How to Rebuild VW Air-Cooled Engines: 1961-2003

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New and unread; see Condition Description and photos.

Rebuild your Volkswagen’s air-cooled engine with confidence and get your beloved boxer back on the road.

How to Rebuild VW Air-Cooled Engines: 1961-2003 offers beautiful color photos with insightful step-by-step captions for expertly rebuilding Volkswagen air-cooled engines and provides in-depth, 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.

This resource focuses on 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 has embraced the VW air-cooled engine for its simplicity, its capacity to be modified, and its bulletproof reliability.

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. From 1938 until 2003, more than 21 million Beetles equipped with an air-cooled rear-mounted engine were produced.

If you have any interest in reviving your old VW, or perhaps are researching the purchase of one, this handy guide will cover all the bases in bringing that old air-cooled powerplant back to life.


Review

"From disassembly, to inspection, and on to the machining processes, Prescott tames the process like no other book available on the market. Engine books can be a little overwhelming at times, but all bases are covered in a simple and matter-of-fact way that's very appealing. DIYers will feel empowered to test themselves in the garage." (VolksAmerica 2019-11-12)

About the Author

Prescott Phillips has been building stock and high-performance Volkswagen engines and transmissions since 1981. A semiretired Journeyman Tool and Die Maker, he always strives for perfection and has the reputation for building strong, reliable powerplants. His love for drag racing and Volkswagens led him to build some of the fastest Beetles in the Midwest.

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