they had to start spelling more and more stuff out that was assumed in prior years, to where instead of writing in the style of 'always a', and, then if b ____, or if c ____, or if d ______. Maybe now it's if a +b, or a+c, or a+d...

Basically instead of only writing up 'a' once, they write the same thing over and over within each subpart because, less common sense, less ability.... eh. I dunno.

But these paper books, getting... I don't want to say harder to find since I can always locate them. But, there's less floating around that the gouges haven't gotten ahold of.

 

[Bonnewagon]

from 1 volume, 2-3" thick, to two volumes, 2 inches thick each, then to 3 volumes,

I can attest to that. Our 2005 Cobalt manual is two volumes, our 2008 Cobalt maual is three volumes. Each is Manhattan yellow pages thick. And LOTS of repetition.

 

[69hurstolds]

Even better was a guy came running over to me about a dealership he bought out after id made the deal on these. He got all their stuff some years ago in MD, asked what kind of stuff I was interested in because he'd like to sell as many in one lot as he can, cheap, just to have them out of his way.

So, I may end up headed to the truck nationals at Carlisle in a few weeks so I can meet up with him and grab them. He's supposed to send me a list.

Some people like to Google, or find a pdf... when I'm working on something my hands are dirty or greasy. I don't like having left out on a table or touching electronics. Nothing beats paper.

I had a few electronic pdf's for working on a 2002 Camaro. I found it very helpful to simply print out the page or two of info I needed for a particular job. Or from the newer manuals, just take a pic or two and print right from my phone. If I spilled crap on them or greased them up, so what? Next time, print out a fresh page or two. No messed up greasy manuals. I look at my well-worn 71 manual (which I had before computer days) and at my 85 manuals and it is night and day.

 

[ck80]

I had a few electronic pdf's for working on a 2002 Camaro. I found it very helpful to simply print out the page or two of info I needed for a particular job. Or from the newer manuals, just take a pic or two and print right from my phone. If I spilled crap on them or greased them up, so what? Next time, print out a fresh page or two. No messed up greasy manuals. I look at my well-worn 71 manual (which I had before computer days) and at my 85 manuals and it is night and day.

Flip side, when going through troubleshooting guides, or, looking stuff up, books are much easier on the eyes than screen time.

Except for some I bought from HEIM back when they still did paper stuff, probably 20 or 30 years ago now, everything of mine is reclaimed from dealerships.

When I pick up the manuals, it's always a bit of nostalgia when you think about who else used them 40, 60, 80 years ago.

 

[Bonnewagon]

No messed up greasy manuals.

This a badge of courage! Not to mention random blood stains. Sometimes I download a section from ALLDATA for something I'm working on but don't intend to keep. I really prefer leaning over a fender with the well used manual propped up on the air cleaner.

 

[69hurstolds]

This a badge of courage! Not to mention random blood stains. Sometimes I download a section from ALLDATA for something I'm working on but don't intend to keep. I really prefer leaning over a fender with the well used manual propped up on the air cleaner.

That's akin to saying you got oil, blood, and grease all over your velour seats and being proud to show as proof-positive that the car was being worked on.

But after I'm dead, the wife will be able to sell all those clean manuals for $20 instead of $5. Gotta think of her well-being going forward.

Gotta be careful. After a few blood stains, that torque spec of 125 lbs/feet might look like 25 lbs/feet and really ruin your day.