Haynes Manuals

[sierraman]

Tell us about your most memorable Haynes manuals or the scarcest ones?

[MarvinsMom]

i seem to have ended up with Hayes book full of lies for most of the cars i've owned.

 

VW mark 2 polo, mark 2 ford sierra, austin metro and maestro, the Rover 25 and the Rover 75 and all 3 ones for the real mini (mini 1969 on, mini restoration manual, mini renovation manual) that last one is i think the most applicable to my mini. as it is written very much with the MPi ones in mind, which are barely covered in any of the other titles!

 

sadly there is not one for the Lexus and there isn't one for the Jaguar X300,  apart that Lexus didn't sell that many LS400 in this country, and the typical lexus owner wouldn't be getting their hands dirty, the thickness of the book would have to be huge, there is so much fancy odds and sods on one of them to start with!!

 

they are all used too, so have grubby pages though i do try my very hardest to make sure that the books don't get all messed up. a bit against the whole idea of the book, but i want to keep the books in "nice" condition.

 

stupid or what!!

[Timewaster]

I was told years ago that when you buy a second hand car, ask if they have a HBOL.

They will usually throw it in gratis and you can tell what trouble they have had with the car from the dirty pages!

[bunglebus]

I used to have dozens, all for stuff I liked so mainly old Fords and air cooled VWs. A few years ago I decided it was better to only keep things that related to cars I still owned so I sold off stacks of stuff, I had all sorts of weird and wonderful manuals including Australian ones and a proper MK2 Escort book that the dealers used.

Haynes used to be good but the later ones get right on my tits with the layout, having to refer to X/Y/Z section rather than the whole repair in one place - all to save money but very annoying when you're actually doing the job.

[AlabamaShrimp]

The one for the Frontera is a joke. It covers both every model of the mk1 and 2 so there's very little detail and even fewer relevant pictures.

[red5]

You know who I am don't you? And what I do ?   

 

 

My collection of old, soft shell,line-drawing versions. Love them.

[bunglebus]

The drawing on the MK2 Escort Haynes manual cover has keyholes on the rear door handles.

[sierraman]

I have a Datsun Cherry Manual in the loft, I’m convinced there are more Haynes manuals for Cherries than actual Datsun Cherry’s.

[CreepingJesus]

I've got a big load of old 60s/70s ones my dad's mate gave me years ago. Mostly Fords and Vauxhalls, the type you'd use for taxis, which was what Tom was doing.

Only recently when I was preparing them to go on the 'bay, did I find some old receipts in a few. They're for parts bought around Kirkcaldy, and on closer inspection it seems he was involved with a garage in Leslie: I'd no idea he'd lived in Fife! Strange the social history that sometimes pops out of these things.

[timolloyd]

I've always thought the thickness of the manual was often due to how long Haynes had been covering a particular model, rather than the complexity of the car.

 

My classic Mini manual was one of the thickest I've seen from them, because, I think, they kept adding layers of detail so that by the 90s the latest edition covered all sorts of detailed and relatively minor differences. Whereas the manual I bought for my 2nd gen Prelude was worryingly thin. Then again, it wasn't needed because Honda etc etc

[AlabamaShrimp]

You know who I am don't you? And what I do ?

 

 

My collection of old, soft shell,line-drawing versions. Love them.

Yeah but it was cheap and I'm not going to ask you stupid stuff like what oil does it take!

 

(Saying that the seal on the diff still leaks what bit do I need? )

[Timewaster]

The drawing on the MK2 Escort Haynes manual cover has keyholes on the rear door handles.

My God! So it does!

 

And yes, I did just waste 20 minutes on google images.

 

See username.

[sheffcortinacentre]

I have one for every ford they cover upto 2000 except there isnt one for the thames 400e or the frogeye Scorpio as far as i know.

 

For the mk3/4/5 cortina I have just about any brand sold in the UK & a full set of factory ones for the UK & Australia but cannot get hold of the south African ones (unless anyone can help).

