it's occurred to me that i've been collecting old repair manuals and automotive engineering books without realizing i was collecting them. the first set was a gift many moons ago... American Technical Society, Automobile Engineering, printed in 1920. reading these is like stepping back in time... then the most recent that i picked up at an old hardware store... from 1956... the illustrations, detailed schematics, subject matter... all so appealing to me. finding them in good condition is kinda tough. the last one is in rough condition with water damage, greasy fingerprints, some pencil writing... in other words: character. love these old books...
Yea I'm with you, I started collecting these sort of books as well without realising how many I had actually ac***ulated.They are an amazing source of information from a time that was much simpler and anyone with a few mechanical skills could use the info found in them to fix/maintain their car. Unlike modern cars where you open the hood to find a maze of plastic, wires and hoses and need to be a rocket scientist to make head to toe of it.. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Guess that makes me a rocket scientist(dealership mechanic/technician by trade) I do have a couple of interesting books I could add to this thread, one is a factory workshop manual for dodge/plymouth/desoto cars from (I think) 47 to 54 and a book produced by ford aimed at small workshops/service stations which says how to service the cars and trucks produced between 1932 and 1942. I'll get some scans when I get a chance. interested in seeing more.
I have a pretty good ***ortment as well, same deal, picked up a book here and there. People give them to me, I see them at garage sales and on eBay too.
I have a file cabinet full of manuals and parts books but seem to use the internet mostly for my questions now.. What do we do with all these books???
yeah, I can't say I use the manuals for much actual information... but little things from time to time (torque specs/tightening sequence) they're sometimes handy. the 1920s books are just plain rad, though. babbitt bearing techniques, forging, steam engine tuning...
Have several ****s manuals a couple of motors and I believe every one of floyd clymers s**** books One thing i found interesting is how early they were experimenting with roller lifters, here is a diagram from my 1921 printing ****s.
I have a few Motor Manuals from 1955, 1963. 1975. and a few from the 80s. They cover 10 years so for example, the 63 manual covers 1953 cars to 1963 cars. Forgot that I also have a 1970 edition.
collecting them too but still use them for reference at times to see the old school way of doing things , plus I have my college books and some SAE papers I had to use for references for papers I had to write , its kind of neat how things have changed over 100 years .
I have to dig up my copy of The Universal Sheet Metal Pattern Cutter, which shows how to lay out ducts and all such sheet metal work, but also auto bodies of the flat radiator era. Never thought that part of it would come in handy, though I've used it for layout help on wellheads and wine presses, and prison windows, a**** other things.
I love my Motors Manuals. I have selected ones that covers the decades. It's not how much you remember but can you look up the question rapidly. Firing order and dist. rotation is always a question when not working on a SBC.
I've got a couple of old Motors Manuals, a '71 and another a little newer. The prize is the late 60s Hollander interchange manual I scored cheap at an auction years ago. Pure gold.
Here's one that was going to get thrown away-it's a ripper, and they reckon that the valve-in head is just a p***ing fad! I had a LARGE collection of shop manuals, handbooks, service bulletins, etc for cars, trucks, tractors, motorbikes, outboards, etc., that I had been collecting for about 40 years. Anything that ran on gas or diesel. One day I looked at it all and thought "I"ll probably never have to set the points on a Hillman minx or do the wheel bearings on a Hodaka motorbike", so most of it went all around the world on Evilbay. I just kept the Australian, U.S. and a couple of foreign manuals, because that's all I play with now anyways. I still have a couple hundred!
Who doesn't collect old books.... not long after I started my apprenticeship my boss told me to clean out some lockers in the lunch room... this was the late 70s.. there were 2 dusty old boxes hidden in the bottom of one of the lockers.... I wiped the dust off, opened them, two folders of G.M. dealer service bulletins ranging from early 60s to late 60s. I think there were 4 or 5 service manuals and some other miscellaneous literature... my eyes popped... (I had started on my first hot rod by then, an old 35 Chev roadster) .... the boss was pretty cool, he said what ever you find you can have.. Well over the years most of the stuff has gone but I still have a service manual for a 1963 Chev a**** my collection of old books. Glenn
I bought a couple different Motors Manuals, 1958 and 1964, over the years.. I recently bought a 53 Dodge Hemi and the 1958 Motors Manual had a lot of useful info, and answered a lot of questions.
The Jalopy Journal
