As the current custodian of the manual collection started by Alex, I don't know where the perception "we weren't allowed to call him Mr. Manual anymore" came from and right now that doesn't matter.
As far as I'm concerned - Alex was, is and always will be the original Mr. Manual. Without his recognition of the value of the manuals to collectors, restorers and researchers many of the manuals would have been lost and they certainly would not have been gathered into a unified information source. Where others may have seen a group of dusty old books about rusty old trucks Alex saw a gold mine of information that he took joy in sharing with the world.
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