SO...WHY BUY ONLY ORIGINAL MANUALS?

There are tons of reasons. I will list only a few here. I'm sure you have some of your own as well.

1. If you are a collector of old tractor literature, memorabilia, etc. (You definitely don't want a reprint in this case. Reprints have little or no value in most cases.)

2. Maybe you are restoring an old tractor.
From my experience, the hobby of vintage tractor restoration seems to be growing in popularity. If you are restoring an old tractor, especially if you ever plan to enter it in any shows, you'll want the original manual(s). This can get you more points from the judges as well.

- TYPES OF MANUALS & THE INFO IN EACH -

Operator's Manual - As the name implies, these manuals give basic operating and sometimes maintenance information for the covered machine(s).

Parts Manual - Usually contains illustrated lists with OE part number breakdown.

Service / Technical / Repair Manuals - These manuals give detailed information on service and repair procedures for covered machine(s). There are times when these may be broken down into volumes or issues. There may be a single manual which covers servicing and / or repair procedures for every piece on the machine.
Alternatively, there may be several manuals required in order to have the service materials needed for every part of the machine. For example...there may be an engine service manual, a chassis service manual, and a fuel system service manual.

- Determining the Print or Issue Date of a Manual -

Sounds simple, right? Well, that isn't always the case. The date of the manual is obviously very important. If you have a 1984 Widget, you don't necessarily want to buy a manual for a 1974 Widget. Maybe they didn't change anything, but that's highly unlikely!
I've looked for what seems like hours sometimes, perusing every single page, squinting my eyes and standing on my head to try and find the date of a specific manual.
In most cases, the date is pretty easy to find. On a few occasions, believe it or not, the manufacturer simply does not put a date or a number on the book. Other times, it is there if you know how to read the manufacturer's "highly super-secret code." I'll try to share a few pointers with you on how to break these codes and find out what the date of the manual is.

So....here are a few of those pointers for decoding a date if it is not clearly spelled out on the book. The examples that I will give will be using Ford / New Holland and John Deere. If you have questions on other brands, just drop me a line at info@vintagetractormanuals.com and I will be glad to help if I can.

Let's just say for example that you have a 1990 Model XXXX John Deere tractor and you need an Operator's Manual for it. You are looking at a manual which does not have a date clearly printed in it. Never fear! Take a look at the lower right-hand corner of the inside pages of the manual and you will see a number like 022291. You have just cracked the code! This number is the manual date. In plain English, it means the manual was printed February 22, 1991 (hence: 022291). You will also notice that the manual number on the cover will be something like OMTY12345 B1. The B and the 1 indicate the month and year of printing. Since B is the second letter of the alphabet, it represents the second month - February. The one indicates 1991. If the manuals were printed on September 15 of 1991, the number on the inside pages would be 091591 and the manual number on the cover would be something like OMTY12345 I1.

Let's also look at breaking the code on Ford / New Holland manuals. Some of them do not have a date clearly printed on the cover. However, there is usually a long set of numbers on the back cover. These numbers indicate the manual number and some other stuff that really don't know what it is. But they will also tell you the date. This set of numbers usually ends in something like 777P. The 777P is your key to unlock the code. It means (you've probably already guessed it) that the manual was printed in the seventh month of 1977. I really don't know what the P is for.

- WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO PAY FOR ORIGINAL MANUALS -

It's hard to say what you might have to pay to get an original manual for your machine. It depends on quite a few variables such as the age of your product, whether or not the manual comes from a dealer or another source and how hard-to-find the manual is. If you buy your manual from a dealer you can usually expect to pay a pretty high price. The manufacturers do not give these things to their dealers. They charge them a pretty penny for these rascals. It's not that dealers are trying to rip you off, it's just that they have to pay a lot for the books themselves. You can often find a wider selection of manuals and better pricing online, either on a tractor manual website or on eBay. We'll discuss that a little more in depth below.

- THE BEST PLACE TO FIND YOUR MANUALS -

eBay is the world's largest market place and they have tons of manuals for sale. At any given time, there are about 3,000 tractor / equipment manuals listed for auction on eBay. There are thousands more in the various eBay Stores. If you want, you could even start by looking at my items on ebay (told you I might do some shameless self-promotion) at BG Collectibles Plus.

You could also look at some of the many tractor manual websites, such as Vintage Tractor Manuals (a little more shameless self-promotion here!). There are other great sites out there too. You could try any or all of the sites below for example.
Rusty Bucks Ranch
Binder Books
Yesterday's Tractor

For more information on original manuals, you might also want to check out my eBay Manual Guide.

- SOME CLOSING COMMENTS -

I really do enjoy buying and selling tractor manuals and, I am no guru, but I have had quite a bit of experience in the field. I enjoy helping people where I can, including giving free information or just getting to know someone a little better by talking to them. I said that to say this... please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions comments or needs you may have. I am glad to help in any way that I can.

If we are fortunate enough to have you buy from us at Vintage Tractor Manuals or BG Collectibles Plus, we guarantee that you will be completely satisfied with every aspect of our transaction together. If for any reason you aren't, just let us know. WE WILL MAKE IT RIGHT!

Thanks for taking time to look through my "lens" and I hope you will bookmark this page. I plan on creating more lenses in the future.

Bill Gilliland
Vintage Tractor Manuals
BG Collectibles Plus