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I still have the Haynes Mark 1 Mexico/RS1600 manual my Dad bought in 1974. It has a clear outer covering that some of them had.

[Alusilber]

The HBOL for the 924 is quite annoying, as it is mostly based on early US-spec models, with a "supplement" chapter at the back covering UK-spec cars and later ones. And it doesn't cover the 924S at all.

[Noel Tidybeard]

they still don't do a manuel for nissan primevil p12 3001-2006

[red5]

Yeah but it was cheap and I'm not going to ask you stupid stuff like what oil does it take!

 

(Saying that the seal on the diff still leaks what bit do I need? )

 

10/40 mineral or 'semi' synthetic in the engine, gearbox and transfer box.

 

Leaking from the 'front' where the propshaft goes or the rear?

[twosmoke300]

If my memory serves me correctly the hbol for the Citroen bx shows the battery tray / support as being bolted on - it bloody well isn't it's welded and this makes quite a big difference to doing a clutch !

Must get pre production cars I guess

[AMC Rebel]

When I was buying a lot of them there was a section in the middle showing how to bodge up a dent repair in the rear wing of a MK2 Escrote in the area near the rear light - this appeared in loads of them as an example.  Imagine my surprise when I bought a HBOL for a MK2 Essy and that section actually had a different type of car pictured in it.

[sierraman]

I’ve got about 20 manuals at home, I just like reading them, the exploded drawings, fascinating.

 

The Sierra Manual was quite thick as well which is probably due to the variety of models as opposed to any sort of technical complexity. The Autodata manuals used to be quite good as well.

[Parky]

When in NZ I got hold of a Haynes book for my "Microwave" back Civic from the UK. Waste of time really as the NZ (ex Japan) models had so many detail differences, the book wasn't very handy. I couldn't even get consensus on what oil it should take

[sierraman]

The "facelift" HBOLS just tell you to take the car to the dealer for anything more complicated than topping up the washer fluid.

I’ve looked in them they still include stripping engines down, though you’d have to be an absolute masochist these days stripping an Insignia engine down at the kerbside.

[mercrocker]

Haynes books as social history documents?

 

 

Seeing a clutch of them on a car boot sale stall is often quite a sad little tale of one man's life.... 

 

Morris Minor, early issue plain blue cover, pages falling out, full of greasy fingerprints and many annotated pencil remarks 

"NOT like this....Remove tie rod FIRST" etc. 

 

BLMC 1100/1300 (Mk1,2,&3).   Much the same as above, slightly better condition. 

 

Morris Marina (1.3 Saloon, Coupe and Van). By now, just greasy page edges but still plenty of finger-prints in the Engine section.

What look like small blood-stains on the "Body and Trim" pages.   

  

Mazda 323 (Front Wheel Drive).  The odd tea stain but very little in the way of oil or grease.

Random part references and dealer phone numbers scribbled on front page. 

 

Honda Jazz.  (2002-2008)     Inscription on front page reads "Happy 70th Birthday, Grandad"  together with a shakily-written set of tyre pressures.   Otherwise absolutely pristine and un-read.

[bunglebus]

When I was buying a lot of them there was a section in the middle showing how to bodge up a dent repair in the rear wing of a MK2 Escrote in the area near the rear light - this appeared in loads of them as an example.  Imagine my surprise when I bought a HBOL for a MK2 Essy and that section actually had a different type of car pictured in it.

Is it a Talbot?

[rovamota]

You just don't see Haynes manuals fading on the rear parcel shelf anymore.

[Mr A Lawrence]

I own 2 cars that don't feature Haynes manuals so they can FRO!!

 

Haynes, not my cars.

[twosmoke300]

Haynes manuals - any resemblance to any vehicle ever made is purely coincidental

[spike60]

I still have the Haynes Mark 1 Mexico/RS1600 manual my Dad bought in 1974. It has a clear outer covering that some of them had.

I sold one of these a few years ago, fetched good money from someone in Germany.