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I'm a big fan of "How to keep your Volkswagen alive..." guide for "the Compleat Idiot". It helped me achieve working familiarity with the bug, but...

I'm new to Type II's, having recently purchased a '79 Westphalia. Much, much different from a bug, don't understand that engine at all.

What have folks think would be the best mechanics manual for me? Is there anything equivalent to the Idiot Book for a '79 Westy?

Not really...but then the John Muir idiot book does go into ( a little bit) the type 4...which is very similar. The engines John Muir started with are so much less complex in their subsystems than the type 4 based units (type 2 with type 4 engine, 411/412, 914 porsche, Vanagon). The bentley manual would be the best manual. It explains in the most detail and to correct specs. The idiot book was actually detrimental in a few of its reponses, but did give a really good familiarity with the machine. Ray

sutro,

i agree with ray, bentley is the best by far. also the most costly: you get what you pay for. if you have the idiot book, the bentley is a great companion as it is much more model specific. for engine work, the tom wilson "how to rebuild your aircooled vw engine" is a must have. the haynes manuals cover the engine pretty well, too, and are availble cheap everywhere.

i have multiple copies of all three...and i use them all. i use the idiot book the least, but it is still an excellent reference at times. it has stock timing specs for many models, for instance.

scott lyons

Punkinfair...hee hee. I have mutiple copies of all my books as well. I havn't figured out wether this is just paranoia on my part...about possibly loosing something that may be out of print....or if I just like to keep one clean one for reading on the "throne" and one greasy one for under the car. Ray

So, any of you paranoids with multiple copies want to sell one?