I read the book at least three times, and made notes and asked questions when I needed clarification. I’d never attempted any engine work without that book.

Did I make some mistakes? Yup.
Few if any were the books fault. But the engine seems pretty amazing to me after about 2500 miles since rework. Top and bottom, bottom was fine until a birdie found a set of 3.2 SS , then JE pistons, cam, tensioners studs … oh well

Good as Wayne's book is, I'd still suggest referencing PAG's factory docs just to double-check critical dimensions.

Sherwood

Wayne's book is the best deal on the market.
For a manual under 30 bucks the technical info is worth it alone.
Now if you cannot read then it may be problematic.

Run, don’t walk away from that guy. He wanted to sell me a used tranny for my 944 turbo, pics looked like it had been lying in a mud hole for years. Filthy. Wanted my c.c. right away to ship it out. Read the reviews about him, as bad as Motormeister….

Moderator please delete, wrong forum topic. My bad.

I have found Wayne's books very valuable references, but they are not shop manuals.

To be honest, I found some of the chapters more general in nature, probably out of necessity because of his efforts to cover a wide range of model years and to keep the number of pages & topics manageable.

Thanks! There is something about a paper copy though .. ..

I took em to a local print shop and had them printed and bound for $100. I was tempted to go with tyvek paper for longevity but that was significantly more.

Just FYI, if your reply is the last in the thread you can delete it yourself. (just tested it)

I think the read is worth $30 even if I didn't have a need for a rebuild!

Or you can edit it to say nothing.

I did the top end using Wayne's book. I also thought about things and read various posts on PP and asked questions. I probably made mistakes but not real bad mistakes. The engine is running fine with almost zero leak-down after 17 years post the rebuild. No oil leaks. I suspect that the engine rebuilders here have worked on 100's of engines they have a very good feel and eye for all sorts of things that can be done better or to watch out for. There is really no way for the DIYer to know all that and it isn't all written anywhere. It would be nice to read more on various places where the Wayne book has questionable or incorrect information. My memory is also that Wayne had a number of "experts" review the text. Working with my own hands on the car all these years was a big part of the joy of ownership.

This is all in line with what I have observed. I am collecting info and tools, and trying to convince myself that the cost of the engine rebuild isn't a waste of money... lol

If an aircooled experience was judged strictly on dollars and cents, we'd all own renegade hybrid 914s.

But there's more to it than HP/dollar. Researching, collecting parts, teardown, cleaning, polishing, working with vendors and machine shops and finally assembling and firing up an engine I built was an amazing experience. That gave me the confidence to tackle a 915 trans and a bunch of other projects (including three more motors since).

And there's definitely a secret handshake between dudes that have put one of these together. So you'd have that going for you too lol

Technical writing, done well, is difficult. Those of us who’ve created threads here or elsewhere and perhaps fancy ourselves as effective and entertaining scribes are forced to reckon with this. When you consider what Wayne managed to stuff into that book, that it played a major role in guiding many of us through rebuilding engines and that it was actually a concise and fun read … that’s quite significant.

I love that old quote: “I would have written you a shorter letter but I didn’t have enough time.”

Write, re-read, edit … over and over again.

John

Yes, I wrote instructions for a number of products. Not easy to do. It is hard work for sure.

I took the Jerry Woods engine rebuild class back in the day, about the same time Wayne's book came out. Things were very close indeed, between the book and what was shown in the class. Many of us had the book on the table as it was taught. IIRC, Wayne had taken that class too, years prior, among talking to many other reputable engine builders.

As far as there being errors or misinformation, I do not recall any. There are several ways to skin a cat, so some people may not agree with how Wayne times the cams or how he sets the valve lash, installs rods etc. - still, his methods will get the job done. Same with where to put sealant, how much, assembly lube or oil etc. etc. - all those things really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. These are all discussions like you'll have in the "oil threads" or "setting valve timing", where people go overboard and only their opinion is "correct".

Before the internet and Wayne's book, it was a lot harder to DIY a flat six, so I bet some of these old timers are just bitter. Not only do they lose business to full on DIYers but the barrier of entry to engine building by other shops certainly has gone down significantly.

I have been fortunate enough not to have to do any engine work recently, but even on the 993, if I had to, you bet the Wayne book would be on the workbench as a reference!

If you hang around this forum, you'll see that the guys who do this for a living sometimes have different opinions how do address some of the finer details of working on our cars. Sometimes it feels like religion. As for this clown who crapped on Wayne's book, maybe he disagrees with some of the details and feels strongly about it. Or maybe he's looking for business and this is one of his "techniques."

Fantastic book. I was only half surprised when I walked into my local shop and saw the air cooled tech (who has built 100s of motors) with the book open to the assembly chapter. I said "oh you have Wayne's book" and he said "yeah it's great I use it to keep track of the process because distractions happen and it makes for a great visual and literal checklist."

The only issue I can remember is a debate on whether to put sealant on the main bearing webbings. Pg 133 in my copy Wayne says to coat the mains with loctite 574. I think in the engine building forum, several respected builders say not to do this.

As I recall, my edition had a loose insert with revisions/corrections for the original text. Later editions may have included those updates.