I agree. That book is a great start for the newbie. It provides laymen
type explainations that at the very least provide a great springboard
into the more complex aspects of the modern vehicle.

It was one of the books that helped me decipher the various Beetles I
had over the years. I lost my first copy, but a friend who was selling
his mint 79' VW panel van gave me his copy for helping him get it
running. (well that and some beer!) I still enjoy reading it from time
to time, and when I am having a brain freeze over some aspect of the
basices, it's there to help. The illustrations are great too!

I wouldn't hesitate reccommending to a novice to help explain some
important aspects of maint./how things work.

On 1/25/07, Rob <becida@comcast.net> wrote:
> At  1/24/2007 01:22 PM, Robert Fisher wrote:
> >--snip--
> >>I don't want to start a "here's my tool list" thread
> >>because that's been done a gazillion times, but is there such a list
> >>published online?
> >--snip--
> >
> >Back when Joy had started her trek and was beginning to have troubles with
> >Matilda I was thinking that for 'folks like her' (the mechanical novice) it
> >would be useful to have a basic Vanagon tool list. I thought if you used the
> >maintenance schedule as a starting point, you could list the tools necessary
> >for each job, and by the end you would then have a list of those tools
> >necessary to do most of what you would ever need to do on the van. I suspect
> >that it would wind up being like any fairly comprehensive basic tool kit you
> >could buy but it would be interesting to see it and have it broken down by
> >job. You could then take the list, if you were so inclined, and assemble a
> >'Vanagon tool box', or fill in the blanks on the tools you have.
>
> Many years ago on this list I made mention of John Muir's book (How
> to keep your VW alive) & it's value even if you do have a water
> cooled vw and I did get more than one person to jump on my butt over
> recommending that "valueless" book.
> With that risk in mind I will again recommenced Muir's book. His
> basic tools, basic advice and just positive attitude on keeping your
> VW alive & dealing with it by the side of the road is worth it.
> Heck, even the first step in 'stops or won't start' is some of the
> finest advice you'll ever hear.... is it out of gas? Go ahead and
> laugh but it IS the first place to start.
>
>
>
>
> Rob
> becida@comcast.net
>
> With a '91 Subaru 2.2 in an '87 Vanagon in western Washington.
>