By Wayne Scraba
Building, hot rodding, restoring or racing a car is only partly mechanical. An intimate knowledge of a given car is one thing, but when it comes time to disassemble a specific component, rework or restore it and then reassemble it, you'll often require more than simple mechanical skills. Quite a bit of the other work required is of the printed variety (paper and electronic – well get to that in a bit). Call it “Research & Reference”. While countless manuals, books and magazine articles have been written and printed on hot rodding, racing and restoration, few actually address the need for factory resource and reference material. When you get down to the greasy part, something a whole bunch deeper is usually required. So far so good, but what research and reference material do you really need?
Good bets include factory service publications, parts manuals, interchange manuals and if you can get them, reprints of factory assembly manuals (for GM enthusiasts, they’re called an “AIM”). Before you open a drawer on your toolbox, it’s a really (Really) good idea to ponder what follows. We’re primarily using GM reference material here, because that’s what the writer has access to. But similar materials (perhaps with different names) are available for Mopar and Ford vehicles too. Check it out:
Here’s a look at a GM Service Manual. Typically, these looked after adjustments along with less-involved repairs.
Service Manual…
Factory service manuals are published for pretty much each model year of cars built. In the case of GM, they sometimes have three very different manuals – Service Manuals, Overhaul Manuals and Fisher Body manuals. Later model cars from Ford and others used the same approach. These manuals aren’t exactly what you could consider as easy or light reading, but the Service Manuals deal directly with minor service procedures, vehicle maintenance and component adjustment. In addition, they also show the correct way to remove and replace various components and sub-assemblies. For example, a Chevy Service Manual for a specific year will cover all Chevrolet passenger cars and Corvettes (but no trucks, light duty or otherwise) for that given model year. Illustrations and re-touched photographs fill the publication, and so do descriptions of special tools required for various jobs. Body adjustment and service is included in a special section of these manuals. The "body" section deals with things like weather-stripping, lock adjustment, door settings, interior parts and myriad other items unique to the car in question. These books are definitely a big help helpful when you’re stripping and reassembling a specific part of the car.
The Overhaul Manual from GM for a specific model year and car brand was a bit more involved. Think of it as the “heavy lifting” book. You’ll need both a Service and an Overhaul manual. They’re used together.
Overhaul Manual…
Basically, the GM Overhaul Manual takes over where the Service Manual ends. It too is published for reach model year and make of the GM passenger car in question. The Overhaul Manual closely follows the repair and replacement of major components. Where the Service Manual looks at minor repairs and adjustment, this book examines the down and dirty hard jobs. To be truthful, this manual is designed for use in conjunction with the Service Manual. That means you’ll need them both. Just like the Service Manual, the Overhaul Manual is profusely illustrated. When working on a vintage GM car, these are a must have.
The GM Fisher Body Manual looks at (obviously) body-based repairs and adjustments. Typically, one Fisher Manual covered a range of GM products in a given model year.
Fisher Body Service Manual…
GM had one more manual that you may or may not need. That’s the Fisher Body Service Manual. It covers topics that aren’t touched in either the Service or Overhaul manuals. Similar to the other GM manuals, it is model year specific, but there’s a hitch when it comes to brands: Fisher Body Service Manuals for a given year cover all passenger cars (Chevrolet-Pontiac-Olds-Buick-Cadillac) except the Corvette and trucks. They cover vital topics such as trim removal; sheet metal and body part adjustment as well as soft-trim service. What’s neat about these books is the fact they often examine repair operations that will leave you scratching your head. As an example, GM may have included one type of molding clip on all vehicles. This manual will tell you how to remove and replace that clip. It might be generic, but it does show how the task is done.
Older GM manuals such as this 1957 job covered both Service and Overhaul procedures in one book.
You can actually buy many new (old) GM along with a lot of FoMoCo manuals direct from the original publisher (Helm, Inc.). Some of their available GM manuals go back to the mid-1930’s. Ford manuals go back to the early sixties or so (depending upon the model). Some manuals are available in print; others are on CD. You can search Helm, Inc. for manuals at the following link:
Helm Inc. Manuals (wide range of GM and small range of Ford)
For Mopars, choice isn’t quite as good. For early cars, a good bet to obtain vintage print manuals is a company called “Mopar Manuals”. They specialize in original Factory manuals for Chrysler and AMC products. Obviously, manuals come and go. You’ll have to check in with them to see what they actually have in inventory. Here’s a link to their website:
Mopar Manuals (vintage Mopar & AMC Manuals)
Later model manuals can be purchased online in CD format from the following (they also offer an online subscription service):
Tech Authority (typically the manuals range from 1981 and newer)
Chilton & Haynes Manuals have been the backbone of the hobby for decades. The good part about these manuals is that they can be purchased in model and model year versions. Basically, you buy (or download) the manual you need for your specific car.
Chilton, Haynes & Mitchell Manuals…
The repair aftermarket has (almost) always printed manuals for both professional shops and enthusiasts. Most of these manuals have been published by the folks at Chilton, Haynes and Mitchell Auto Repair. These are typically great manuals (the consumer editions are usually written in very plain English and they’re easy to understand). For older cars, you can purchase a hard copy manual or you can subscribe to an electronic service to view (and potentially download) the manual online. For many later model cars, you can also obtain the manual in CD format. As a heads up, Mitchell Manuals were usually the “bible” of the corner service station, but today, they offer all sorts of manuals for the DIY bunch (us!).
So far so good, but where do you find these online manuals? It’s easy. Just point your browser to one of the following links:
Chilton Online Manuals (wide range from 1940 to present)
Haynes Online Manuals (wide range)
Mitchell Manuals (later models 1983 and newer)
For old (some really old) GM cars, there’s a cool website where many of the original manuals have been scanned and uploaded. You can view and obviously, download the manuals for free. Here’s the link:
Old Car Manual Project (early Chevy Manuals 1912 to 1955 approximately)
Whew. As you can see, there are actually plenty of resources out there for service and repair manuals. But we’re not quite done yet! In our next issue, we’ll look at some of the more obscure publications you might find useful when building a car. Stay tuned!