As a new vette owner ,[80 L-82 coupe] ,I would like to have some good manuals . Can anyone suggest what might be the best books for the money for an average do it yourself mechanic? The factory manual seems a little pricey and I already have the factory assembly manual,what about the aftermarket repair manuals or aftermarket restoration books? Any suggestions will be appreciated and may save me from spending money on something that I may not use. Thanks for your help Dave

 

Hi dave, welcome to the best place for C-3 info. Your assembly manual is a good start, On the less expensive side you can get the Haynes repair manual ( Auto-Zone), the Service Manual (www.riksvet.com) is a good book as is the Shop Manual ( motorbooks.com). As far as other books I found How to restore & modify your Corvette by R Newton ( also at motorbooks.com) interesting. I think that the more you learn about your car the better. Lets say you spend $40. bucks for a book, you"ll save $65. bucks per hour by doing it yourself. Hope this helps, Petes74ttop.

 

If you plan on keeping the car for a while i would spend the extra money and get the factory manual. i have a haynes manual for my 79 and you cant compare it to a factory manual.

 

I agree with Phill. I bought the factory manuals (Helm) when the car ('73) was new. Later I got a Haynes and IMO it wasn't any better than a Chilton's. Good luck.

 

Any experience with "Free" downloads? I have to believe they are on-line somewhere.

 

I I haven't seen any but you can always search for them. Don't forget though the old adage that you get what you pay for.