# Assembly Manuals??



## dan woodland (Jul 24, 2013)

Hi all,

I have a question for the guys doing a full on Conours restore or building a hot rod.

What do you use to rebuild your cars? Do you use the readily available assembly manual or something else? I ask because there are two available out there from places like Ames and others. Some sell a $20 version and some sell a $55 version saying it's MUCH better than the $20 version. Is there really that big a difference?

I'm not afraid to pay for the right tool but I have to find the right tool before I buy it.

Which brings up another question (because I'm new to rebuilding these era cars) - are there any tools needed/techniques used to work on these cars that you simply can't do the job without (what ever that job is)?

Thanks in advance, Dan


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## Red1970GTO (Jun 25, 2011)

*Books*

:cool I would NEVER, ever try to restore a car without the Assembly Manual (FAIM) and the shop manuals. I would have gone nuts without them. Some of the "How To" videos on You Tube are helpful, too.

The FAIM I got for my (1969) Chevelle was great -- some pages were a little washed out, but it is a great resource. The FAIM I got for my (1970) GTO is printed on high cotton content paper and the small print blurred -- I'm sure that's due to the high cotton content of the paper: More Expensive Does Not Always Mean Better. If you can look at the FAIM before you buy it...

Yes, there are specialized tools you'll need, but a lot of them can be rented or borrowed from O'Reilly's or an auto parts store in your area.


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## dan woodland (Jul 24, 2013)

Thanks Red...

I already bought the electronic service manuals from Detroit Iron so I'm good there. I'll be ordering the assembly manual soon, thanks for the info! Dan



Red1970GTO said:


> :cool I would NEVER, ever try to restore a car without the Assembly Manual (FAIM) and the shop manuals. I would have gone nuts without them. Some of the "How To" videos on You Tube are helpful, too.
> 
> The FAIM I got for my (1969) Chevelle was great -- some pages were a little washed out, but it is a great resource. The FAIM I got for my (1970) GTO is printed on high cotton content paper and the small print blurred -- I'm sure that's due to the high cotton content of the paper: More Expensive Does Not Always Mean Better. If you can look at the FAIM before you buy it...
> 
> Yes, there are specialized tools you'll need, but a lot of them can be rented or borrowed from O'Reilly's or an auto parts store in your area.


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## jmt455 (Mar 26, 2012)

dan woodland said:


> Thanks Red...
> 
> I already bought the electronic service manuals from Detroit Iron so I'm good there. I'll be ordering the assembly manual soon, thanks for the info! Dan


Do the Detroit Iron electronic manuals have exactly the same content as the printed Factory Service Manuals? 
I have never found an electronic service manual that equaled the FSM content...


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## dan woodland (Jul 24, 2013)

I haven't seen a paper FSM but the Detroit Iron looks like they are scanned copies of the OEM manuals.

I'll see If I can pull a page or two off the disc and post them here.

Dan



jmt455 said:


> Do the Detroit Iron electronic manuals have exactly the same content as the printed Factory Service Manuals?
> I have never found an electronic service manual that equaled the FSM content...


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