GMC Reviews

At the time I ordered this book from Amazon, it was the only book available on the El Camino. Now there seems to be more selection, and I would advise interested readers to shop around if they're looking for real depth. Although the book does mention pretty much every model and show pictures of each, it's really just a brief once-over, and the pictures aren't even in color! That was the really disappointing part about a supposed "photo history..." But nonetheless, it's a fun read and a real enthusiast will probably want it.

The book does hit the basics with some good information. Photos should be in color instead of B/W. One El Camino is listed as an SS but from the photos it's a SS Clone.
If you are looking for all model specs, histories and options listing for the El Camino/Sprint/Caballero you will need more than this book but it is a good starting place.

Great book if you want to lower your truck and just want to cruise, nothing about raising your truck so you can go off-roading.

I found David Shelby's book to be very detailed in giving information about building a Chevy/GMC pickup. Not only does the author tell you how to hot-rod your truck, but he also explains why, and what the different methods are, and how they work. It has helped me tremendously with my project.

This book provides a good history about all chevrolets and gmc in the years mentioned. However for a person looking for specific information on one particular chevrolet/gmc pickup this is not a good book. All other information is very general and if you have worked with vehicles you already should know it. The book did not satisfy me.

This book is a excellent all around guide for those wanting to know more about the popular Chevy/GMC C/K series of light trucks. Author gives useful information for those rebuilding, restoring or maintaining one of these trucks (as well as for those looking for good model years to buy used). Interesting read and offers more than the usual information found in Haynes reference.

Could be more in depth in areas, but that is what shop manuals are for...

I was real surprised when I received my delivery. Instead of getting a book, I received a poor photocopy of parts ads, dealer lists and covers of parts catalogs. I am not kidding when I describe it as a photocopy held together with a plastic ring binding that most offices stopped using years ago.

Once I was past the amateur publishing and looked at the contents of the "book", I notice that many of the ads were the same ones that I saved back issues of car and truck magazines for. This "book" is mostly made up of pages listing dealers for parts or services, but with the internet and a few truck magizines, I could easily find most of the products.

This purchase is going back for a refund. Its not worth the paper its photocopied on.

Quite the contrary, I found this book extremely helpful. As the worn-out saying goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover", and this is a prime example. This gave me the perfect excuse to throw away all of my yellowing old Chevy Mags, clippings, and little scraps of paper because every person I'd ever needed to restore my Chevy Truck was included in this book. The listings for the companies included addresses, phone numbers (a lot of them even had 1-800 numbers so it wouldn't cost me a dime to call them), fax numbers, as well as websites and email addresses.

On top of everything, it was super easy to look up the parts I was looking for. For example, I needed a grille for my truck. All I had to do was flip to the "Trim Parts" section of the book, looked alphabetically for "Grille" and low and behold, there were at least 6-7 parts places listed that had grilles. Moreover, I went ahead and contacted most of them, found the cheapest price, and went with them. I saved hours and hours of wasted time, calling places that I rather "hoped" would have the parts I was looking for. With this book, instead of "hoping", I now "know" exactly who has the parts I'm looking for. My aggravation level has dropped from 10 to 1 and 1/2.

Admittedly, I had my reservations because of the previous review. However, when I received my book, I realized one thing: I bought this book for the information listed inside, not really for what it looked like. Knowledge is key and now that I have knowledge of the information inside the book, I know that I can fix up any classic Chevy Truck I come across in the future with ease. Kudos!

The problem with the guide is that it tries to cover all the different models in one book, but ends up not being specific enough for a given model. I found I have to constantly read between the lines to figure out what actually needs to be done on my 1997 Silverado.

I am going to try the Hanes.

This book provides you with all of the basic information needed to proform basic and some major jobs on trucks. It was easy to work with and it gave step by step instructions. It was a nice change to work with.

This would be a great book for someone new to working on cars. I felt they tried to include too many models to be specific. The pictures and diagrams are usually not of my truck. The general information and the plan of action/troubleshooting sections are good.

I ordered this book on 27 Dec, 3 weeks later & I still don't have the book. Order early if you need this book.

This book is useless for many diagnostics for post 1996 Trucks. It does not contain needed informatin for simple things as testing fuel pressure and gives only informatin regarding the pre 1997 models don't buy it if you have a 1997 or above. I have found this to be a problem with this line of manuals. They also missed parts on my ford. That is why I am here looking for a new manual. Also I called them to ask if they had an updated version and never got the courtesy of a return call.

The manual was very helpful, however when using the index the page numbering was incorrect. The places that I noteced were incorrect did bring you withing 2-3 pages of the correct spot, so if you have a fairly reasonable idea of what's going on you won't get too confused.

A number of the truck photos are incorrectly identified. Noticeably in the 1940's and 1950's Being able to identify correct years and models would seem basic to a truck history book. These errors leave the rest of the "Official History" suspect. If you are looking for a pretty coffee table book then this is it. If you are looking for GMC history I would not recommend this book.

Lots of nice factory pictures, and quite a bit of good story about what was going on behind the scenes at G.M. Truck and Coach. The book's strong point is its coverage of the 1960's, when G.M.C. produced a staggering number of different models. I would recommend it, particularly as there isn't any other titles in print devoted exclusively to G.M.C..

You need to look at the way Motor repair books are written,and go by that.

I was not pleased to find this book has no info on Standard transmission repair. It only has R and R which works fine for chunking out a whole transmission but I only needed to know how to fix a shifting problem :(

I found this manual to be lacking in key information. Too much of the manual deals with basic information that any shade tree mechanic has mastered. This manual uses three pages to describe how to change the oil and only 1/4 page on how to remove the front locking hubs.

One would also expect an automotive repair manual that covers 14 model years to include information on all 14 model years.

I would recommend you continue looking for a manual if you need information on the late 60's to early 80's GM trucks.

On the plus side, it soaks up oil almost as well as kitty litter.

It has a lot of usefull information for someone that needs just some basic information but it has left me searching for another book to get more information for my 77 Blazzer.

If you need to know some of the basic stuff it will help out but if you are wanting to restore or work on major parts this is not the book.