texasgooner

Hi All,

I have been given money for my birthday present and I wanted to get myself some 911 books (for servicing and repair).

Can anyone recommend the following:

Porsche 911 Carrera Service Manual 1984-1989 - Coupe, Targa, and Cabriolet by Bentley Publishers $93.56 (Amazon.com)

101 Projects for Your Porsche 911 1965-1989 - Wayne R. Dempsey; Paperback $20.37 (Amazon.com)

Porsche 911 Automotive Repair Manual (Haynes Repair Manual) - John Harold Haynes $13.97 (Amazon.com)

Originally I was going for all three. But then I heard the Haynes one isn't all that good. The 101 Projects comes recommended and good value, but is it worth spending more on the Bentley book? I think I'll go for the first two together unless someone suggests otherwise!

Cheers,
Justin
1989 3.2 Marine Blue

tchanson

Justin,

Of the three, the Bentley is the one to have if you don't have the factory manuals, IMO. Not perfect, but far and away the best aftermarket manual.

I would also suggest Bruce Anderson's 911 Performance Handbook as a basic staple of any 911 library.

Good luck,
Tim

lally911

The first two are the way to go. Those two plus rennlist provide enough info to do just about anything to your car.

r911

As above. Here is a more complete list....

Porsche Books

Carerra and Carerra RS – publ. 2003. Unique Motor Books.
Starkey, John. 2003. FROM R to GT3R - RACING PORSCHE 911 & 930
Jurgen Lewandowski’s “Porsche 959”
1963-1973 Porsche 911/912 Source Book
PORSCHE 911 FOREVER YOUNG by Tobias Aichele -- has lots of model year change info
WEBER CARBURETORS – OFFICIAL MANUAL; ALSO TUNE-UP & HOT ROD GUIDE
FANTASTIC PORSCHE, Vann - $26 Powell’s or $32 at Amazon
Lewis, . PORSCHE – FINE ART OF THE SPORTS CAR – 95$ Powell’s or $40 at Amazon

Weitmann, Julius, Michael Cotton (Editor) PORSCHE STORY , / Hardcover / Published 1991

PORSCHE. The Road, Sports and Racing Cars. by the Dalton Watson team. 1993, now out-of-print. 260 pages, size 9.5 in by 8.5in, hard-bound – no ILL

Becker, Clauspeter. 1997. PORSCHE 911 - THE EVOLUTION; Stuttgart. 1997 – no ILL

Marion Godau and Bernd Polster Design Directory GERMANY. Universe 2000 – no ILL
Cockerham, Paul W. -- Porsche

Michael Cotton. PORSCHE 911 AND DERIVATIVES VOLUME 1: 1963 - 1980. Croydon, Motor Racing Publications, 1994.
Michael Cotton. PORSCHE 911 AND DERIVATIVES - VOLUME 2: 1981 - 1994. Croydon, Motor Racing Publications, 1994.


