How to Keep your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir

ISBN 1562614800

Every VW Bug/Bus/Ghia etc. owner needs this book. Many of my email replies start out "Your questions are answered in 'How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive'. This is the great book by John Muir."

This book is great for all air-cooled VW owners. It has a good section on buying a VW, so I also recommend the book to prospective Bug lovers.

The book is illustrated with numerous drawings of the internal workings. Chapters: Using the book, How the VW works, How to buy a VW, Tools and parts, Driving tips, Flat tire, Engine running (or not) problems, Charging system (generator or alternator), Low oil pressure, Common Adjustments and tune up, Brakes, Front suspension, Clutch, Transaxle (aka transmission), Engine rebuild, Data and torque values, Light and electric, Performance mods, Changes for editions 1981 thru 1989, Long term stuff, extra ideas/recommendations, Index. The wiring diagram is only a single page, and is general enough to cover all Bugs. Muir is a genius in giving normal people instructions, step by step, to complete a repair. He includes a number of common pitfalls, and throws in some humor. He includes sections for the Bus (Type II) and occasional notes on the Type II, IV, and 411. There's even a diagram of the fuel injection system.

The book tends to be weak on the later models, although they aren't ignored. Many sections will have a note for different year models even up to 1979. You won't find details about trim and body work.

Muir passed away in 1977, and I think he liked the earlier models better. On the other hand, I personally favor the later models due to a few refinements like the larger brakes dual port 1600 cc engines, and fully independent rear end. Muir covers these later refinements, and offers sage advice about the strengths and weaknesses of the various improvements.

Baja Bugs & Buggies by Jeff Hibbard, edited by Ron Sessions

ISBN 0-89586-186-0

Jeff has a successful racing career, and he shares the what-works that he's learned. This isn't very detailed in some sections, but contain a ton of useful info. Also kind of dated, but what the heck. After all, I'm driving a 30 year old car. Highly recommended if you are building a Baja. This is the classic book about the racing Baja.

Chapters cover: Engine preparation, Transaxle and clutch, Front suspension, Rear suspension, Frames, roll cages, and skid plates, Brakes, Off road lights, Electrical mods, Wheels and tires, Fuel tanks, Steps in building a Baja Bug (body work), Safety tips, Driving tips, Common field repairs, Appendix, Index.

Mixed in with photos of racing action are black and white photos of parts. Jeff shows many individual parts and entire assemblies such as front and rear suspensions, engine, etc. There are 3 or 4 photos on almost every page. There are a few diagrams and cutaway illustrations. While Jeff covers an amazing number of modifications, he does not detail engine or transmission rebuilds.

How to Build a Dune Buggy by Earl Duty

ISBN 1-880524-26-0

This is actually about building a Sandrail. I have not read through in detail, but it looks great. It has a large number of black and white photos. Earl covers how to build what we now call a "rail" or "sand rail". He's a very practical kind of guy, and from what I've seen, his recommendations are solid, and he covers the nitty-gritty details that can drive you crazy if someone doesn't mention them.

How to Hot Rod Volkswagen Engines by Bill Fisher

ISBN 0-912656-03-4

This books is wonderful. It has actual dyno testing for most of the recommended tunings. The only down side is that some of the material is pretty dated, and they talk about equipment that I've never seen for sale. Great, in depth info and solid explanations.

The best part of this book are the dyno charts comparing horsepower gains. There are charts comparing ignition, single barrel carburetors, two barrel carburetors, dual carburetors, exhaust systems, head flow tests. There are chapters on history, bolt on mods, price of horsepower, horsepower ratings, ignition, carburetors, exhaust, cylinder heads, pistons and cylinders, cranks, lubrication and cooling, cam and valves, blueprinting, assembly tips, superchargers, Porsche engines, swapping a late model engine into a pre-66 car, converting flat engines to upright, suspension and handling, some parts info.

Some of the info is dated, but I learned a ton from this book. This will open your eyes to some of the crazy claims that people make for various mods and "bolt on horsepower". This book is very useful to someone like me who just wants better performance, or to someone building an all out VW monster.

Volkswagen Beetle and Karmann Ghia Service Manual, Type 1 : 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969 (Volkswagen Service Manuals from Robert Bentley, Inc) by Volkswagen of America Inc.

ISBN 0837604168
1972 edition.

This is the definitive factory shop manual.

Chapters: Getting Started, Engine, Fuel System, Front Axle, Transmission and Rear Axle, Automatic Stick Shift, Brakes, Lubrication and Maintenance, Body and Frame, Electrical System.

The engine, fuel, axles, brakes and transmission chapters are great. The body and frame doesn't cover the more difficult repairs like head liners. Some repairs assume that you are using all the special VW tools. Before getting this book you'll want "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" which shows all the good shortcuts, and gives advice. The shop manuals assume that you are a mechanic, and often leave out advice based on that assumption.

Volkswagen Official Service Manual Super Beetle, Beetle and Karmann Ghia 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (Volkswagen Service Manuals from Robert Bentley, Inc) by Volkswagen of America Inc.

ISBN 0837600960
1990 edition.

The complete shop manual. This manual covers the front suspension of the Super Beetle which is different from all other VWs.

Chapters: Engine, Fuel System, Transmission and Rear Axle, Body and Frame, Brakes and Wheels, Front Axle, Electrical System, Strut Front Suspension, Automatic Stick Shift, Lubrication and Maintenance, Fuel Injection.

The engine, fuel, axles, brakes and transmission chapters are great. The body and frame doesn't cover the more difficult repairs like head liners. Some repairs assume that you are using all the special VW tools. Before getting this book you'll want "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" which shows all the good shortcuts, and gives advice. The shop manuals assume that you are a knowledgeable mechanic, and often leave out advice based on that assumption.

My 1979 edition had color wiring diagrams, but I understand that the 1990 edition has black and white wiring diagrams. You have to figure out wire colors from the diagram because color codes are not specified.

VW Beetle Performance Handbook by Keith Seume

ISBN 0-7603-0469-6

Like all of Keith's books, this one is good. If you are doing a resto/custom or custom Bug, I'd get this and his newer book about customizing.