I am thinking about writing an article for the "Buildsheet" that would explain how the revision dates work on the drawings, and give an example or two. Through talking to people I have come to realize that many don't understand how this works. If you think this info is needed and that I should write the article, let me know. If you think it's not needed, let me know that too, I have plenty of other things to keep me busy. Thanks. Duane
Assembly Tips Duane, I for one would appreciate a little education on this subject. I think everyone would benefit from it. Thanks, Larry
Duane, i think that is a great idea, i would enjoy knowing more about the drawings. i assume they were full sized drawings that have been reduced down in size by coping them for the assembly line workers and now our repro books. were any of the original drawings saved? have you seen any originals? i started on a drafting board many years ago and i love looking at these very detailed hand drawn drawings.
OK Guys, I will start on the article. I work on Architectural drawings everyday for mechanical systems in buildings, using AutoCAD, and was surprised with peoples questions about revision dates. Greg, You raised an interesting point, I always assumed the drawings in the assembly manuals were reduced scale drawings, but I have never seen any originals. Maybe Roberta, who works for Buick, can shed some light on this. Duane
Just to let everyone know, I have the article about 90% finished. I took examples from both the 70 and the 71 books, but the info should prove helpful no matter what year book you are looking at. I will send it to Rick M. when finished. Duane
Duane i think everyone will enjoy reading your article. the assembly manuals (reprints)were invaluable to me in doing my first time project car. i never thought about the original manuals till i read a post here recently about others finding some on ebay. i would love to see an original almost as much as i would love to have been perched on a drafting table with part in hand doing what i love to do which is drafting by hand, including ink on mylar with leroy lettering (showing my age). i used to work for a railroad/transit signal engineering company and have even revised linen drawings. autocad has taken the personality out of drafting especially lettering. i look forward to reading it.
article Duane, I got to preview the new Build Sheet tonight, and got to read this article. It was very informative. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Maybe it will be the first of a series? I do have a question about it though. Is that picture at the top of the article suppose to be of the author?:grin: Jeff
Greg, If you drew by hand, then Hats off to you. That is a true artform and requires patience that I don't have. The only things I drew by hand were geometric blocks in highschool, everything since has been with AutoCAD. We have a few Original paper drawings of 1880-1900 Downtown Philadelphia buildings in our office. They are beautiful with all the Victorian flourishes that were drawn by hand. Jeff, The only pictures I sent to Rick were pieces of the Illustrations/drawings that were scanned from the assembly manuals. I have not seen the published article yet, but hope Rick didn't put a picture of me there. The idea was to share info, not to scare anyone or make them want to start burning books. By the way, did you get the 70 info I sent to you? Duane
Yes I did get them Duane. Thanks a bunch! I haven't had a chance to put them in yet, but it will be nice to have it complete. I'm trying to figure out how to copy the other book I got without breaking the binding. I'll let you know when I do. Jeff
Greg, Do you remember working with sepia prints, eradicating fluid and descriptive geometry? I too miss Drawing by hand. It's a craft that is fast disappearing. It's hard to fell the same pride of workmanship with an electronic drawing.
ewh, i do remember eradicating fluid, I havent heard the term descriptive geometry in a long time, that was the name of one of my early classes. I think its funny how we used to use ink and leroy lettering guides by hand to make the lettering look uniform and now on CADD they use a hand lettered font, there is no personality in computer generated drawings. it took me years to develop my hand lettering look and it is unique to me.
Jeff stated, "Duane, I got to preview the new Build Sheet tonight, and got to read this article. It was very informative. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Maybe it will be the first of a series? I do have a question about it though. Is that picture at the top of the article suppose to be of the author?" I just got my "Buildsheet" and yes that is a picture of the author. However; it is an old picture, I have lost over sixteen pounds lately, so my belly doesn't stick out that far anymore. Still scratch my head though. Duane
Duane great article, I had never given the revision dates any thought before. invaluable for someone trying to do a 100 point resto to a correct buildate. I would really like to see a real Assembly Manual that I have read about in existence and not the reprint versions.
Duane, just read the article in the buildsheet...and while I had looked at revision dates never really considered how they could affect stuff. Excellent info, as always. I too wish I could see a real assembly manual, these repros aren't that great.... later Tim
Glad you guys liked the article, and hope it helps. If you want to see an Original Factory Assembly Manual I have one for the 69 Buick A-bodies. The drawings have the same revision dates as the one that Millenium sells. I can bring it to both the GSCA and BPG Nats if you want. Just remind me or I WILL forget. Duane
ASSEMBLY MANUAL Great article Duane! Thanks! Who sells the best repro manual? I assume that one is copied from a later manual would have more revision dates? Whats a good source? - Bill :TU:
Bill, I think the reprinted manuals that the venders sell, all come from the same place, but I can't say for certain. Most of these are early versions and do not have all the revisions. You are correct that the later versions would have more revisions, but if you have an early car then an early revision would be better suited for you. It would be easier to see what is correct, instead of trying to go backward through the revision block information. If you have a later car then a late version would be better. Some of the members on this board have originals, for instance John Diaz has a 72, and it is a (virtually complete) late copy with all the revisions. If you search the board there is a thread about it. I have been able to get copies of many assembly manuals, even a few other then Buicks. It is interesting to look at different versions for the same year, you get an idea of how parts changed during the production year. You can also see differences between the various production plants. I use this and other information to decode buildsheets for people. Duane
Hi, just doing a search concerning assembly manuals for my 71 Riv. Did you get an answer? Regards, Michael