Porsche Books - have already read:
Anderson, Bruce. 911 PERFORMANCE HANDBOOK, 2nd ed. – the definitive guide to hotrodding and to technical improvements over the years; getting a bit long in the tooth, so review his Excellence and Pano columns for newer info
Anon?. 2000. Porsche, The Essence of Performance.
Adler, Dennis. PORSCHE 911 ROAD CARS. 1998. MBI Publishers. –
Clausager, Anders Ditlev. 1998. PORSCHE - THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE MARQUE. Gallery Books. – photos and some history; numerous errors
Anderson, Bruce. PORSCHE 911 PERFORMANCE HANDBOOK – the bible; may need to update some info from his Excellence and Pano articles
Batchelor, Dean. ILLUSTRATED PORSCHE BUYERS GUIDE, 4TH ED. – updated by R. Leffingwell -- not very useful
Boschen, Lothar and Jurgen Barth. THE PORSCHE BOOK: A DEFINITIVE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY. 1978. Argo Books. lots of text and pictures with a lot of very informative info
Dempsey, Wayne R. 2003. How to Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines 1966-1989. – xlnt photos & clear text
Reisser, Sylvain. PORSCHE. Motorbooks Intl. – modern pretty picture book; concentrates on race cars
Gruber, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Georg Konradsheim. 1992. CARRERA RS. Hdbd., in slipcase, 10 1/2x 12, 255 pgs., 122 black – white illustrations.
Harvey, Chris. GREAT MARQUES – PORSCHE – picture book with superficial text
Lentinello, Richard A. 2000. AUTO FOCUS: PORSCHE 911 – pretty photos and not much else
Long, Brian. 2003. PORSCHE 911, THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY, 1963 TO 1971. Veloce Publ. – some nice photos, but text is hardly definitive
Ludvigsen, Karl. EXCELLENCE WAS EXPECTED. – have read to p. 350??
Meredith, Lawrence PORSCHE 911 – MODEL BY MODEL. –
Morgan, PETER. 1998. ORIGINAL PORSCHE 911,. – good photos and good text
Paternie, Patrick C. PORSCHE 911 RED BOOK
Porter, Lindsay and Peter Morgan, PORSCHE 911 GUIDE TO PURCHASE AND DO IT YOURSELF RESTORATION, Foulis Motoring Books -
Post, Dan. PORSCHE OWNERS COMPANION – rust prone areas, theft protection, how to park…
Prew, Clive. 1989. PORSCHE. - has some info on yearly models.
Leffingwell, Randy. PORSCHE 911 BUYER’S GUIDE. MBI Publishers. – highly repetitive and with several errors.
Starky, John. PORSCHE 911R, RS & RSR – not very in depth
Von Frankenberg, Richard. 1969. PORSCHE : THE MAN AND HIS CARS. Bentley Publ. 1983.
Zimmerman, Peter. USED 911 STORY – typical trouble spots, section on each model year
Seif, Ingo. 1985. Porsche: Portrait of a Legend. Gallery Books, New York, NY. – may be best of the pretty picture books; has essays by various notables

CONSIDER THE PORSCHE, by James D. Bell – Automobile Quarterly, Winter 1963-64
Car Books
Dennis Adler, ART OF THE SPORTS CAR – pretty picture book, concentrates on 1920’s, 30’s

Four-Stroke Performance Tuning by A. Graham Bell. goes through the engine system by system and describes how they are modified for racing.
Carroll Smith. Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook
How to Build Horsepower (Vol 1) by David Vizard.

SpeedPro Series Books: How to Modify and Tune Cylinder Heads" by Burgess and
Gollan and "How to Choose Camshafts and Time Them for Maximum Power" by Des
Hammill. BTW; don't waste your time with "How to build and Modify Cylinder Heads, Camshafts and Valvetrains" by Watson. The title is similar but the contents are not!
Freeth, Nick. Route 66.
Steil, Tim. Route 66.
Other
Brooklands Gold 20.00, 24.95 reprints of contemporary road tests; toad hall has these
Porsche: Power and Performance ed 2, Miller "S" 20.00 30.00
Porsche Racing, Sparrow 25.00
Porsche 911, Schiffer 18.00 20.00
Porsche -- Six Cylinder Super Cars 25.00 30.00
PORSCHE 959, Lewendowski ed. 2 65.00 80.00
Porsche 959, Pasini 40.00 49.95
PORSCHE LEGENDS, Leffingwell (soft) 17.00 19.95
Porsche, Road, Sports & Racing Cars 40.00 49.95
Illustrated Motorcar Legends Porsche, Bacon 13.00 14.95
HOW TO MAKE AN OLD PORSCHE FLY 18.00 22.00
Porsche Progress, Cotton 10.00 13.00
PORSCHE POSTERS, Lewindowski 85.00
PORSCHE LEGENDS, Leffingwell (hard) 25.00 29.95
CHRISTOPHORUS CALENDARS (70~91) 25.00@
AUTOMOBILE YEAR #4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15 200.00
AUTOMOBILE YEAR #27, 29, 36, 37, 38 75.00
Sources for Books & Parts
My Porsche 1-800-655-3280
Seaside, California
parts@my-porsche.com
motorbooks.com 800-826-6600.

