Honda-SOHC
Other Stuff => Misc / Open => Topic started by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on August 09, 2026, 11:55:14 AM
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I grew up in a motor trade environment, my late father did his apprenticeship at RR Crewe working mainly on Bentleys. After completing his apprenticeship he teamed up with a fellow RR employee to service and repair cars in the evenings and weekends when they both were based at RR Derby in the mid 1950s.
I'm talking here about post WW2 and the rapid growth in private car ownership that took off in the 1955-65 period.
I'm not certain about the year, sometimes around 1954/5 my dad Reg and his mate Eric opened up a garage locally in Mickleover to sell used Vauxhall's with a workshop and body shop facilities. The man with the money was Eric who inherited substantial weather on the death of his father. The business expanded to bigger premises in Derby, they eventually became Vauxhall, Opel & Mercedes main dealers. Eric sold the dealership retiring to Spain in his mid forties.
I had access to factory dealership workshop manuals via my father, older manuals ended up in our garage when newer issues were released. This access to decent printed manuals led me to seek out manufacturers manuals when I bought my first Japanese car a MK1 MR2. The manuals were expensive at about £60 each, even worse there was a manual for the engine, bodywork & electrical section so a set was well over £120 with VAT.
Haynes manuals appeared to be only available on older models, don't know if that was copyright issues or what
My Haynes Manual for a Vauxhall Cavalier MK2 was brilliant, it was a thorough and detailed manual with great photos and text links to each photo. A local self employed Technical Photographer (ex RR) John Colley did a lot of work for the Haynes family as the Haynes Manuals became quite successful.
I was told by John Colley that he parted ways with Haynes work when they were cost cutting, probably after the company changed ownership. What I have noticed is the Haynes Manuals seem to have lost a lot of detail especially when they combine models in one manual. That said they are a great starting point.
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For anyone who knows the Derby area this was the garage in Mickleover.
Photo Year Unknown 1956?
#(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53303239263_0205709e85_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pde2YB)Mickleover circa 1958 (https://flic.kr/p/2pde2YB) by Macabe Thiele (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187487200@N03/), on Flickr
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They moved to bigger premises on Bold Lane, Derby in the early 1960's.
Thats my father Reg on the left in the Motor Trders Jacket.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53377797575_33a005cae0_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pjPayK)PXL_20231204_214043501 (https://flic.kr/p/2pjPayK) by Macabe Thiele (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187487200@N03/), on Flickr
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Oddly Ted I’ve just bought a Haynes manual. It’s for the Kawasaki Z900-1000 fours. 1972-77.
Worst waste of money ever. Absolutely appalling manual. Doesn’t even cover changing a valve shim, they require a special tool and it’s possible to crack the head if used wrong, yet no mention of it, no pics showing how it’s meant to be used. Some specs contradict the workshop manual.
I found the genuine Kawasaki manual online for free, of course after buying the Haynes. Typical.
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This is purely anecdotal evidence, it appears early original Haynes Bike Manuals were not too bad, later re-printed ones have grainy photos. On later model bikes, post 1980 they are nothing like as thorough or detailed.
When I bought my Superdream it came with two Haynes Manuals, edition 540, one has fair quality photos, the other has poor contrast ones, a drop on actual print quality, doubt it's a fake, who knows.
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I found the 1970's Haynes manuals pretty good when combined with the genuine manuals but later ones are very poor.
Cheers
Dennis
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I find there was frequently at least one glaring mistake in Hanes, one i remember is on a Triumph 650Unit construction they tell you to fit the top gearfirst then the cam plate, guess what. you cant get the cam plate in if the top gear is in!!