Anyone know where i Can get a downloadable 1980 c3 shop manual? I know i Can buy one but i want to download it to my IPAD

 

I have only heard of a CD Version: 1980 Corvette Service Manual On CD

Any other version would probably violate I.P. and copyright laws.

 

EBay normally has used Genuine Chevrolet Service Manuals listed at reasonable prices. I bought a second manual, as my first one is pretty worn after all the repeated use. I am guessing my manual is close to 50 years old!

 

I think as long as you are only using the derivative works for yourself alone and not distributing them (paid or unpaid) then you'd be fine. The CD sounds perfect – as long as the OP still has a drive!

 

This is correct. You can take media that you have purchased and convert it to another format (CD to .pdf in this case) for your own personal use.

 

Sometimes you have to question silly ideas, which no one has done here.

Why the insistence to have it on an iPad as opposed to hard copy (book), when they are readily available, cheap, and can be used indefinitely for the purpose intended without worrying about legality of the matter (as long as you aren't planning to make copies of the manual and distributing them). Way easier to flip through pages than try to view on an iPad all day. No recharging or getting grease all over it to worry about (or worse - dropping it, which will undoubtedly happen at some point - and a case won't always protect it depending on how it lands). Just get the book(s).

No reason to over-complicate things. This coming from an iPad user who is no stranger to tech - using it as a supplement to the shop manual is one thing, but using it AS the shop manual. Silly idea. We've already got phones and iPads attached to our hips 24/7 as it is - why become even more dependent?

And the CD concept is/was almost as silly, and is largely obsolete now and eventually will be relegated to the same bin of history as the laser disc, 3 1/2" floppy, 5 1/4" floppy, etc etc. I had no choice than to lug around a laptop in the garage years back when all I could get at the time were operators manuals on CD to service my Porsche 928. That sucked.... Lugging around an iPad in the garage, even with an accessory keyboard, isn't much better. Call me old fashioned, but I'll take a book over a PDF every time, and I'll use the iPad (or even my phone) to gather information not covered in the manuals from excellent forums like this, or elsewhere online.

Moreover, you can highlight important stuff with a marker and make notes (or add stickies) in the book with supplemental information - Try doing that with a read-only PDF.

 

I can see valuable uses for pdf versions of all sorts of our docs and manuals. In this specific regard, I tend to study the shop manual's instructions well before undertaking the job to ensure I have the required understanding and form a mental process for how it should go. Reading at night and while traveling are two instances that spring to mind when I'd rather not have the paper manual with me. (Realizing I could also merely print out the pertinent pages for travel, but then I might need to refer to some other portion of the manual in a rabbit-trail sort of way.) I agree though that when actually working on the job, I'd rather reference a complete, printed page and not have to scroll a screen with greasy fingers.

 

Good points - if a soft copy is used as an alternative in places where a hard copy may be inconvenient (low light situations - before bed, reading as a passenger in a car, etc, etc). But yes, in the shop/garage, the hard copy (book) is the way to go. I inferred from the OP's original post that that was not the intent. Rather, something to use instead of a book, NOT as a compliment to said book, and that is just a dumb idea. It's generally good practice to try and steer people away from boneheaded ideas when we can. We've all had 'em from time to time...

"...Anyone know where i Can get a downloadable 1980 c3 shop manual? I know i Can buy one but i want to download it to my IPAD..."