First published in 1969, this classic manual of automotive repair equips VW owners with the knowledge to handle every situation they will come across with any air-cooled Volkswagen built through 1978, including Bugs, Karmann Ghias, vans, and campers. With easy-to-understand, fun-to-read information — for novice and veteran mechanics alike — anecdotal descriptions, and clear language, this book takes the mystery out of diagnostic, maintenance, and repair procedures, and offers some chuckles along the way. This edition features new information on troubleshooting, new photos, and an updated resource list.
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About the Author
John Muir, mechanic, author, and the publisher, wrote the original How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive in 1969. He died in 1977.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 57 people found the following review helpful
By J. LaTorre
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
First, my credentials for this review. From 1971 to 1994 (with insignificant gaps), I've owned and driven three Vokswagen buses (not including a parts bus)and used this manual to keep all of them on the road. As of this writing, I'm driving my fourth bus. I've gone through four copies of the Idiot Book, using each one until it either fell to pieces, became illegible from grease and oil stains, or needed to be updated as I bought a later-model bus. It has guided me through six or seven engine rebuilds (I used my engines very, very hard) and God knows how many other procedures ... I think that I've done every single procedure in the book that applied to my particular makes and models. And using this book, I've done work on various WV bugs, buses, and squarebacks that belonged to friends of mine.
I agree with everybody who calls this the indispensable reference for VW owners. I also agree with those who point out its shortcomings. Muir quotes a friend of his, on a review of another VW book. as saying "I agree one hundred percent with ninety percent of what he says." That could also apply to my own feelings about this book.
As a technical manual, it mostly consists of solid information -- solid enough, anyway, to get you back on the road so you can find somebody to show you how to do it the right way. I've always advised a prospective repairer to own both this book and another manual (my favorite was the green Volkswagen Official Service Manual, also called the "Bentley"), read the Muir write-up first to get a general idea of what to do, and then compare it to the other manual, note the differences, and ask somebody why the differences are there. Usually it's because Muir assumes you're making do with a minimum of tools, or are too cash-strapped to make a proper fix. Occasionally, you'll find that John was flat wrong about something (such as how to warm it up in the morning, or why chokes should be disabled, or why the 009 distributor was perfect in every way), or that your particular model had a different set-up than the ones he was familiar with.
But to simply compare this book with other technical manuals would be to ignore the most important feature of this book, which is its ability to empower you. It presumes that the reader has no technical aptitude and starts you gently down the road to proficiency and self-confidence. I'll bet that more mechanics have been inspired by this book than any other technical manual ever written. Not only that, but once you have discovered that you can indeed perform a repair competently, you get a sneaking suspicion that there are other things you can do if you apply the same confidence, common sense, and ingenuity that John taught you about. I doubt if I would have had the courage to time a sewing machine, install a hard drive, build a mandolin, or re-assemble a hang glider if John hadn't shown me that I had the potential to do these things.
This book has survived because of its idiosyncrasies, not in spite of them. John writes that "You must do this work with love or you will fail. You don't have to think, but you must love." He's telling you something important about Life here, and about the relationship we have to our possessions and to our work. Forty years later, these are still wise words, and to find them in an automotive manual is astonishing. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" tried to apply philosophical principles to machine repair, but it failed because he was no mechanic and tried to gauge his mechanic's skill according to his own expectations of what a mechanic's mind-set should be. John knew better. He knew, and taught, that you achieve oneness with the machine by applying mind, heart, and hands together, and by listening to the machine as it tries to tell you what needs to be done. If there's ever been another book like that, I haven't heard of it. And if there is, I'll wager that the author has read the "Idiot Book."
I agree with everybody who calls this the indispensable reference for VW owners. I also agree with those who point out its shortcomings. Muir quotes a friend of his, on a review of another VW book. as saying "I agree one hundred percent with ninety percent of what he says." That could also apply to my own feelings about this book.
As a technical manual, it mostly consists of solid information -- solid enough, anyway, to get you back on the road so you can find somebody to show you how to do it the right way. I've always advised a prospective repairer to own both this book and another manual (my favorite was the green Volkswagen Official Service Manual, also called the "Bentley"), read the Muir write-up first to get a general idea of what to do, and then compare it to the other manual, note the differences, and ask somebody why the differences are there. Usually it's because Muir assumes you're making do with a minimum of tools, or are too cash-strapped to make a proper fix. Occasionally, you'll find that John was flat wrong about something (such as how to warm it up in the morning, or why chokes should be disabled, or why the 009 distributor was perfect in every way), or that your particular model had a different set-up than the ones he was familiar with.
