Shop Manuals

[Joe_Pinehill]

Any recomendations on buying a shop manual? Bentley, Haines. or the CD that Victoria British?

 

[Joe_Pinehill]

Forgot, I have a 78 Spit

 

[Flinkly]

i've always used haynes with my vehicles, even my gt6, and while they walk you through everything, they leave out some steps and pictures. so as long as you have some experience, it should be just fine.

Bentley as i understand it includes the official triumph workshop manual as well as owners handbooks and things of that nature.

as far as the cd's, i think it just incorporates the bentley book in pdf format, so if you do need a hardcopy in the shop, you can print what you need, but i'd rather get a book oily than have to get a laptop oily. you could always send it to kinko's and get your own book bound while having a copy in case the printed version spontaneously combusts.

when it comes to money and experience, i'd just get a haynes.

 

[bash]

Hi Joe

I have a TR6, so it might be a bit different, but the Haynes manual is nowhere near as good as the Bentley. The pictures in Haynes should be very useful, but everything I look at seems to be a picture from some other car. I still think it is good to have as many manuals as possible, though - you never know when one will have a picture that makes everything clear!

The usual parts people charge over $50 for a Bentley manual, but I was surprised to find that Amazon carries them both, and you can have both the Haynes and Bentley, shipped for under $50. Just a thought.

Alistair

 

[Harry_Ward]

Bently.

 

[jsneddon]

I'd say mostly Bentley. There are a few things in the Haynes manual that are a good addendum to the Bentley but for a first manual I'd go with the Bentley. The Haynes would be a good second addition to your collection.

Haynes writes really good step-by-step dismantling instructions but the illustrations aren't as good and I find that if I don't quite get the gist of the factory instructions I can re-read them in Haynes as a kind of re-interpretation of what the factory was trying to say and then it starts to make sense.

 

[billspit]

The big problem with the Haynes manual for Spitfires is that there were a lot of changes over the last years in wiring and emmissions and the book tries to cover them all.

 

[tomshobby]

I have a few but mostly use the Bently and really like it. When I had my TR4 I had a hardcover manual that was light brown or tan and a little more than a half inch thick as I remember. I would like to find another just for old times but I do not remember who's it was.

 

[jsneddon]

I believe it's a Clymer Tom. It's sitting in my Dodge in the parking lot right now and I'll go take a look on my break. Pretty good little book with some awesome troubleshooting flowcharts.

yes...

#1. I'm such a Triumph Dork that I read manuals in my car on my lunch break.

#2 I'm such a Triumph Dork that I have a TR4 manual that belonged to my Dad when he had a light blue one in 1970.

#3 I'm such a Car Dork that I keep every manual of every car I've owned and a few that I got from buddies when they sold their cars since I was the one doing all the work for them anyway. Some day that AMC Matador Chilton's is going to be worth something like $8. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[tomshobby]

I think these cars are fascinating because of their high degree of both simplicity and function. Reading about them and their maintainence is a journey back in time, and I think to a better place. It was a time when cars were both necessity and fantasy. They also seem more real because we can actually lay our hands on these cars and feel intertwined in the magic they exude. Not at all like the "jelly bean" generation of cars.

 

[Guest]

[ QUOTE ]
I think these cars are fascinating because of their high degree of both simplicity and function. Reading about them and their maintainence is a journey back in time, and I think to a better place. It was a time when cars were both necessity and fantasy. They also seem more real because we can actually lay our hands on these cars and feel intertwined in the magic they exude. Not at all like the "jelly bean" generation of cars.

[/ QUOTE ]


Talk like that should be on the MG forum.....


Bill

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi,

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif I agree that a Bentley manual is most likely the best, primary source of info. It's a very complete reprint of the factory service manual. (I don't have Spitfire book yet, but do have several other Triumph Bentley manuals and they are all good.)

There are some good arguments in favor of getting one or more of the other manuals (Haynes, Chilton and Autobook are three I have for various models). For one thing, these are often useful with info of how to do repairs using common tools, rather than "special factory tools". The factory manual virtually always directs you to use this, that or the other special factory tool that the service department or an authorized repair facility might be expected to have on hand, but most of the rest of us certainly won't have available.

Some of the Bentley manuals can be a little confusing with all the info they contain. For example, the GT6 reprint tries to cover all three models of the car, and has sub-sections devoted to each within each major repair section, but only in cases where there are differences between the models. There are also reprints of the Mark I, GT6+ and Mark III owner's manuals (which have a lot more repair and service detail than the typical owner's manual). It's obvious reading some sections that there was a version that dealt with Mark I and Mark II differences, written before the Mark III was produced. So it refers "GT6" and "Other than GT6", which often should be interpreted as meaning Mark I and Mark II (aka GT6+). Then it's a matter of looking to see if there is further information regarding Mark III, or trying to sort out if "Other than GT6" means Mark III as well. In other places the info has obviously been re-written to reflect the differences between all three models. It can be a bit confusing! But, so long as you are aware of this, you can sort it out.

I would bet a comprehensive Spitfire manual would also be crowded with this sort of thing, since there were more variants of the car and the production timeline was so much longer than GT6! It might be worthwhile to try to get the specific, original manual for your car, if at all possible. I've had good luck picking up a few of these off auction sites and Amazon. On the other hand, it can be useful to know about changes to the cars, from one variant to the next.

The factory spare parts manual is an excellent supplement, too. Reprints of these do not necessarily follow the same pattern as the service manuals. For example, TR4 and TR4A service manuals are combined into one Bentley reprint. However, the spare parts manuals are two separate books.

The major vendor catalogs are also quite useful. Moss and Vicky Brit have lots of illustrations and "exploded views", but each have their own, unique parts numbering systems. Rimmer Bros. and Revington TR generally use original factory numbers. The Roadster Factory overall doesn't produce comprehensive catalogs, but does use the original parts numbers. (TRF does print smaller "glovebox" parts catalogs, but these are somewhat limited to the most common parts. They have a more fully detailed "Spitfire 1500" catalog, too, that I'm aware of.)

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[DNK]

You have a PM

 

[jerrybny]

Bentley all the way

 

[vettedog72]

If you are allowed only 1 book then get the Bentley. But a note of causation, there are not enough books on the market to tell an amateur how to do any and every thing to a Triumph. Pick up every one you find and you will still be back to BCF asking for advise. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif