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Old January 18th, 2009, 04:55 AM
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PDF Workshop Manuals

I was just wondering if any of you guys have the 1965 Delta chassis and body workshop manual as a pdf file?

There's a guy selling it on ebay for 40 bucks which I think is rather cheeky.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=
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Old January 18th, 2009, 06:12 AM
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I have never been a fan of the "manuals on CD" concept.

Those who do get them usually end up getting the real book later because it is easy to use when out working on the car. Who wants to take their costly laptop outside or print out everything they need for a job?

Too many times I have to run inside and grab the book just to see where a bolt goes or something.

Real books are a lot more convenient and usually can be had at almost the same price as the CD versions. IMHO, the CD versions ~should~ be always half the price of the book just because the CD lacks the convenience factor...
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Old January 18th, 2009, 06:16 AM
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I agree. I have never purchased a manual on cd for the reasons given. I work at a Motorola radio repair shop and recently Motorola has began providing their repair manuals in this format which I hate. It is much easier to read a schematic in paper form and follow the line than it is on a video screen. If you zoom out everything is too small to read, if you zoom in you can't get the whole picture at once, you loose both ways.
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Old January 18th, 2009, 06:30 AM
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i agree also but usually people tend to share the pdf files amongst fellow owners. I'm also a member of a VW forum and they have posted up all the manuals in pdf for everyone to download for free.

The manual for a Delta 88 is pretty much non existent over here and PDF's for American vehicles are very handy if you like in the UK !
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Old January 18th, 2009, 09:40 AM
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I agree with what you guys are saying and I have shop manuals for my 72 Cutlass and my friends 54 Super 88. I bought a pdf file for the repair manual on my Sea Doo and it was not $40.00 which is way too high. I did wind up taking it to my office and printing it on a high speed printer. I talked one to the admins into punching it and spiral binding it. I did this with a clean contience since I print a lot of stuff when I work from home (did not want you guys thinking I am a deadbeat). One advantage of the pdf file is you can go find the pages for what you are working on and print just those pages. You can take them to the garage, get them greasy and fold, spindle and mutilate them if you want and then through them away when you are done. You don't have the whole book under the hood or wherever. So I guess what I am saying is the pdf version is not as good as the actual manual, it does have some advantages. I don't think it has $40.00 worth of advantages.
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Old January 19th, 2009, 06:39 AM
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pro's and Con's aside, I guess that's a no then?
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Old January 19th, 2009, 06:49 AM
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If the CD is a lot cheaper (>half) than a reasonably-priced printed book, I might get it and use it until i could get a real book.

I do recommend a real book - it will be much more handy and less frustrating.
Chances are when you need the book most, the PC will be either be occupied, broke, or the printer will be out of ink, and you are frantically needing to know where that part goes you have left over or the torque specs of the last bolt and it is getting dark out... This is when my book saved me from insanity last year...

Of course, a CD manual is better than none and a factory-type manual is about the most important tool one can have...

Last edited by Lady72nRob71; January 19th, 2009 at 06:55 AM.
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Old January 19th, 2009, 08:36 AM
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There is always the option of printing the manual form the PDF and putting it in a $2.00 binder from Office Depot to keep around the shop. It is also easy to make a copy of the CD and store it for safe keeping. Just my two cents....
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Old January 19th, 2009, 09:53 AM
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beware of copied shop manuals. A few that I have bought on the internet were nothing more the poor photo copies with some pages missing. Only by from dealers with varifed reputations. I am currenly looking for a 1948 Oldsmobile series 66-68 body shop manual and so far having no luck
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Old January 19th, 2009, 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by citcapp
beware of copied shop manuals. A few that I have bought on the internet were nothing more the poor photo copies with some pages missing. Only by from dealers with varifed reputations. I am currenly looking for a 1948 Oldsmobile series 66-68 body shop manual and so far having no luck
I'll second that. I have only tried a CD manual once (for a BMW) and had the same experience. When I asked the seller why the copy had sections missing (like the whole automatic transmission section) he replied that he didn't think anyone needed that. Never again.
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Old March 15th, 2009, 10:42 AM
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1948 Olds manual

Originally Posted by citcapp
beware of copied shop manuals. A few that I have bought on the internet were nothing more the poor photo copies with some pages missing. Only by from dealers with varifed reputations. I am currenly looking for a 1948 Oldsmobile series 66-68 body shop manual and so far having no luck
Hey, you may have already seen what's on this link and the descrition staes there was no 1948 maunual made because little changed between the 46-47-48 model years. I don't know how true that is though. The ebay store is Faxon Auto Literature. They have lots of Olds and Fisher manuals. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1946-...mZ390035826405

Good Luck Rob
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Old March 15th, 2009, 11:28 AM
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I bought that very same manual and it is a copy of copy of a copy and the pictures are so bad and fuzzy that you cannot make out the details the wording is discribing. Bad deal. I am still on the hunt for a good representive of the the body manual.
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Old January 1st, 2013, 06:50 PM
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Try:- Parob, Paper and parts, Paper-n-Parts on Ebay.

This is all the one seller. Seems to be run by a family. Great communication from these guys and fast postage.

I have purchased about a dozen items on disc from them so far.
Elect seat wiring, Glass Installation, speedometer, gearbox, carby, brake booster, radio, etc etc instalation and repair manuals.
Each manual on its own disc and cheaper the more you buy. I thought it was of great value for me in shipping overseas alone.

The smaller manuals I have printed, the larger I keep on the disc and all are going to a thumb drive and kept in the shed and I just take the lap top out.
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