Vehicles may have changed beyond recognition since the first manual was created in the mid-1960s, but the same painstakingly detailed approach to producing accurate and trustworthy repair advice has not. Each car, truck and motorcycle is stripped down and rebuilt, capturing every important step-by-step task along the way. DIY friendly techniques and tools have enabled millions of people to safely and successfully maintain and repair their vehicle.
A common question of today’s cars and trucks is whether they have become too complex for home mechanics. In actual fact, most tasks are easier than they have ever been, with only advanced electronic systems being “out of reach”.
John Haynes OBE wrote and published his first book, on building an Austin 7 Special, whilst he was still at school in 1956. He wrote two more 'Special' builders' manuals while doing his National Service in the RAF. The first 'proper' Haynes Owners Workshop Manual, for the Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite, was published in 1966. Based on the stripdown and rebuild of the project vehicle and with extensive use of step-by-step photographs – a process that has not changed to this day – this manual set the standard for the Haynes brand and started what is now a globally recognised publisher of practical information.