VW Classic Beetle: Maintenance and Upgrades Manual & How to Rebuild VW Air-Cooled Engines: 1961-2003

VW Classic Beetle is the latest in the Maintenance and Upgrades Manual series, which are based on real-life experience and written by expert authors.

The original air-cooled VW Beetle is a hugely distinctive and popular classic car with over 21 million produced over a 65-year period. It is also an ideal starter classic for anyone looking to get their hands dirty.

This new book includes an illustrated timeline to the various models produced and a useful buyers’ guide with a systematic approach. There is information on workshop tools and equipment and a service and maintenance schedule. How to maintain all aspects of the engine, transmission, brakes and bearings, suspension and electrics are covered. Information on modifications and upgrades for the engine, brakes and suspension including front beam, dropped spindles, spring plates, air ride, and wheels and tyres is included. Troubleshooting tips for when your car won’t start or won’t go into gear are given and, finally, tips on restoration of the paint and bodywork, or respray. There are useful chapters on fitting an ISOFIX base for a child safety seat, as well as fire suppression. Covers rebuilding the VW Type 1, 2, and 3 engines beginning in the year 1961, when a significant redesign improved the reliability, durability, and horsepower of the basic initial design. For more than 70 years, automotive enthusiasts and the public in general have embraced the VW air-cooled engine for its simplicity, its capacity to be modified, and its bulletproof reliability. Offering beautiful color photos and insightful step-by-step captions for expertly rebuilding Volkswagen air-cooled engines, this book will provide indepth hands-on information for disassembly, inspection, machining, parts selection, preassembly, final assembly, installation, and tuning. Not only are the procedures for rebuilding covered in depth but engine model types, identification codes, specifications, and details are also covered in a manner that allows the user to source a good later-model candidate for rebuilding and helps retrofit the modern engine designs into earlier chassis. One of the most widely used and versatile internal combustion engines in the world, this engine has powered VW Beetles, Buses, Porsche 914s, off-road buggies and rails, formula race cars, and many other machines both on and off-road. If you have any interest in reviving your old VW, or perhaps are researching purchasing one, this handy guide will cover all the bases in bringing that old air-cooled powerplant back to life.