information needed

[JR1]

Hello, new to the forum and to Chevy trucks. My son and I are venturing into the field with his first vehicle and starting with a 1969 C20 longhorn 350 auto. Runs and drives well, needs some interior work and some minor mechanical. I am looking for some books on Auto mechanic basics for this generation of vehicle. I can't seem to find general explanations, almost like textbooks, just so we can learn the basics of every part of these things, tune ups, how stuff works like carbs, timing, vacuum, brakes, everything. And then get into specifics for this vehicle. We want to learn to do almost everything ourselves! I just found the forum and hope to soon have time to really look at some of your posts, but for now, if you know some good books, please let me know.

[ecgate]

I don't want to steer you away from books but the only thing you'll need to rebuild your truck is this forum. There is more info on this forum than you'll ever find in a book. Welcome to the site.

[geezer#99]

Granted there's lots of info on here but if you don't know the lingo it's hard to ask a question.
You want books just search on amazon.com. Search for 'how to rebuild your sbc or your quadrajet or your turbo 350 or your rearend or how to rebuild your front end etc etc.
http://www.amazon.com/

[jocko]

WELCOME to the forum and thanks for stopping by. After you look around a good bit, I am pretty certain you'll be a regular. 69 Longhorn sounds like a great project, and a father/son project is a great thing.

A few types of books you'll need, especially if new to the rebuild game:
- theory - i.e. "how does a carb work"
- procedures - i.e. general books about "how to do body work"
- and, most importantly - year-specific shop manuals and wiring diagrams.
By shop manuals, I mean the following:
- "Chassis Service Manual" (the most important one)
- "Chassis Overhaul Manual"
- "Assembly Manual"
- "Wiring Diagram"
- etc.

Amazon is great IF you know what you're looking for. To figure out what you may want to look for, here's a decent place for general ideas:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/t.aspx?Page=180
Look at pages 180/181 for general "Haynes" manuals and shop manuals. And note, most of this stuff, you can then re-google on amazon to comare prices.

Also, check this out:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=558016
A treasure trove of shop manuals in digital format. Hatzie did a wonderful thing here...

A few more comments on authors:
For sbc (350) rebuild, I swear by David Vizard
For quadrajet stuff, I swear by Cliff Ruggles

Also, check out the Motorbooks homepage, they produce a lot of the general theory and procedure stuff: http://www.motorbooks.com/
Select Automotive How-To to see the best subjects.

Again, welcome, and feel free to ask any question here. Anything you encounter, someone probably already has.

[JR1]

awesome guys, thanks for the start. I have already found and ordered a bunch of stuff on Amazon and can't wait to get started. One more thing. someone told me that they learned from you guys that its good to use the transmission fluid in the power steering. well, ok? what is the tranny fluid for the 1969 C20 350, and what would the transmission be, a 350 or 400? my books aren't here yet and I just wanted to ask another question anyway.

[PanelDeland]

The local B&N(Barnes and Noble),carries a lot of rebuild books like those listed above and also some General info stuff.a Haynes manual is OK but the Factory manuals are much more detailed and inclusive.