Magazine Articles
Don’t Have Copy:
R&T - December 1963 - Tested: very first porsche 901, 911 cover story
R&T, March 1969 – 911T
R&T, March 1970 – Porsche 911S
R&T, April, 1971 – Porsche 911T
R&T, November 1972 – Ultimate Porsche 911
R&T, January 1969 - Tested: Porsche 911E
C&D, Mark Donohue tests Four ’69 Porsches
C&D, February 1972 – Tested: Porsche 911S, 911T & 911E
C&D, March 1968 – Sportomatic test
Motor Trend, May 1970 Page 76-78, 116 - 1970 Corvette vs. Porsche 911.
Motor Sport magazine 1970 - Porsche 911S
Motor Sport magazine 1966 - Porsche 911 2.0 litre

Have Copies:
R&T, March 1965 – Porsche 911 intro test; also Weber Carb article
R&T, November 1966 – 911S test, 906, Butzi interview
R&T, August 1973 – Porsche 911 S and Carrera RSR
Sports Car Graphic, Dec. 1965
C&D, April 1965 – Porsche 911 Great New Sports Car; and Rear Engined Cars Handle Best (by Jim Hall)
Motor Trend, May 1972 –Porsche Faces Porsche, John Cristy, p. 23.

Comparison Tests:
R&T, June 1969 – Four Luxury GT’s, p. 52 – 911T rated higher than XKE, Corvette (except on engine), or MB 280SL – owner’s images characterized, and Porsche owner is overly “serious,” not a swinger, and has a “limited sense of humor”

Bill Gregory

The Bentley book you can usually find on the internet for around $75, and is very useful. The 101 Projects book is also worthwhile. Haynes money can be better spent.

Although not on repair, if you want a really good Porsche read, find a copy of the out-of-print book "Cars Are My Life" by Ferry Porsche.

sandor

i got the haynes manual used from the philadelphia free library's book store. $2, it was a toss up between that and a gallon of gas, i *think* it was worth it... wayne dempsey's book is very worth the $20 it cost at barnes and noble.

r911

There are a couple of things in the Haynes that are not in most other books -- the ID for the screws on the H1 headlights is one.

It's odd tho -- for other makes, Haynes used to be the standard of the industry -- the best thing out there, and the only accurate aftermarket repair books 'cuz they were based on a complete teardown of the car.

Have they gotten worse overall, or is it just that the 911 book is bad for some reason....? At least we have Bentley now.

craig001

You can get Wayne Dempsey's books on eBay for around $20 delivered. I just picked up his "101 Projects" and "Engine Rebuilding and Modifying" for that price. I all ready had Bruce Anderson's book from when I thought I was getting a 911 last year. Bentley's is my next purchase. You might want to look for the 911 Restorer's Guide and maybe something by David Vivian.

Glus63

Thanks, Randywebb, for the list of all the books and articles. That's a great compilation.

I rememver reading the R&T comparison test in 1969 -- I had just bought a 69 Corvette, after previously owning a 67 911 (couldn't really afford the maintenance, I thought). The Corvette was built right after the strike that year, and looked like it had been shipped to me only half finished, with even worse quality than we had normally expected of GM products then. The article, although careful to not dump too much on the Corvette, didn't make me feel any better about my choice.

r911

It's an ongoing project -- let me know if there are any worthy items not o the list. I was busy at the libraries ILL counter last winter....

texasgooner

Thanks Randy for your help. I think I'll opt for the Bentleys guide, and the 101 Projects!

r911

Read Bruce A's too. In fact, I would put it before Wyane's 101 book.

rbcsaver

texasgooner:
I own most of the books mentioned. I have however, found Rennlist to be the best resource for my Porsche questions. The first thing that I would suggest you do with your BD Money (today is my 50th BTW) is join Rennlist as a LIFE member. Once you own a Porsche, you will always own one., and we'll be here for you on Rennlist. I have yet to find a book with the details that I can obtain here. After your Lifetime Rennlist, then buy Bentleys, Bruce Anderson's and Wayne Dempsey's 101 Projects. Also don't forget The Porsche Club of America's "Up Fixin Der Porsche"
regards,
Steve

mschafer71

Wayne Dempsey's new 911 motor rebuild and modifications book is great. Amazon has the best prices and sometimes you can buy used ones for even less. Forget about Haynes.manual.