Spitfire Books

[Spitfire]

My daughter has just bought me a copy of this Spitfire : The One Some brilliant photos in it and I thoroughly recommend it.

But for Christmas I want one of these - how cool is that - A Haynes workshop manual on your Spitfire

They do the Lancaster too

[Mayfly]

they had these Haynes manuals for sale at the Lincs/Lancs open day in Sept at RAF Coningsby I think they were £17

[RLN]

Those Haynes manuals are great. Imagine going into Halfords and saying "Have you got that bit"?

[Saracenman]

I've read Haynes Manuals since i was in my teens, and they undoubtedly taught me the majority of what i now know about mechanics and engineering. of course in those days, they only published them for cars - since then they seem to have branched out into ALL areas - including one i saw on sex!

I've seen the Haynes manuals for the Lancaster and Spitfire, but never bought them - are they still written in the same way as the original car ones always have been? could you really give 'your own Spitfire' a complete overhaul???

as for other Spitfire books, there was one incredible book i borrowed from a friends (who's now dead) years ago - it was really about Farnborough across the decades, but had a massive amount on the Spitfire specifically, from its early days testing the prototype, right through to the development of later Mks.

i really can't recall what the book was called, but i think it was probably written by Mutt Summers (TP of K5054) - I'd LOVE to read it again, but after years of looking, I've been unable to find it

any ideas?

sm

[Spitfire]

I've read Haynes Manuals since i was in my teens, and they undoubtedly taught me the majority of what i now know about mechanics and engineering.
sm

I'm with you there - When my Cortina MK1 engine needed a re-bore it was £200 if I took it in whole but only £25 for a naked block re-bore and 4 new pistons.
So I bought a haltrac hoist and a Haynes workshop manual and I stripped it all down myself - then had it re-bored and rebuilt it all myself again with new main bearings and big ends + oil pump - timing chain - new gasket sets etc etc.

I had never even seen a big end before that I had bits everywhere with little hand written notes on all of them saying where they came from and what they attached to and in what order.

As you say you learn a great deal - especially by your mistakes - for instance you don't try to put piston rings in with just your fingers - you break them - so you stop being a miserly lazy skinflint and you go and buy a piston ring compressor - Then its easy

Full marks to Haynes - it started first time - ran like a dream - and I had no bits left over

[RLN]

I have bits left over when I re-assemble a pencil sharpener

[Saracenman]

my dear old mum always used to raise an eyebrow when, after an engine change on my latest jalopy, I'd push it back and there'd inevitably be a small pile of nuts and washers on the floor

she never quite understood that they were 'spares' - despite proving to her that i had a whole tub-full of 'em at my disposal

having said that, one such occasion did lead to an embarrassing situation; i must be one of very few people who can claim that i crashed my car into my car! it seems that my 'helpful' brother hadn't used a cotter-pin to connect my brake-pedal to the master-cylinder, but any old nut and bolt to hand. the nut came loose, the bolt fell out and, when driving into the driveway, my brake pedal disappeared completely.

even pulling on the handbrake didn't help - on a gravel driveway! i slid straight into the back of my other pride and joy!

sm

[MadNaddy]

MEN!

Now, I would have been worried sick as to where those 'spare' bits belonged (as I was every time my ex husband -who was a mechanic - had them after every job he did)......

SM's mishap proves I wasn't wrong with my worries!

Regarding Spitfires, MadCam (10yrs old) LOVES Spitfires, and I'm thinking about getting him a Haynes Manual for his birthday in July...............