Volkswagen Station Wagon/Bus: Official Service Manual Type 2, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I bought this book, Volkswagen Station Wagon/Bus: Official Service Manual Type 2, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978
by Inc. Volkswagen of America
and I paid the full price for it...because my dad told me it was the best Volkswagem manual ever written.

My project is to redo much of the wiring and restore his entire 1971 Kombi...He told me there are many beautiful color wireing diagrams that match the real colors of the wires, with no black, gray, and white coded drawings. That's why I bought this particular book. The book written discriptions are very good, but we need color wiring drawings.

Rating:
Summary: Useful, Recommended, but with Caveats
Review: This book has its uses. If you have a need to do moderately extensive work on your VW yourself, it's probably wise to have this book in your shop. It's inferior to John Muir's classic Idiot's Guide (ISBN 0945465122 ) in terms of providing effective ways of repairing your VW (not to mention less fun), but it works well as a supplement to the Idiot's Guide. It's a good secondary reference when using the Idiot's Guide as a primary manual for maintenance & repair. For instance, the Service Manual will often contain illustrations of tiny parts within parts that are lacking in the Idiot's Guide, which can be useful when trying to visualize how things fit together. When something goes wrong, turn to the Idiot's Guide first; when you want a little more padding to get your head around a problem, the Service Manual is often just the ticket. In short, something to keep in the garage rather than in the bus (as you should do at all times with the Idiot's Guide). Highly recommended for this purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Very good instructions and pictures.
Review: This book was very clear and concise and covered a lot of the repair issues. The pictures were good and clear. The only downside was they didn't cover enough or discuss all eventuallities. There was no discussion of modifications. This book is mostly just the basics.

Rating:
Summary: Reprint of the Factory Technician Service Manual
Review: This indispensible publication is the often-referred-to text used by the factory trained techs while servicing your vehicle at the dealership. The illustrations are clear and instructive. Measurements for new and acceptable wear limits are located within each chapter along with torque values. Each chapter is keyed by the subassembly ie. brakes, engine, chassis, etc. If you own Volkswagen products, this manual should be required to ensure you understand how your vehicle should be maintained. (If you do not actually get your hands dirty, consider offering it to your mechanic as a reference!) Bentley manuals are not quite as detailed as typical factory issued motorcycle repair manuals, but run a close second.