I'm looking to purchase some of the generally-recommended literature before I dive headfirst into working on my 76. I know I need to get an owners manual and AIM, at a minimum. My question is, regarding the AIM which is generally considered the better buy: the printed book or the CD? I realize with the CD I could just print the pages I need, but if the book is printed at a higher quality than a typical household printer can accomplish I would think it the better buy.

Further, what other books and/or books-on-cd are generally recommended? I've read that the different shop manuals can also be useful, as well as certain books on rebuilding/tuning the Quadrajet.

Thanks.

 

I have both the CD and printed AIM. 2 printed copies in fact. Between the two, most pages are acceptable print quality. But not all pages. The advantage to the CD is the ability to search. Searching the paper books can be daunting. Once you locate a page or pages on the CD, you can easily find them on the paper copy and either use them directly or make copies that can be soiled in the shop.

None of the AIMs I have seen are top quality. They were binders used in the factory and what buy are copies of copies of copies, etc. Nobody seems to have pristine examples.

I have the Chevrolet Chassis Service Manual, MUCH better than Chilton's or other secondary manuals. You can get the service manual from most Corvette vendors, or from Helm, Inc.

If you like to overhaul components like alternators, starters, p/s pumps or steering gear, etc., get the Chevrolet Chassis Overhaul Manual. More pricy than the service manual, but money well spent if you use it to fix components.

 

The GM Shop manual (10 times better than Haynes/Chilton) for your specific year is a necessity! I bought a reproduction shop manual for about $30-40....all my manuals paid for themselves the first week that I used them!

There are some very detailed transmission rebuild paperback books with pics of every step of the rebuild-----worth every penny/same thing with carb books........shop around and compare---usually around $30 for a really good trans or carb manual.

 

Thanks for the input gentlemen. Also, Doorgunner I've seen through various other threads that you served at one point. Thank you for your service. If I ever meet you and forget to shake your hand, please slap me.

I'm not exactly a mechanic, nor do I have much experience doing this kind of thing. I'm more the type to let a service shop deal with things because they know more than I do and are better at it. That said, I want to learn how to do a lot of this myself, both to expand my skills and to save my wallet from labor fees. I know I'm going to need more than just the AIM and Owners Manual.

PeteZO6, you suggest the Chassis Service Manual. What uses does it typically cover? The Overhaul Manual is probably beyond my present skill set.

Doorgunner, you suggested the Shop Manual. Is that the "66-82 Corvette Shop Manual" or the 74 Shop Service Manual with 75 and 76 supplements? The Service Manual and Supplements are easily going to run more than $100 total from the various vendors. That's a lot of money, at least to me. Money I'd rather put into parts that make the car better. But if those Service Manuals and Supplements are unbelievably useful, then perhaps I should bite the bullet and get them.

I almost wish there was a little chart of all the different books, ordered by their approximate 'necessity'.


I want to be clear here that I am not trying to avoid buying books: ideally I'd own them all. But I feel like I'm in a catch-22 here: my car needs parts, but I don't know how to put them on. If I buy the books to learn how to put them on, I don't have the money for the parts... This wouldn't be a problem if my car wasn't driven often. But right now I drive it as much as I can so I have this urge to get parts asap.

 

I didn't get the $100 manual....I bought the.....let me find it.......

year specific for my car (it also included other models).......1968 Chassis Service Manual (Chevrolet/Chevelle/Camaro/ChevyII/Corvette)

Being a rookie.....it helps me a lot.....I removed any pages that pertained to other models to make flipping thru it easier (I had to make sure the back side of each page didn't contain Corvette info before I removed the page with an exacto knife)

 

For awhile, GM offered year specific Service Manuals, covering all Chevrolet cars, with specific instructions for each car line including Corvette. I think later they offered a Corvette manual covering several up years of Corvette only. Any Chevrolet publication, is far superior to Chilton's or Haynes.

You're an engineer, you know knowledge is power. You have an old car that will always need work. With the manuals and help from this forum, you can learn how to keep your Corvette running like it was designed to do.

None of us were born with the knowledge and skills to keep our cars running, we learned how. Official GM publications are the text books you need to learn your skills. Even if you have the work done by shops, when you have the knowledge, you can direct them and correct them if they go off on tangents.


Pete

 

Wise words Pete. I guess I just need to keep in mind that some on this forum have been working on their cars for years: I shouldn't be in such a rush. I just want to make sure I get the right stuff, since all these manuals are sold as "not returnable" for obvious, piracy-related reasons.

These were the 3 printed books that, combined, cost over $100. 74 Service Manual, 75 Supplement, 76 Supplement. I suppose I really do need all 3: the 76 supplement would (I would think) only contain the changes from the previous edition rather than being a complete reprint. Add to that a 76 owners Manual and a printed 76 AIM and I'm looking right at $135 in books. I guess education didn't stop being expensive after college, did it?

Oh well, maybe a few paydays from now I'll be able to get a park brake handle and have the know-how to actually install it without having to disassemble the entire car.

 

You just reminded me of another important thing!

If you get the manuals first......by the time you save enough money to buy the parts and receive them...........

"You'll know how to install them!"


(It's like being a Politician.......Only in reverse!")

 

Funny how things stack up and keep you from getting things done...

I finally got around to ordering the manuals, so they should be here in a few days. I ended up getting an Owners Manual, AIM with binder, 74 Service Manual and 76 Supplement. Thanks again for your input, guys.

I mentioned above that I almost wished there was a chart of recommended literature. Since I couldn't find one I've decided to make a list myself. I'd appreciate your input when I get it posted.

As an aside, while trying to decide which books to get I found a 76 Service manual supplement on ebay with pictures of the intro page, which says:
So, that's good news for others with 1976 Corvettes; there's no need to buy the 75 supplement as well, just the 74 manual and the 76 supplement. I thought others might find that useful.

 

I enlarged the diagram(s)/joined them together/spent a few hours with colored markers (no crayons---the ends wear down too fast).....and re-did the wiring diagram that pappawanna e-mailed me by tracing the black lines with the proper color markers...

then I laminated it so I can clean it with a soapy cloth when needed. It will stay with the car through the build process (and probably always).

It is now about a foot by 2 feet in size and rolls up easily for storage. (You can buy one on E-Bay for 20 bucks...but I enjoyed the DIY and spent my $20 on the colored markers

 

Kris, Go to Doc Rebuild and get the exact wiring diagram for your car. You will Thank me later. It is a laminated diagram with color of wires and actual photos of the plug ends. This is must have if Bubba worked on your car and did some rewiring or disconnecting and left things hanging. Good Luck

 

Doorgunner, the first thing I did after joining here was ask Papawana for a wiring diagram, which he was kind enough to provide. I'll be doing the same as you, printing it out and coloring the wires for easy ID. However, since I'm horribly near-sighted I'm going to have a local print shop print the diagrams on 24"x36" paper; I like stuff big and easy to read. After I color them they'll be laminated and likely hung on the wall in my garage for easy access.

Harris1507, thanks for the heads up on Dr. Rebuild. Having pictures of the appropriate plugs would certainly prove handy. I will look into getting a diagram from him later if it appears Bubba has seriously molested my wiring. Right now I want to see if I can make due with the reference materials I have, as I am quite eager (understatement) to get some things worked on. But I certainly will keep an open mind about getting more references later.

Thanks again guys.