Dog Eared and Well Worn Treasures

As a boy I was always asking my very patient dad how things worked. So as I helped him to repair our old petrol engine lawn mower as an eight year old he wasn’t surprised when the “How does that work?” question popped out. It unlocked the flood gates for the information stored in his head. Realising I had reached capacity for what I could take in verbally he dug out some old text books which explained the Otto Cycle

(I later learned to refer to this as the “Suck, squeeze, bang, blow” principle).

These books were not ‘child friendly’ like the children’s books of today yet their basic text with black and white illustrations filled me with wonder. Studying them took me from basic understanding to relative expert as I grew from child to adult. That moment ignited in me a love for these old technical books.

Over the years I have found it almost impossible to pass up the opportunity to add to my vast collection, which is made up of mainly vehicle workshop manuals. A few I have bought new in order to help carry out repairs to cars I have owned but most are acquired or bought second hand from car boot sales or received as gifts from friends who find them tucked away in attics etc.

My most memorable haul was from our local car boot sale. Being the end of the day I managed to secure a haul of 74 original factory workshop manuals for just £2! And they were just as I liked them - well worn, dog-eared treasures full of character.