General Automotive Reviews

I am a Lamborghini owner so I have researched every possible factabout the car. Not because i plan on selling or replacing parts forworn ones, but for the fact that this car is truly a mark ofexcellence in the super car genre. I've read many books and this oneis about a five when compared to all the others. It gives facts butits mainly for the beginner lamborghini ethusiasts, not those that hasindepth details on the cars. As anyone Lambo ethusiasts knows, itshard to find Accurate stats on the car's performance numbers, but thisbook has all of its facts and numbers correct. For the guy at thetop,..that little four door that dodge produced for lamborghini is nota "True lamborghini" , go to this sight and have your eyesblown from there sockets from cars your eyes wouldn't believe.

As an owner of a Lamborghini Diablo VT (which I'm still timid to drive above 70MPH) I would have to say that this is one of the best books on the famous italian cars I have ever seen. It offers complete color pictures and some interesting information that I never knew, and made me go peaking under the hood. If you have a Lamborghini, or wish you did (like who wouldn't!), this book is money well worth spent.

This book is so beautiful good information for persons that love Lamborghini, so beatiful pictures, good print quality. No bored information about every part only interesting information. In the book you will found a surprise a car called Portofino, that I have never saw in any place.

The Haynes' assume you know too much. They leave out certain important details on occasion and don't always identify all the parts they talk about with a diagram. If I wasn't already somewhat familiar with some of the terminology, in many cases I wouldn't have (and sometimes didn't) know what in the heck they were talking about. Really what is needed is a narrower scope and more than one book on the Sprite/Midgets. If you are serious about working on your Spridget, get a more complete official manual (hint). I won't be rude and say what the book is in this review, but Amazon carries this better one too.

I have this book and despite the occasional grease stain I have found it practically invaluable. I went through a complete engine/transmission/and rear end rebuild with out troubles. This book has conversion tables, linguistic translations and orignal specifications for the Midget. The amount of information in this book is well worth the price.

The manual the other reviewer is obviously referring to is a reprint of the factory service and driver's manuals. (If that's not enough of a clue to identify it, you're out of luck...) Thus, it has all the original information. Definitely good to have.

HOWEVER, since it is the factory manual, it refers to all the dealership tools, most of which are unavailable, or are prohibitively expensive. This is where the Haynes manual shines. Since they base their manual on an actual disassembly and reassembly of the car, they can (and do) offer ways to do the job without the factory tools. I have them both, and refer to each frequently.

I don't understnd the problem with terminology. Both manuals use the same (British) terminology, and the Haynes has a "translation table". In any case, either one beats the equivalent Clymer or Chilton's.

I've been waiting for this manual for a long time. Bentley's excellent VW manuals have been very high on the quality list for quite some time so I was excited to get this manual. Overall it is a great and is a must for the DIY mechanic who needs to know more about their car and can't afford the factory workshop manuals and I think that for the majority of individuals who won't be dropping engines and trannies this will sufice. My gripes are small. No detail on a lot of misc body stuff. The transmission section mentions both the 915 and later G50 transmissions but only shows how to dismantle and repair the 915. Heater and ventilation information is sparse (as always) at best.

I was surprised at how they did keep up with much of the Porsche tech bulletins that have come out during these model years as well as just the overall presentation. Very nice.

Ken

This sure beats the orange covered "other" service manual and the $900 factory service manual in price. There are a lot of missing details like where to charge the A/C, rebuilding your Targa top (intricate locking mechanism details missing). Yes it shows breakdown of parts diagrams but some diagrams lack supporting text. This book is BIG and it is well worth the...you spend. A nice thing I read in the beginning was a disclaimer stating that it may have errors or lack of info but the publisher is more than open to accept any ammendments from it's readers and that they were meticulous about providing the MOST ACCURATE data they could find. This is why you SHOULD HAVE this book because WE the people can make it better! It IS a "must-have" book if you are serious about maintaining your own 84-89 911 Carrera.

The Porsche 911 Carrera Service Manual by Bentley Publishing is a MUST HAVE book for your automotive library. I bought my first Porsche a year ago, a rather worn '85 Cabriolet. One of the first "repair" purchases I made was $800+ worth of official Porsche repair manuals (the 11-volume set that Porsche provides its mechanics). I now wish that I had waited. Even after only two days of owning the Bentley Manual, I can already tell it will be the most dog-eared and grease-smeared of the lot!

