“Distributor caps, spark plugs and bump starts were a right of passage.”
It’s over fifty years since John Haynes, then still a schoolboy, published his first car manual. We remember lovingly caring for our owners manual, at a time when distributor caps, spark plugs and bump starts were a right of passage for every teenager. The Haynes manual was a passport to adulthood. No wonder these magnificent drawings bring on waves of nostalgia, not merely for their graphic style, but also in their depiction of those iconic cars of the 60s and 70s as the design classics many of them are.
Behind the famous brand name is the remarkable talent of Terry Davey. Largely untaught, Terry had the ability to visualise the internal workings of complicated mechanical assemblies and to draw accurate representations of how they would look from any perspective: sectioned, or in three dimensions, or when partly stripped of their casings. Writing a car manual takes between 20 and 30 man-weeks. Authors work in pairs, which shortens the origination time and stops them from going crazy. Haynes buy a car at the beginning of the project and sell it at the end - either to staff or on the open market. It is then that Davey examines the dismantle cars, taking first hand reference photography throughout the illustration process. During his time with Haynes he produced over 400 cover cutaways, and several thousand other technical illustrations. Other cutaway artists have come and gone, but Terry’s style remains uniquely identifiable. It was Terry’s incredible cutaway drawings which elevated the indispensable manual into a cult classic.
The mechanic’s bible, Haynes manuals are a graphic design classic. Our exclusive prints feature legendary vehicles in must-have colours. Explore our colourways or contact us to specify your own.