But to simply compare this book with other technical manuals would be to ignore the most important feature of this book, which is its ability to empower you. It presumes that the reader has no technical aptitude and starts you gently down the road to proficiency and self-confidence. I'll bet that more mechanics have been inspired by this book than any other technical manual ever written. Not only that, but once you have discovered that you can indeed perform a repair competently, you get a sneaking suspicion that there are other things you can do if you apply the same confidence, common sense, and ingenuity that John taught you about. I doubt if I would have had the courage to time a sewing machine, install a hard drive, build a mandolin, or re-assemble a hang glider if John hadn't shown me that I had the potential to do these things.
This book has survived because of its idiosyncrasies, not in spite of them. John writes that "You must do this work with love or you will fail. You don't have to think, but you must love." He's telling you something important about Life here, and about the relationship we have to our possessions and to our work. Forty years later, these are still wise words, and to find them in an automotive manual is astonishing. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" tried to apply philosophical principles to machine repair, but it failed because he was no mechanic and tried to gauge his mechanic's skill according to his own expectations of what a mechanic's mind-set should be. John knew better. He knew, and taught, that you achieve oneness with the machine by applying mind, heart, and hands together, and by listening to the machine as it tries to tell you what needs to be done. If there's ever been another book like that, I haven't heard of it. And if there is, I'll wager that the author has read the "Idiot Book."
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Ofir Bitton
Format:Paperback
Don't
even think about touching anything else on your car till you read it cover
to cover. It, for lack of a better term, is THE aircooled bible. It is
written for the VW driver that knows NOTHING about anything mechanical or
electrical.
THIS is the best (...)you
can spend on your car.
even think about touching anything else on your car till you read it cover
to cover. It, for lack of a better term, is THE aircooled bible. It is
written for the VW driver that knows NOTHING about anything mechanical or
electrical.
THIS is the best (...)you
can spend on your car.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By W.D. Carter
Format:Paperback
This is a great book, but I own a rare 1969 Auto Stick Beetle. After buying the book from a Motorworks dealer in New Jersey, I found to my dismay that the book contains no information or help for the auto stick owners. Despite this, the book is a great help for other VW issues. I especially like the illustrations. Many of them are funny, interesting and awesome especially for Bug fanatics like myself.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential
This is a must have for a VW owner or someone interested in VW's. It also contains a bit of very witty humor.
Published 18 days ago by Jeffery Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful for first time Bug restorers/owners
I like the writing and pictures. Many Many Kudoos goes to the authors who are covering a large subject area
Published 1 month ago by Barbara A Obiedzenski
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best VW Repair Manual money can buy!
This book is unbelievable when it comes to step by step repair instructions. Every other repair manual can be ambiguous and the photos don't match what the text says so you can get... Read more
Published 1 month ago by gregory carver
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST HAVE FOR THE AIRCOOLED VW OWNER!!
This is the fourth or fifth edition I have purchased of this manual. I would recommend it to anyone who owns a classic VW!! History, Trouble-shooting, procedures . . . Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Buffo
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Title is 100% Correct
I had this book years ago when--surprise--I had a Volkswagen. A Super Beetle. I'm inspired to write this, not that it needs it because most folks seem to comprehend the value it... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jonathan D Goodwin
5.0 out of 5 stars
great VW book.
not only lots of info, but full of fun things to read and it covers bumper to bumper. a must for any VW owner
Published 2 months ago by John W Coffman
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Groovy Book, Man!
I love this book. It's truly nostalgic. It is lengthy, but there is a lot of information here. It can be a little hard to read at times, as much of it is hand-written and the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mark De Los Gatos
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, easy to read
Written in laymans terms, great down to earth information on how your VW works and how to keep it running. Highly reccomended.
Published 3 months ago by Daniel L Cranston
2.0 out of 5 stars
book
It OK not like the original book. Not much you can say about a book. But I guess you have to write something to submit.
Published 3 months ago by Wozzie
3.0 out of 5 stars
dissapointing
To hard to read, not put together in a way as you could turn the page and get your answer.
Published 4 months ago by larry livingston
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
20
books
cite this book:
See all 20 books citing this book
- San Francisco Bay: A Pictorial Maritime History by John Haskell Kemble on page 8
- Small Wonder: The Amazing Story of the Volkswagen Beetle by Walter Henry Nelson on page 426
- Small Wonder: The Amazing Story of the Volkswagen. by Walter Henry. Nelson on page 426
- Volkswagen -- Beetles, Buses & Beyond by James M. Flammang on 4 pages
- Bug: The Strange Mutations Of The World's Most Famous Automobile by Phil Patton on page 116, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Bug: The Strange Mutations of the World's Most Famous Automobile by Phil Patton on page 116, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Writing and Designing Manuals, Third Edition by Ryn Etter on page 33, and Back Matter
- The People's Guide to Mexico by Carl Franz in Front Matter, and page 519
See all 20 books citing this book
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