John Haynes, of Haynes Manual Fame

[Pete]

I have just read that John Haynes has passed away.

The name did not mean anything to me, but my trusty Haynes SU repair manual still sits on my bookshelf, along with various other tomes on tinkering with bits of Coventry rust, and I still rely on my type 1 beetle Haynes to help me keep that wooden prop turning.

I guess there can be few of our members who have not skinned their knuckles following John's meticulous instructions - their drawings never seemed to show the rust on seized kingpin bolts!

Long may his many publications continue to inspire future generations of grease monkeys to rebuild their beloved Allegros and Taylor Titches

Pete

[Chris Martyr]

Good post Pete .

I'm sure that for many of the 'baby-boomer' generation , Haynes manuals were the next logical progression after Janet & John books .

It could have been me writing your post as I also have a type 1 VW turning my wooden [Chris Lodge] prop. and the high standard of maintenance on that VW owes a fair bit to Mr J. Haynes' legendary manuals.

Oh,,,and my other hobby object [ piece of Coventry rust ?] which incidentally doesn't have a spot of rust on it and is probably better than when it rolled out of Canley 48 yrs ago , also owes a fair bit to the Haynes manual .
Part of the real 'mechanic appeal' of the 1970s style Haynes manuals I reckon lies in the grainy old black/white photos , showing gnarly old grubby hands dropping sumps down and lifting cyl. heads off.

Marvellous stuff ! And I don't think it sounds too sugary or exaggerated to say that the literary works of Mr John Haynes ' inspired a generation'.

I consider myself privileged to be of that 'pre X-box generation'..

[Ian Melville]

Each time I brought a car or motorbike I went straight out and brought the appropriate Haynes Manual. Still got them all, many with the reg written on them and dates of ownership.

Hope the tradition continues