Oh how true!
As to blueprinting spec? Most specs are listed, either in the front of each section or chapter, or in the back under the general heading "Specifications" and then you had to look under each division and read across for each engine or component. My Dodge manual DOES list cam lift and duration for example, and to what engine it was applied whether 2BBL 4BBL or High Performance. But when it comes to tweaking engineered features such as CC'ing heads, that's asking to DAMN much. That's our job to figure out because what we're doing is balancing out manufacturing tolerances. No, no one head will have "exact matching" volumes just because of casting and machining deviation that you have to have limits on so it's affordable to produce, and still work well for the customer. Shift points and governor specs are listed too, but sometimes it's buried in the procedure. However, while some I praise for the occasional inclusion of a tutorial or theory of operation; my beef is that the editing isn't always up to par. In one of my manuals for the mid 1960's, the Fuel division has the setup procedure for an automatic's throttle pressure and kickdown linkage. You'd think that would be in the Transmission's division, and it does, but the pictures are out of sync and for two different procedures for two different engines that same picture is used say for Fig 30 and Fig 32. Confusing? Yes, but we need to be on our toes and hopefully have a thick enough book or other reference than can fill the gap or "complete the picture" as they say. Be aware that "factory" service manuals assume a "qualified" or experienced mechanic that doesn't need fundementals in practice or the nature of the business explained. If you need more than that, maybe get the happiness in another place.
