If you're a fan of old pickups or cars, you know how valuable - and elusive - the original shop manual can be.

Whether you need to make a repair, or simply want to know the appropriate service schedule your classic vehicle needs to be kept on, manuals offer a trove of valuable information.

Now there's a place to find most manuals for pre-1979 cars and trucks. American Auto Manuals has put factory original shop manuals on CDs. President Jim Styles says this is not only to make the manuals easier to search, but also to keep often-fragile manuals in pristine condition.

"If you're lucky enough to have all of the original paper books, why take a chance?" he asks.

You can order at the company's Web site, www.americanautomanuals.com. Each manual is $49.95. You'll find Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford trucks going back to 1938, as well as Jeep, Lincoln, Plymouth, Corvair, Desoto cars and more.