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1970 Cutlass Manuals...Which ones do I need

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Old Nov 1, 2018 | 12:50 PM
  #1  
jpatfarrell's Avatar
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1970 Cutlass Manuals...Which ones do I need

I just purchased a 1970 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. Hopefully it will arrive early next week.

It is a project car in need of a lot of restoration.

Haven't worked on restoring a car for over 20 years so I am excited about getting into this project.

Which manuals would be recommended to help with this restoration?

I've found an "Oldsmobile Chassis Service Manual" by GM for $69 and also a "1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass/442 Assembly Manual" for $28 for sale online.

Are either of these or both what I will need?

Any advice on which manuels will be most beneficial and sources for the manuals would be most appreciated.

thanks,

Pat
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 01:01 PM
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Pat, service manual for sure and the assembly manual. Fisher body manual would help. Learn to search this forum for other information. That should give you a good start.
Wayne
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 01:09 PM
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I do sell the 1970 A-body PIM (aka assembly manual) for just a bit more than $28.00 but there is a difference in quality of printing.
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 01:18 PM
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The Chassis Service Manual is a must! You can buy them online in either a CD or hard copy form. Personally, I'm old school. I like the hard copy. Something that I can actually put my hands on and open up under the hood while I'm working on my '71.
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 01:29 PM
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Pat,

The two manuals you mentioned are the two I purchased as well and are very useful.

Now a word of caution....try to find an original Chassis Service Manual.....much better than the reprints. I bought a reprint then later found an original and it is far superior. Now I have both!

Next...the Assembly Manual (or PIM as it’s called for Oldsmobile).... Spend the extra money and get your PIM from Hairy Olds. I just ordered a copy last week....should be here if a couple of days. I bbought the $28 reprint on line and it’s junk! 114 of just over 400 pages are poorly printed, many so bad I cannot read the key details.

Good luck on your project!
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 01:53 PM
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Thanks to everyone for the information.

How do I go about ordering from Hairy Olds?

Wayne, Is this the Fisher Body Manual (found on Amazon for $32) that you mentioned?

"1970 OLDSMOBILE FISHER BODY GM FACTORY REPAIR SHOP MANUAL INCLUDES: Olds Cutlass, Cutlass S, 442, F-85, Supreme, 88, Cruiser, 98 and Toronado."

How is the Fisher Body manual different from the Chassis Service Manual?

thanks,

Pat
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 02:17 PM
  #7  
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In order of priority, I'd get the Chassis Service Manual first, the Fisher Body Manual second, and the PIM (Assembly Manual) third. The CSM is the main book for service and repair of the vehicle. The FBM handles all body-related items (glass, doors and latches, window mechanisms, trunk lids, seats, etc). The PIM is a compendium of the engineering drawings that the factory used to assemble the vehicle when it was new. This is most valuable for doing a totally correct restoration. It is less valuable for information on how to repair or troubleshoot.

I recently bought a used original 1970 CSM on ebay for $20. Just spend a little time looking. I would recommend that you only get an original paper copy. There are no electronic versions of the original, so any CDs, reprints, or PDF files are all created from scans of an original, and detail gets lost in that process.
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 02:46 PM
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I have thought the same as Joe, and I include a Parts Catalog and Illustration Catalog as a fourth item, in that order to get, and get the earliest year printing you can get. Later years consolidate parts, and they do work, but the original is usually better.
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 03:50 PM
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Thanks again for more info....this forum is great for us getting back into this.....
Old Nov 1, 2018 | 05:10 PM
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Fisher Body Manual

Originally Posted by jpatfarrell
Thanks to everyone for the information.

How do I go about ordering from Hairy Olds?

Wayne, Is this the Fisher Body Manual (found on Amazon for $32) that you mentioned?

"1970 OLDSMOBILE FISHER BODY GM FACTORY REPAIR SHOP MANUAL INCLUDES: Olds Cutlass, Cutlass S, 442, F-85, Supreme, 88, Cruiser, 98 and Toronado."

How is the Fisher Body manual different from the Chassis Service Manual?

thanks,

Pat

Pat that is what one looks like but I think it's a reprint. Check out E-bay or this forum thru the wanted section for a nicely used original. Original is always better than a reprint. Nicely shop used should be available. Thats what I did for my 66, just used ones will do.
Good luck with the new car.

Wayne

Old Nov 1, 2018 | 05:17 PM
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thanks....

Pat
Old May 26, 2019 | 04:57 AM
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Where did you find the assembly manual ? I’m looking for one and can’t find it or hairy olds
Old May 26, 2019 | 06:11 AM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Hdmike444
Where did you find the assembly manual ? I’m looking for one and can’t find it or hairy olds
Scroll up this thread and click on HairyOlds' user name, and on the dropdown box select Send A Private Message. I have both a low quality reprint of the assembly manual that you can get online, and one of his high quality prints, and there is no comparison. You will thank yourself for spending a little more here.
Old May 26, 2019 | 09:13 AM
  #14  
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