It has 10 main sections, the first one being an overview: General Data & Maintenance; Engine; Engine Management, Exhaust, & Engine Electrical; Transmission; Suspension, Brakes, & Steering; Body - Assembly; Body - Components & Accessories; Body - Trim, Seats; Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning; and Electrical System. Each section has several subsections, and in typical German style they are all number coded. Each subsection starts with a general description of what it covers and includes a simple picture guide for any special tools that may be needed in that category (extremely helpful to me as a novice). For example, Section 201 Fuel Supply recommends three special tools: 1) a fuel hose pinch clamp; 2) a fuel pressure gauge; and 3) an automotive digital mulitmeter. The subsections also have straightforward, no-nonsense written steps, which are complemented by literally dozens of pictures. The pictures are simply amazing: very clear, and where needed, highlighted with arrows or alphanumeric characters. (Even Mr. Magoo could find his way through this!) Plus, there is plenty of room for you to add your own notes in the margin, if you so desire.

The book is not perfect, though. I am in need of information on carpet/floorboard repair and dashboard gauge repair (odometer, speedometer, etc.), and neither is in this book. In the grand scheme of things, however, these are small.

One final note... while this appears to be written for those who already own a 911, it can be equally helpful to anyone who is in the market to purchase one. Most savvy Porsche buyers will demand a pre-purchase inspection anyway, so the prospective buyer may just want to consider this as part of that expense. Yet, this book is not an expense, but rather an investment that will continue to provide dividends for a long time to come.

This book has a write up on it's back cover that would lead you to believe that it is the answer to all your RV problems and questions. Not true! It is the most worthless, frustrating piece of printed matter that we have ever read. The Moller's wasted almost the entire text with descriptions of tools that one might use, and have a nasty habit of titling a paragraph "Troubleshooting a Whatever" then telling you that the only tests that can be performed are as previously described in this chapter. Yup, you guessed it.... nothing previously described.

This book descibes electricity, batteries, control circuits et al in the right level of detail to allow the person with basic hand eye coordination to troubleshoot if not fix almost any electrical problem the RV'er might encounter. Many simple diagrams to aid in the understanding of concepts and tracing of problems. The book does assume the reader will have a knowledge of basic hand tools, the skill to use them and an ability to convert the porvided knowledge into action. One must be able to look at the drawings in the book and locate the item on the RV. Highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what makes the electrical system tick in their RV.

The first thing that struck me about this book was that it explained things in plain, everyday English! Sure there were a couple of sections in the DC half of the book that started to get technical, but the many examples of the real-life problems and the solutions used helped bring these sections into perspective and helped with the understanding of why the technical things exist.

There were a great many tips and hints that were also very practical for those who cannot afford the expensive test equipment and many of the tools could be purchased or built from parts found at the neighborhood hardware store.

This book should be in every RVer's library.

Unlike other books about the Jaguar XJ Series, Thorley's goes into detail about colour schemes, changes in options, pricing, and all the other details about the XJ that an enthusiast might want to know. Interested in whether a UK-Spec Sovereign had the same seats as a US-Spec Daimler Vanden Plas? Thorley will tell you. Curious about whether Silver Frost Metallic was offered on 1985 cars? Thorley will tell you. A superb reference for XJ fanatics, and much more detailed than the other XJ books by Skilleter and Robson

The history of a Jaguar model is once again penned by the deft hands of Nigel Thorly. This book describes in detail all three series of the XJ cars, their racing history (yes, they have one), and how to select and restore a car.

This book only covers Jaguar XJ6 and XJ12 cars from the early '70s through the late '80s. Many of the newer Jaguar XJ cars badged with the XJ6 are of the XJ-40 or revised variety. It is easy to spot a model covered by this book. Simply look for the dual-fuel tank fillers, one on each side of the trunk.

The only disappointment in this book was the minimal coverage of the XJ6C and XJ12C models. These two-door coupes were produced in very small numbers, and few of them remain.

Nobody knows more about XJ Jaguars than Nigel Thorley. Avid Jaguarphiles will love the content and the delivery that Thorley gives to this classic marque.

Life in the Fast Lane was repetitive and self-serving. There was nothing new about the years with Ferrari. This Irvine fan was quite disappointed.

A nice glimpse into the world of Eddie Irvine, although it never gets intimate. This is a narrative. Eddie, and some of his friends and family, tell little stories about his life and particularly the '99 season.

Not particularly well written, it's people talking about Eddie and his interests and his thoughts on life. And the reader has to have some knowledge on F1. Disappointingly, not much detail or explanations are given about the year's events.

Example: Not one conversation is recorded or recalled with Michael Shumacher. Just general impressions about his talented teammate. I wanted more.

