How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive by John Muir, Peter Aschwanden, Tosh Gregg (1990, Book, Illustrated)

It has been decades since I first opened my first copy of this book (the Second Edition in 1970). At the time, I was in high school and almost every penny I earned went into my first car -- a white 1962 Volkswagen Beetle with a rag-top sun roof... John Muir helped me to keep it running through College and when I handed the keys to a used car dealer, it was still a great little car, but my copy of this spiral-bound manual had greasy fingerprints and hydrolic fluid stains all through it.

This is not your ordinary "how to" manual. This is wisdom from a hippy who has been keeping VW's alive almost his entire life. There are a multitude of Editions to this book. Edition Four (the focus of this review) will help you to operate and to repair 1950 through 1989 model Volkswagens, including those with 1200; 1300; 1500; and 1600 engines.

In this book, you will find cartoon pictures, hippy wisdom, step-by-step instructions for each system that can (and will eventually) fail on your VW. You'll read a little about his cross-country adventures and how to nurse a problem engine several hundred more miles to limp home to the rebuild.

I especially like the Chapter on "How to Buy a Volkswagen," where he gives you "quick-and-dirty" ways to check its major systems, right there on the used car dealer's lot or in the driveway of the private owner. MOM AND DAD: don't know much about cars? This is the book your son or daughter should read before you start to look for their new car -- especially if it's an older VW.

Been there. Done That. This one works for me...

If you're looking for, or own, a VW that's newer than 1972, then simply look for a newer Edition of this manual. All of these cars have a lot of miles on them and many have engines that have been rebuilt several times. How do you know what you're buying? Read this book.

John Muir passed away years ago, but this VW Manual will live on as long as there are VW's to maintain. Although you might also buy a Chilton's on this subject, you'll actually open this one and use it while under your VW.