SHOP REPAIR MANUALS

GOING thru my hoard of books, I came across one that I found in a Booksale outlet years ago. What makes this book special is that it shows you how to do basic repair work on your car. Although this book was published in 1974 and was a European edition for all carbureted, non-EFI (electronic fuel injection) cars, the illustrations were very helpful in describing the components of an automobile: from a simple tune-up to a basic engine rebuild; and from different carburetors (Stromberg, Weber, Solex) to different manufacturers (Bosch, Nippon Denso and Lucas). I value this book very much because of the information it contains. I got to appreciate this book even further when I would watch the “Wheeler Dealers” show on cable TV and see them work on old European cars.

The thing here is if you are considering to try your luck at fixing cars, it would be wise to have a hoard books for reference. Nothing beats a good reference material. Yes, hands-on time is also important but reading about it before you start taking it apart can save a ton of headaches. And yes, you will break things and make mistakes when taking stuff apart. But that’s part of the learning process. There where times I would do a simple tune up, removing the distributor to make changing the contact point and setting the point gap easier. But after everything, when I turn the key the car would not start. That would certainly ruin my Saturday night.