Typing 2 Ink - by Jim Bryant
Chapter Two: Just the Facts Jack

In the first chapter, I explained how I ended up with a '67 Deluxe that needed some major restoration work.  Others more experienced may have just started disassembly and doing what needed to be done.  I'd never done much more than keep my bus running, but I was no longer depending on my '67 for transportation, it was now a project.  But where to start?  My place to start was to educate myself--start reading.  Useful material can be difficult to find.  Some resource material is easy to come by, but of little real value.  Get your hands on anything you can--every little bit helps.

I started out with books most people can pick up easily or order at the local bookstore.  The problem with them is their too general.  How much do you expect to find in a book titled Air Cooled Volkswagens that applies to the one-year-only model you have in your garage?  My approach was to buy anything that applied to the Type II, and buy other VW books only if the price was dirt-cheap.  I also marked pages in book catalogs around Christmas.  I ended up with some good and some not so good reference material.  Maybe the following reviews can help someone avoid spending money on books that would be better spend on that elusive 12 volt fuel gauge.

Clymer Publications - Volkswagen Transporter 1961-1978 (338 pages)
One of several general almanacs of How To books available, this one contains all the basics of keeping a bus rolling: tune-up specifications, tire pressures, lubricant capacities, firing order, exploded views, wiring diagrams.  If you have nothing else, get one of these but don't expect it to answer more than general questions.

For example, their instructions for removal and installation of the wiper motor (1961-1967) are: disconnect battery ground, disconnect connecting rod, remove 2 bolts (Figure 53), pull motor out slightly, disconnect cable, remove motor.  Installation is, of course, the reverse.

Sure, there's a picture.  Figure 53 is a black-and-white blur of a shiny object next to an almost shiny object with a wrench on something that's in the dark.  And if you have a '67, forget it.  The '67 wiper motor is entirely different, more like the '68.  If you have never looked under your dash, these instructions might help, assuming you know what connecting rod, what cable and where the wiper motor is to begin with.

Don't expect anything on the body.  I also have the earlier edition (1961-1974, 280 pages), which devoted 10 pages to removing seats, door handles and bumpers.  The later editions replaced the "body" section with "exclusive Hi-Performance How To".   Personally, I could have used 50 more pages on the body.

Autobooks - VW Transporter 1954-67 - Owners Workshop Manual (155 pages)
This is a British version of the general almanac.  The bad news is you have to know the Queen's English.  The good news is that it covers back to 1954, including the split transmission case, crash gears, horizontal valves, and 30 hp (semaphore) wiring diagrams. It also uses more line drawings than photographs, which is a graphic improvement over the Clymer book.

Since I'm working on a '67, I haven't used this book much.  A friend of mine with a '58 was thrilled just to find the proper wiring diagram.  If you're working on a pre-1961 bus, forget Clymer and look around for this one.  Again, less than 10 pages covering the body.

VW Bodywork - Beetle-Bus-Fastback-Squareback (116 pages)
I bought this mail order, sight-unseen, thinking maybe I'd found the definitive source.  It's another Clymer publication, essentially the Sally, Dick and Jane guide to VW bodywork.  The print is large enough to read across a room.  About 24 pages deal with the Type II, and all the drawings (no photos) are of a '68 or later model.

If you have never ground, straightened, filled, sanded, primed or painted, you can get the basics here, including an attempt at humor.  Instructions like "place one rivet at a time and be certain to have the panels tightly together" are definitely meant for the novice.  If you're serious about restoration, this is more like reading the Sunday comics.  The one aspect of this book I never understood was why the author was presenting weighty subjects like panel replacements, which require good welding skills, in a Think-and-Do format.

For readers under 30, Sally, Dick and Jane were Stone Age (1950s and 1960s) subversives who supported communist values and waved Think-and-Do propaganda books at anti-establishment rallies.  This should give you some idea of the level of humor in this book.

Fix Your Volkswagen, copyright 1960, Jud Purvis (224 pages)
Step back in time forty years.  Imagine your father trading in the Rambler for a VW.  Now imagine him trying to apply good ol’ American tinkering techniques to that funny German thing with the engine in the back.  That's what this book is all about.  The dust cover shows a list price of $3.50.  A Sears price tag reads $2.95.  I bought mine for a buck at a Chevy-Vette Fest, probably the only way still available.

This book will help two types of people.  The guy who wrecked his Pontiac Trans-Am and has to drive a VW bus for punishment will actually understand the chapter titled "Simplified Valve Conditioning".  The opening paragraph reads:

Compared with conventional automobile practice, it seems strange to remove the engine to do a valve reconditioning job.  Actually, however, the engine can be taken out of the car in a few minutes.  As the engine is small and light in weight it is easily handled.

The other type of person who will appreciate this book already loves a VW and will find it quaint.  All the specifications and directions are spelled out in plain English sentences.  Contemporary (1960) pictures of the latest VW bus, including a great cut-away shot, are valuable guides for restoration, but since this was written to keep a NEW VW going, it never considers trying to save an OLD one.