66 owners manual

[Matt L.]

i am looking at an owners manual on ebay. it is listed as a 1st edition printed in august '65. i need one for my april built '66. will this work? were there several editions? i have a reproduction one now but i would prefer an original.
thanks for any input and advice.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110791157100?_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649&item=110791157100&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&vxp=mtr

take care,
matt

[Dave S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

i am looking at an owners manual on ebay. it is listed as a 1st edition printed in august '65. i need one for my april built '66. will this work? were there several editions? i have a reproduction one now but i would prefer an original.
thanks for any input and advice.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110791157100?_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649&item=110791157100&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT&vxp=mtr

take care,
matt

Matt,
1966 has two editions. A first edition dated August 1965 and a second edition dated January 1966. Obviously you need a second edition.
The Ebay listing is vague and worded to trick a possible uneducated buyer. Original OM's had a Corvette news card tear out. There is no mention of the card or its stub in that ad.
Even if it has a card it still may be a Helm' Inc. re-issue which is the OEM printer(Helm) reprinting them for use as a service replacement. Like may service replacement items these re-issue OM's are not the same as originals.
Before you buy the Ebay manual ask the proper questions but it is likely not an original. It takes a trained eye to seperate a re-issue and an original.
In any event don't pay original manual money for a re-issue manual.

[Jaime G.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Matt, I would suggest a second edition as being correct for your car.
Happy Holidays! JG

[Randy S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Dave,

"Even if it has a card it still may be a Helm' Inc. re-issue which is the OEM printer(Helm) reprinting them for use as a service replacement. Like may service replacement items these re-issue OM's are not the same as originals. "



That's interesting. I have a second edition OM. How do you identify a reissue vs the original? Mine has a page cut out with about 3/4" margin remaining ( the page after the "other available manuals" page 50) which I have assumed to be the Corvette News page.

Randy

[Dave S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Dave,

"Even if it has a card it still may be a Helm' Inc. re-issue which is the OEM printer(Helm) reprinting them for use as a service replacement. Like may service replacement items these re-issue OM's are not the same as originals. "



That's interesting. I have a second edition OM. How do you identify a reissue vs the original? Mine has a page cut out with about 3/4" margin remaining ( the page after the "other available manuals" page 50) which I have assumed to be the Corvette News page.

Randy

Randy,
The Page holding the Corvette News card is directly behind the cover. Original and re-issue manuals with the card page will have a perforation between the card and the stub on that page. Most original manuals have the stub only as the card was mailed by the owner when the car was new but some original owners never mailed it in. In 95% of the cases re-issue mauuals will still have the stub and tear out card intact.
What I'm trying to say is manuals with 1/2 cards are most often originals.
Hope that makes things a little more clear.

[William G.]

Re: 66 owners manual

It is definitely not priced as an original.

[Ronald L.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Earlier this year I posted pics of the fake ones being sold as originals.

What it takes is a magnifying glass to see that its not the same print, and the colors are different. Then...there are those out there that have errors, missing lead letters and or wrong colors.

POP's have a page devoted to how to detect fraudulent POP's, their differences on ebay of all places, but it sure isn't a normal thing to find most people would never know its there.

[Dave S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Earlier this year I posted pics of the fake ones being sold as originals.

What it takes is a magnifying glass to see that its not the same print, and the colors are different. Then...there are those out there that have errors, missing lead letters and or wrong colors.

POP's have a page devoted to how to detect fraudulent POP's, their differences on ebay of all places, but it sure isn't a normal thing to find most people would never know its there.

Comparison is easy. Just put a re-issue next to an original. Originals have nice/clear photography. Re-issues are not as clear. After that you will have passed OM validation 101 and that is all you should need to do.

[Matt L.]

Re: 66 owners manual

thanks everyone. i also noticed the repros have a yellow background front cover. i have very close friends that sell original and repros they are licensed to produce. but they dont have originals right now.
so what is the going price for an original? i found another for $125.
take care,
matt

[Dave S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

thanks everyone. i also noticed the repros have a yellow background front cover. i have very close friends that sell original and repros they are licensed to produce. but they dont have originals right now.
so what is the going price for an original? i found another for $125.
take care,
matt

If its an original at $125 - Buy it.

[Ronald L.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Dave, these repo's from 30 years ago have aged tot he point thye look real, and the picture quality is the same.

Its only when you fine a printing error on page 41 and then notice that the dot printing detail is slightly different than the old technology from the 60's...that you can then separate them.

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Dave, these repo's from 30 years ago have aged tot he point thye look real, and the picture quality is the same.

Its only when you fine a printing error on page 41 and then notice that the dot printing detail is slightly different than the old technology from the 60's...that you can then separate them.

Please, Do tell of the page 41 Error.

Jim

[Dave S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Dave, these repo's from 30 years ago have aged tot he point thye look real, and the picture quality is the same.


Its only when you fine a printing error on page 41 and then notice that the dot printing detail is slightly different than the old technology from the 60's...that you can then separate them.

Ron,

I'm sure you are right about page 41 in 1966 but I've looked at an awful lot of these re-issue manuals over the years and I have "never" seen one that can match the photography quality of an original, aged or not. Maybe my eye is trained but I never felt it was that difficult to seperate the two. When I have run my judging schools I have used the comparison as a learning tool and it seems to work very well.
Page 41 may be a better way to seperate the two in 1966 but Helm made tens of thousands of these re-issue manuals from the 50's thru the 70's.

[Jim S.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Please, Do tell of the page 41 Error.

Jim

After comparing the two I have , I do see that one has no red letters {A,B,C,D} and one does. Is this the errors you speak of ?

Jim

[Ronald L.]

Re: 66 owners manual

Yes, there are couple pages with wrong color red missing. And the larger item is the dot matrix printing, colors on the "80-ish" version are different, trying to find my original post with those details.