owner manuals for 1959 and 1960

[Richard B.]

...am looking at a couple of owner manuals or each of these years and hope somebody in the know will comment.

I am holding a 1960 2nd edition. On the rear cover it says "REPRINTED COURTESY OF CHEVROLET MOTOR DIVIsION". On the inside it has what sould be the perforated card..but it does not have the perforation to allow separation...inotherwords, one would need to use a sissors or fold and tear or something to separate it easier. The color of the part that would be torn off at the perforation is ..call it "beige".

Now I am holding one I am certain is original. The card has the perforation, the color of the part mentioned in the first paragraph is what I will call "adobe". This one does not say reprinted anywhere.

Is the book discussed in the first paragraph a cheap reprint...is it old stock? Comments appreciated.

Now regarding a 1959 book. I am holding one that says 1st edition. It has no perforated card The front of the book has pink and the rear red. The rear says "REPRINTED COURTESY CHEVROLET MOTOR DIVISION".

I am comparing the above 1959 book to one that is 2nd edition with red on both the front and rear and has a peforated card. Also, does not say reprinted anywhere.

Same questions on this 1959 as the 1960. Are the books discussed in paragraphs 1 and 3 cheap reprints or formats of original books. Thanks for your thoughts.

richard

[John H.]

Re: owner manuals for 1959 and 1960

Richard -

Generally, owner's manuals that say "Reprinted...." are reproductions; I don't know if the subsequent GM re-issues from Helm, Inc. (who printed the original production manuals) have the "Reprinted....." notation on them or not. Someone else more familiar with the details will chime in...

[Dave S.]

Re: owner manuals for 1959 and 1960

John/Richard,
The Helm, Inc re-issue manuals do not say reproduction as they technically are not. Helm is the OEM supplier and simply made re-issues for GM as they were sold over the counter. The difficulity comes where the re-issue manuals are subtly detectable from originals which were printed for use in St. Louis and put in the car there. Comparision between the two will educate the person comparing. Side by side it will be fairly obvious. Many Helm, Inc. re-issue manuals have "full cards" but not all.