On 21 Mar 2004 at 14:50, Michael Hargreave Mawson wrote:
> No, Haynes' Manuals are not that good. They are certainly not as
> useful (or as user-friendly) as a factory manual.
Hmm. I beg to differ. My experience has always been that the Haynes
manuals are excellent for most of the things a non-professional
mechanic would want to do with a modestly equipped toolbox and modest
garage space. Or to put it another way, if you have to ask, your
experience level is such that the Haynes manuals are great. The
"excessive" or not-quite-complete descriptions may be hard to follow
at times, but at least they exist and are helpful for the first time
you do something. By comparison, the Bentley "Factory" manuals are
cryptic and terse, if more thorough for some things. I've used both
in my small garage or in the driveway or by the curbside. Many a
time when starting a new task I've been left puzzled by the Haynes
one-picture-too-few descriptions only to find that the Bentley manual
said nothing at all as if I'm supposed to know how to do it already.
There are some jobs I've never done myself, such as disassemble a
diff or gearbox (at least, not on purpose!), but for most other
things the Haynes manuals have been great. I actually owned the
Bently manual for the Spitfire for years before I ever found
something I needed it for. Now, there certainly are manuals you
should run away from (I've seen significant errors in Clymer manuals,
for example). The Haynes books are not a problem.
Just my opinion.
--
Jim Muller
jimmuller@pop.rcn.com
'80 Spitfire, '70 GT6+
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