Do detailed car manuals exist? If I wanted to recreate a car?

JMapleton

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2008
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I've had this idea of trying to replicate/rebuild a certain car by simply building a new one, part by part, exactly as the original was. Every part, every piece, the engine, everything. Just like in my garage.

I've seen some companies put out detailed books on certain cars and how to repair them.

Do manufacturers or any publishing companies produce anything like this? Or in theory, would I need a real copy of the original car in front of me and disassemble it and examine the parts that way.
 

tortillasoup

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2011
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The books aren't that detailed as they're for repair... not to mention the fact that service manuals have this magical 2k page limit for what ever reason and if it exceeds that, it doesn't go in. Its this reason why I like working on different makes and models of cars as I find insight into repairing and diagnosing various things as not every service manual will have such insight into it... Some manuals will tell you how to read ignition misfire and some will teach you how to test an alternator, etc. It's kinda interesting how that works but it has been my experience though that if you read a service manual for a specific model cover to cover, it still won't point out exactly how and where every part goes, how to remove it, etc.
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
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81
Nope. Too much data for a single book.

Just the cad drawings, data sheets, stress tests, material analysis, specs and dimensions, casting mold cads, packaging and shipping details, etc for a single part alone would be several pages.
 
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michal1980

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2003
8,019
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91
Nope. Too much data for a single book.

Just the cad drawings, data sheets, stress tests, material analysis, specs and dimensions, casting mold cads, packaging and shipping details, etc for a single part alone would be several pages.

naw it wouldn't be that long.

But no company is going to give away any drawings you could use to manufacture their parts.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
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0
Depends what kind of car. Restoration might be more up your ally than building your own car from scratch.
 

amish

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
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it would be nice for plans of now defunct cars to be available. I'd love to build an old Cord or Rockne in my garage. but somebody would have to make money off of the plans being available.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
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You can basically build a VW bug or a classic Camaro or Nova from scratch since virtually every part has an aftermarket copy or original stock still around.
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,709
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you can get body shells for curtain cars, be easier that starting from scratch.
 

JMapleton

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2008
4,179
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81
Depends what kind of car. Restoration might be more up your ally than building your own car from scratch.

I want a Ferrari 288 GTO. I would never find one that needs restored and if I did it would still be too much. But I just wondered how difficult it would be to make one myself.
 

JMapleton

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2008
4,179
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81
Holy shit...

Can't be that hard, it's a simply vehicle. Likely not a lot of electronics like cars today. Sure it would take a lot of money and a lot of time but likely far less money than buying an actual one. It's just a dream I have, I hope I can try one day.
 

michal1980

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2003
8,019
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91
I want a Ferrari 288 GTO. I would never find one that needs restored and if I did it would still be too much. But I just wondered how difficult it would be to make one myself.

LOL LMAO.

It would cost you more then a restore job. Far Far Far Far more.
 
Feb 24, 2001
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Can't be that hard, it's a simply vehicle. Likely not a lot of electronics like cars today. Sure it would take a lot of money and a lot of time but likely far less money than buying an actual one. It's just a dream I have, I hope I can try one day.

If it were that simple, everyone would be driving around in one.

Can you fab an engine block in your garage? Heat treat steel to withstand the brutal life of a piston?

I doubt even Jay Leno could fab a Shriner car in his garage from raw material. Much less a Ferrari.
 

JMapleton

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2008
4,179
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81
If it were that simple, everyone would be driving around in one.

Can you fab an engine block in your garage? Heat treat steel to withstand the brutal life of a piston?

I doubt even Jay Leno could fab a Shriner car in his garage from raw material. Much less a Ferrari.

I don't mean fabricate everything in my garage, but have a company produce each part and then I assemble it in my garage.

