Looking to pick up a good book for help making repairs to mostly interior (carpet repairs, e-brake arm-rest, door hinges, etc) and was wondering what you all thought on the above books.

Chilton's has come recommended by a friend, research has led me to Richard Prince's Rest. Guide, but I see the Haynes manuals everywhere, plus a ton of other restoration guides.

Since we are on the subject, what's up with all these Shop Manuals and Assembly Manuals? Are these really necessary, or more for nostalgia?

Thanks in advance.

-MM11

For Christmas my wife got me the Haynes Corvette '68 thru '82 Repair Manual & the Corvette '66 -'82 Shop Manual, both are very good. You may what something more detailed in restoration. Check out this site's top menu "Shop" and look under Corvette Books. I am sure these guys will tell you what might be the right book for you.

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Aaron

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You may want to look for a manual dedicated to interior restorations.  Some of the other guides are more geared towards the mechanical aspect of repair or what is correct rather than how to achieve it.

Look at several manuals.  I don't think there is any one book that will tell you all you want.

The AIM(Assembly Instruction Manual) is invaluable when determining where this or that part goes, how it should fit, what it is called, and what the part number for it is(was). This is the actual "instruction" manual that told the original assembly line folks how to build the cars at the factory. I think every Corvette owner should have this, if they plan on doing any work at all to the car.

The Factory Service Manuals("Shop" manuals) are just what they sound like...the manuals used at the dealerships to repair the cars. Some years have more than one manual. One might only cover chassis/body stuff, and one might only cover overhaul of major components such as engines/trans/diffs, etc.
This is another invaluable "tool" every Corvette owner should have, imho.

The Haynes/Chilton/Mitchell manuals usually cover several year models, and the info is not always very specific, or detailed...it's more general. These are ok for basic stuff like tune-up info and such, but the Factory Service Manuals are always a better deal, as far as specific info.

"Restoration Guides", or the ones I have at least, are more tailored to a specific car, but they do have some good stuff on bodywork and chassis mods...They do have their place in your library.

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

I have several of the "aftermarket" books but the assembly manual and GM shop manual have been lifesavers. The original shop manual I have was complete but in poor shape. I felt it so essential that I bought another "working" copy.

A resource that many people seem to forget these days is the local library.  Ours in Indy offers an Internet search (not the greatest, but it gets the job done) that lets you look by title, author, subject, etc, then, once you find what you want, you can have the book transferred to the branch most convenient to you.

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I wanted a Corvette my whole life, but I never dreamed of all the wonderful people I would meet because of it!

  I'm a Techno-information nut. I other words - no amount of information is too much. It is all helpful and never a needless expense. Best way is to look at them all and pick what is best for you. Pick something you can easily understand and use because if it's too techno, you may not use it at all. This web site is a great source of "how to" and DIY information. Good luck in your search.