How to keep your Volkswagen alive
by Muir, John · first published 1969
63% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Step-by-step illustrated guide for people with no mechanical experience, teaching basic car maintenance from scratch. Readers value its clear drawings and its focus on older air-cooled VWs, and it suits novices.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This book is a must have for any new owner of an old volkswagen. I also recommend it for anyone to learn the basics of how an automobile works. John Muir teaches not only how to fix things, but what is really going on in simple easy to understand simile, metaphor, and anecdotes.
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My favorite book, even if you don't have a VW, is John Muir's "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot". It is great because it was written for someone with no mechanical experience, it assumes no specific knowledge, it is geared towards an older…
on “A small 2009 car demolishes a 1959 Chevy in a crash test [video]” ↗not online, but check out what is usually just called the idiots guide. Specifically "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot". Everything I know about auto mechanics I learned from that book. Like this site, it is sprinkled with personality and anecdotes (of a Santa…
on “Dan's online motorcycle repair course (1999-2020)” ↗How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot by John Muir and Tosh Gregg.. This book was originally published in 1969 and assumes you know nothing about cars or mechanical systems. They…
on “Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?” ↗I really enjoyed John Muir pubs like How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step by Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot. They are available for a handful of vehicles (the Subaru one is a favorite of mine). Available at a used bookshop or new. Great drawings,…
on “I bought an encyclopedia” ↗See if you can find a copy of 'How to keep your Volkswagen Alive' by John Muir and have a read through. Find an older VW (or similar) and that's the basics and a bit more. Definitely replace the fuel lines on an old VW, but otherwise drive it and let it tell you what…
on “I Built the Only 2026 WWII Jeep” ↗There's a classic well-illustrated book, _How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive_, which spends a whole illustrated page at the beginning building up a reference frame for working on the vehicle. Up is sky, down is ground, front is always vehicle's front, left is always vehicle's…
on “Nano Banana Pro” ↗A related artifact from that era, the very popular DIY repair manual: How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot by John Muir and Peter Aschwanden. I see it's still in print. This video shows some of the wonderful artwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjeth7lhHSk
on “VW Beetle Owner's Manual (1970)” ↗…me how to install/aim headlights and along with explaining the benefits of a working unmodified exhaust system and how it should sound. Reminds me of the hotrodding chapter of John Muirs[0] venerable How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive [...] for the Compleat Idiot[1] that starts describing the interplay between various systems and how just throwing a hot cam into an engine and calling it a day is a bad idea. Basically - How to hotrod…
on “Why is America stuck with bad headlights?” ↗> cartoon-illustrated DIY Honda Civic repair book from the 80's I no longer remember the name of. Sounds like the Honda version of “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive […] For the Compleat Idiot”.[0] [0] https://www.ssaircooled.com/vw-how-to-keep-your-vw-alive-com...
on “Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?” ↗I remember the repair book "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive for the Complete Idiot". On some beetles the battery light would flicker dimly, though nothing seemed to be wrong. The recommended fix was to put enough tape over it to block the flicker, but not the…
on “Malware can turn off webcam LED and record video, demonstrated on ThinkPad X230” ↗