I gave it 3 stars (not less) because I'm a hardcore F1 and Eddie fan.

Eddie Irvine was very close to the championship title. This book, the 2nd about him, tell you about how he was very close to winning the championship, including what actually happen when he outbrake Schumacher before the crash in Silverstone...a priceless book for fans and collectors alike...better than Schumacher's book...

Somewhat useful manual. Does dissapoint in the fact that on the issues you might really need help on, the book tells you it is too complicated and to take the car to the dealer. But the book does have some useful information.

it got some good point but it dose not show a closer lay out on the time mark and on the two oil gear marks at all that the heart of the engine and if it dose not show a good picture of that you will put it back toghter wrong if you got a better picture send it to me so i could see it ok

I've almost worn this book out referring to it while modifying my Galant VR-4, which is essentially an Eclipse GSX in Galant trim with rear-wheel steering. When Haynes refers you to a dealer or other repair shop, it's for a good reason. There are easier and better ways to do some procedures, but for the most part this book is a great reference for anyone with even mild automotive repair experience. If you're doing an engine rebuild, get the Mitsubishi factory service manual since the Haynes book is incorrect in several places. Or get a rebuilt engine and save yourself a lot of time.

924/944 owners will enjoy owning this book because there really aren't that many books on the 924/944 compared to the 911. This book has got plenty of pretty photos and the introduction to the model histories is readable. The appendices are particularly interesting (for example, showing you how to decipher the Porsche serial numbers). It seems a great gift book for 924/944 owners. The author should have quit while he was ahead and left this book as an enthusiast's picture book.

Unfortunately, the author ambitiously attempted to make this book a manual by introducing chapters on the car mechanicals and systems - and these chapters are woefully inadequate. They explain very briefly and very poorly the cars' engine, fuel, cooling systems etc. The information is very superficial and offers owners no help whatsoever in maintaining or repairing the cars. These chapters (over half the book) are a complete waste of time for owners hoping to seriously learn about the workings of their cars. Serious owners would do much, much better buying the Haynes Manual.

As it stands, the book is neither here nor there: useless as a practical manual, and with value as a pretty picture book diluted by the useless chapters.

This book is a valuable resource for someone wanting to become familiar with the front engined Porsche. The history and specs for the 924 and 944 is fairly detailed up to 1989. Some details for the S2 (1990-1991) are somewhat sketchy as the book was published in '89. If you're thinking of buying, the book provides great info about what problems the various models and years exhibited, as well as what to investigate closely, depending upon model and year.

The pictures are nearly all in black and white, but even the rare models are detailed, with photos included. I bought my S2 based largely upon the info provided by Morgan. You won't be sorry about your purchase equipped with his advice.

Ok, the 968 section could be beefier, but the rest of the stuff is all there, options, colors, production data, pictures, etc. You'll love it.

I found this book extremely disappointing. Not only was it short on facts and technical information, but every question I wanted an answer to was dodged by saying "best left to experts".

I expected something more along the lines of "Tuning BL's A-series engine" by D. Vizard. I could have gotten what little information exists in the book with a few phone calls to local engine tuners.

I bought this book as there were some important questions I needed answering. Namely Head modifications... which to my dismay were sadly missing. The message to the reader was that such modifications should be left to the experts. Pray tell me what was the point of the book?

covers all critical areas for repairing or modifying the Kent motor. Good research. Photographs are excellent.

This book does an extremely poor job describing important topics in chassis and suspension repair, modifications and upgrades. Only brief paragraphs are dedicated to such topics as boxing frames, while entire subjects, such as frame-rail repair, are completing missing.

Far from being a "how-to" book for the average do-it-yourself, home rod builder, it is simply a "how-to" install various after-market kits offered by some of Street Rodder's well know advertisers. Although the book is billed as a "Chassis and Suspension Handbook", it spends as much time on wiring and other topics as it does on the advertised subjects.

The average, do-it-yourselfer better look someplace else if you want a how-to manual. However, if you are installing a Mustang II IFS or one of the other numerous kits constantly touted in the magazine, then by all means pick up this book. In fact, save yourself some money and buy my copy---only slightly used.

I certainly would not recommend this book as the only book to read if you wait to set out to design a chassis although it is good for telling you the theory of light chassis mods to existing chassis. There are no complex calculations in the book so if you expect to build a chassis from scratch, look for another book. It is a handbook and definitely not an engineering resource.

I have this book in my shop it's VERY good to have at hand . has alot of good ideas a fine illustrations to follow.Iuse it every day as a refferance and a guide RICK PEASE