Y Izzit?
 

Why is it a guy will spend $10-$18k for a car and not spend $55 for the Restoration Guides, $35 for The Les Andrews red book, and $40 for a copy of the Ford Service Bulletins, which together would answer 92.7% of his questions and confusions about his new acquisition?

I'm not complaining, because there is also a lot of information to be gained here from knowledgeable and experienced A guys, and even after 55 years in the hobby I learn things, but not everything can be fully explained on this site. It just seems curious to me that people don't avail themselves of these resources. :confused:

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How do I load them onto my phone?

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Why should they, when they can ask on a message board? It's much easier then buying and reading. Plus aren't books old school, out dated?

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Just bought 3 of Les's books from Eric Wagner because I'm afraid of people and lions !

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Those three books will set you back at least $260 Aust. dollars plus postage to buy here in Australia, is one very good reason.
I have no doubt that they will be most useful to own and a great source of information but the resource of great knowledge here on the Barn can and will solve problems that a book cannot, as personal help from those that have experienced the same problem is invaluable. Ask a question here and you can get many different possible solutions offered.
What does annoy me is when a question is asked and a reply to the OP is buy the book. Why bother answering if you can't offer help. Is that not what this forum is about.
JMHO

Re: Y Izzit?
 

Ray,

We're people. People like to interact. Different people learn in different ways, or in a combination of ways. Some people are also lazy and prefer a quick fix rather than try to understand stuff from first principles. People don't always act rationally.

You strike me as a knowledgable guy. I suspect you already know all of this. :D

I'm a relatively new Model A owner, but I don't have a mechanical background nor am I confident in tackling new mechanical or electrical problems. I've bought both Les Andrews books, I consult various online info sources, and am about to purchase the revised Restoration Guidelines, but I don't imagine they will stop me from seeking out opinions and experience here! Adults learn in a range of ways, myself included. It's all grist to the mill! :)

I'll turn your question back on you. Given the frustrations you expressed in your original post, why are YOU such an active FordBarn member?

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Just an example I was fixing my exhaust manifold to pipe leak the other day. Searched it on here and found 6 opinions and ideas and took the best info out off all of them . No book could give you 6 real life up to date cases to get info from. Not to mention if an error is made in a book it could be years and buy the next edition till you find out the hard way. I don't have the Andrew or whoever he is books because it's obvious from the posts about the errors in them that you are better off without them.Far better real life up to date last 7.3% info here.The first 92.7% is probably common sence anyway.

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I have the books and have read them and have overlooked some things in them or some things in the books can be wrong such as torque etc in Les's book also sometimes a little more detail. I ask and read the books because there are a lot of helpful, people here who know a lot and an extra idea has helped me a lot along the way.

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Old farts who are tired of the same old questions.

They forget they were newbies once.

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That is why some of the knowledgeable people have left, or seldom post. Most of the new people questions have indeed been asked and answered many times, and could be easily found in the search option. People take the path of least resistance.

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Having books on hand is all well and good but..................what about people who do not have the mechanical ability, the place, the tools or in some cases, the time to do mechanical work? Do Formula 1 drivers do the work or do they do the driving......drivers do what the do best and the mechanics do what they do best by KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING the mechanics of an automobile?

I bought the books as recommended by forum members, Complete Service Bulletins, Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook Vol 1, Complete Model "A" Ford Restoration Manual and they have been informative, the very minuet times I've had them open, one I've never used because I'll have to buy the book that explains everything that's inside, I think those books are titled "For Dummies". :rolleyes:

If you are mechanically inclined, have the space, have all the tools and have the time, get the books....if you don't, join a Model A forum, a Model A Club and find a mechanic who does, then you do what you do best, enjoy DRIVING your Model A. ;)

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One thing that would make the forum easier and better would be if the posters would enter an ACCURATE title line. Look at the subjects going right now. Some you can very clearly determine the subject, some you cannot. Example. "Y izzit" how is it possible to get from that title any pertinent info about the post?

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Like you said everything can't be fully explained here but on the other hand everything can't be explained in the book either. At least here you can ask for more details if necessary and I have yet had a book answer back when I say "can you explain that in more detail?" I don't usually have to ask questions here because others have already asked and I just read until I find the answer.:)

TOB

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Taking a line from post #3 , " old school , out dated " , heck that's what I like about this car / hobby / and forum . Sorry , just my two cents .