I've been thinking, if I could find a quality Chinese fabricator and get each part's specifications, I might be able to.
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,222
136
The books aren't that detailed as they're for repair... not to mention the fact that service manuals have this magical 2k page limit for what ever reason and if it exceeds that, it doesn't go in. Its this reason why I like working on different makes and models of cars as I find insight into repairing and diagnosing various things as not every service manual will have such insight into it... Some manuals will tell you how to read ignition misfire and some will teach you how to test an alternator, etc. It's kinda interesting how that works but it has been my experience though that if you read a service manual for a specific model cover to cover, it still won't point out exactly how and where every part goes, how to remove it, etc.


You need to get out of using Chilton's and Haynes manuals and move into the factory service manuals. They do indeed point out exactly how and where very part goes, how to remove it, how to install it, how to check its dimensions (when appropriate) for suitability for use (bearings, rings, etc., etc.).

For instance, the factory service manual for our Lexus GX 470 is 4 volumes, well over 2k pages (heck, one section in one volume is over 450 pages and that isn't the whole volume), and extremely detailed in every aspect of the vehicle's disassembly/reassembly/testing/measurements.



As for the OP's plan, once you source the dimensional diagrams for the components you need (for instance--block, heads, transmission case, etc.), sure, you may find a Chinese source that has nothing to do with their CNC machine and can carve out appropriate pieces for you.....but you'll end up paying vastly more than just buying replacement parts direct from the manufacturer. Quantities of scale and all. And good luck with the first few parts produced. Bet they won't fit worth crap.

Seriously, if it could be done cheaper than what's already out there, don't you think people would already be doing it?
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,534
911
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I don't mean fabricate everything in my garage, but have a company produce each part and then I assemble it in my garage.

I've been thinking, if I could find a quality Chinese fabricator and get each part's specifications, I might be able to.

You clearly haven't thought this through and/or have no idea what it costs to manufacture one off parts like this. The tooling costs alone would be many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Plus, you don't have any of the technical drawings (and I seriously doubt Ferrari is going to give them to you-or anyone else for that matter) so you have no idea what the tolerances or dimensions are on any of the thousands of parts that make up the car.

You might be able to fabricate a replica car but it will not be worth anywhere near what an original car would nor would it easily be mistaken for the real thing.
 

tortillasoup

Golden Member
Jan 12, 2011
1,977
4
81
You need to get out of using Chilton's and Haynes manuals and move into the factory service manuals. They do indeed point out exactly how and where very part goes, how to remove it, how to install it, how to check its dimensions (when appropriate) for suitability for use (bearings, rings, etc., etc.).

For instance, the factory service manual for our Lexus GX 470 is 4 volumes, well over 2k pages (heck, one section in one volume is over 450 pages and that isn't the whole volume), and extremely detailed in every aspect of the vehicle's disassembly/reassembly/testing/measurements.



As for the OP's plan, once you source the dimensional diagrams for the components you need (for instance--block, heads, transmission case, etc.), sure, you may find a Chinese source that has nothing to do with their CNC machine and can carve out appropriate pieces for you.....but you'll end up paying vastly more than just buying replacement parts direct from the manufacturer. Quantities of scale and all. And good luck with the first few parts produced. Bet they won't fit worth crap.

Seriously, if it could be done cheaper than what's already out there, don't you think people would already be doing it?
I don't use chilton's and haynes, I always use factory service manuals. I thought that was pretty explicit when I mentioned that it was over 2K pages which a Chilton's or Haynes never is that many pages.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
oh my cow.
"I cant afford a car so Im just going to make one from scratch"... wtf

I also cant afford to buy a Ferrari 288GTO/Boeing 747/Skyscraper, but that doesnt mean I can just go make one from scratch in my garage.

Have you ever worked on cars before?

This thread is silly, and I love it.
 

drnickriviera

Platinum Member
Jan 30, 2001
2,419
206
116
If you are going to build one, at least build a lambo. I'm sure you could get some plans from this guy

Lamborghini-Revenon-replica3-550x284.jpg
 

natto fire

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2000
7,117
10
76
Looks like the garage turning into a sewer is a cyclical event?

If you are asking about factory service manuals, then Helm's makes a great one for many cars.

There are many substandard alternatives, and they will do the trick, at least for me. It doesn't take much to outsmart an engineer who is stifled by bean counters and lawyers...