Lambo meets John Haynes. The Haynes Manual
John Haynes, who has died aged 80, created a publishing empire out of the enormous success of the car workshop manuals that bore his name. In all, 200m have been sold since 1966, covering the maintenance and repair of more than 1,000 different models.
His formula was simple: dismantle and rebuild a car, illustrate with clear black and white pictures and diagrams, then describe the process in detail, in a language that the lay person can understand. With the familiar yellow and red logo, impressive cut-away drawings, fault diagnosis and step-by-step approach to every possible task – be it changing a bulb or dismantling and rebuilding a complete engine – the Haynes manuals captured the DIY ethos of the 1960s, 70s and 80s: a more self-reliant time, when maintaining the family saloon was still a bastion of male pride and the vehicles most people drove were simple, logical and analogue. [Gaurdian]
John died on 8th February 2019.
At the height of building Lambert's Chartered Surveyors (set up in my Attic bedroom) I did some daft advertising. For months, years (no idea) the back cover of the 'Inter City' train magazine was a map (there is a name for it, cant remember) of the entire network.
They then put the back page out for adverts. Back page was full colour so, how much? £6,000! What, in the words of John McEnroe, 'you can't be serious. Then Lambo thinks, if it costs that much it must be good.
I copied their map and said, 'here are a few of the places Lamberts have visited for client's. We had visited most, after getting a job to value 150 funeral parlous. Saw my first ever dead body in Selby, I just had to touch it, well his moustache. Got blase until I visited an embalming factory in Newcastle!
They objected to my artwork saying I had copied their map. I changed the squares to dots (stations) and wow, there is was on the back of every Inter City train in the UK.
Six weeks late , diddly squat, nowt. Total waste of money. Then.
This man, John Haynes phones me a says he has a problem and could I help. Drive to Dorset, East Coker and meed a very interesting couple for tea in their home. John problem was, he wanted to build a museum and the land, he owned it, was zoned for residential development and the planners were saying no. Residential development, pure rocking horse shit, me thinks but John had other ideas.
I got my money back and much more. I have no interest in cars other than it starts and takes me where I want to, the name John Haynes meant nothing. Job done, fees paid and one last afternoon tea in John Home with his wife. As I was leaving, John said , 'I would like to show you something. He led me down his garden to an old barn. He opened the door. Oh my god.... Around £10 million pounds worth of vintage cars.
His publishing company went from strength to strength. Expanded into taking anything apart (marriage) and putting it back together in simple speak. The year before John died, Lambo was blessed to meet him again. Enjoy.
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