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Being one that has none of the books mentioned I can answer for myself at least. I have several books that i have bought for specific projects and they all boarder on useless. What I find is that, for the most part, these kinds of books are great at covering all of the obvious stuff that anyone that knows the open end of a wrench from the box end could easily figure out, but when it comes to the obscure or not so obvious stuff, they either overlook it all together or, if they touch on it, they breeze over it leaving out critical details necessary to completing the job correctly. I also agree with the poster that suggested that people like to interact. If I read something in a book and don't quite understand what they are saying, it's difficult to ask the author for some clarification. Not so much on a forum.

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I don't know about easier but it is cheaper. I have those books and more.

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X2

Second most common non answer is "Do a search".

Its perfectly OK NOT to answer a question if it bothers you that you know the answer and the poster doesn't. No need to make the poster feel small.

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I would guess that many newbies have little or no experience with on-line forums and have no idea there is a search function and how to use it.

Merely telling a newbie to buy the book or do a search doesn't do much to encourage new Model A owners.

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The first thing I bought after I found this site was the books. They are very helpful and have many illustrations which I find great. But I would love to see Les Andrews remove a rear brake assembly using his instructions. A couple of critical steps are missing. That being said the manuals are fine but the info here is outstanding! The first thing (well maybe second thing....lol) I do when I get up in the morning is read the forum. Check it 3 or 4 more times a day. Love all the info and patience of most all of the posters. Lets not kick a good horse in the ......!

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Amen Dick. I could not have said it better. Let's not be a bunch of snobby old codgers.

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As an owner a Model A for nearly 3 years I own all but the guidelines... Everyone thinks differently, and as very new owner, I have years more to learn... I do agree, folks should buy the books... Make's for great bathroom reading ;)

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I've got the books, and still ask dumb questions once in a while. And I thank all those for putting up with my stupid moments [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I'm OK with that as long as you STAY OFF MY LAWN! :mad:

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Having an accurate title line is very important to be able to find it when doing a "SEARCH".
Also, when posting a picture I have started saying "here's a picture of......" rather than just saying "here's the.......".
This way if you are looking for a picture of something, you can also enter "picture" in the "search", to help find the posts with pictures.

I think the Les Andrew's book is a good book. I know about the pan bolt torque being too high, as it should be inch pounds, rather than 20 foot pounds, but I'm not aware of a lot of other mistakes.

Even after being on the forum for a long time, I don't always have good luck using the search feature, but an accurate title line will help.

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I'm new to Model As, not mechanically minded at all, and have the Les Andrews book. It's good but not enough. For example the disassembly of front brakes says things like "Remove the springs". Well, I've not done that before and they're not exactly easy. Les doesn't give you information like that. Also, things like wheel nut torque settings - nothing in Les Andrews but a quick forum search brought it up. The books are good but nothing beats real life experience and that's what you garner from forums like these.

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Some brake springs can be very hard to install and remove.
I've learned it's best to wear a good pair of leather gloves, and on some I've had to clamp onto the spring with a Vise Grip then pry against the side of the jaw with a long screwdriver.

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Quite by accident I bought a pair of Craftsman needle nose plyers where the needle nose was at a 90 degree to the handles and the handles are about a foot long. I struggled with brake springs all afternoon one time trying everything. Somehow I tried those plyers and the spring went on first shot. The handles are long enough you can use both hands to grip and pull and with the tip at a 90 you are not hitting up against the other brake parts. Those plyers and now one of my first "go to" tools for anything that needs a good grip and pull!

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I usually just use a screwdriver flat or pointed - sometimes one works before the other - and needle nose to sometimes push it on if it didnt fully snap in. If youve ever done "modern" drum brakes they arent a whole lot different.

I like Les Andrews book - sometimes it gets repetitive showing you the same first few steps taking up a page or more for every procedure. Its a book that will get the job done if youve never done it before but theres usually a tried and true other way to go about things that comes from experience.

I do need to order the new judging standards as my old version is vague in some parts (especially AA stuff). Wheres the best place to get it from and how?

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Bratton's brake shoe installation tool (2595) works well lso especially when it's a half mile away in your friends toolbox:D

Sewall

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Scan them into a PDF and e-mail them to yourself, or put them in the cloud, etc.

Also, I agree with post 26, above, too often the books tell you what to do not how to do it.

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And on the other hand if they never have to use them they won't know how to use them or their importance.

The best answer is to at least give them the answer and/or the link to at least one thread as a start in the their quest to find the answer using searh and let them know that additional information is available at their finger tips with no waiting for it.

We all know that the search feature is not the easiest to locate past information for a variety of reasons, some user some software. The most important thing is that they get the information.

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Great answer, Mike. Maybe there should be a "sticky" that shows how to get to and use the search function (including the Advanced Search) that could be referenced in the reply along with an answer or link to a thread with the answer.