How to Modify Volkswagen Bus Suspension, Brakes & Chassis for High Performance
By James Hale
Published by Veloce (part of their Speedpro Series)
First impressions - A refreshing change from all those "How to modify your engine" publications that barely touch on the subject of improving the chassis to handle the extra power. The introduction is at first glance rather long; however; the explanations of the various "generations" of the bus would be very useful to the beginner. The introduction also highlights some points of safety that could be overlooked regarding the size and weight of the 'Bus' compared to a car. The second part of the introduction is a typical 'Workshop Procedures, Tools & Safety' summary covering the basics, again ideal for the novice and perhaps a reminder to the more experienced that safety should not be overlooked.
The lead into the main content explores a brief history of the suspension / chassis / brake systems over the three 'Bus' types covered by the book, I thought this was a logical start as it introduces the reader to the differences in chassis design which is important when looking at the modifications described later in the book. The following chapters covered the possible modifications themselves, starting at the front suspension and brakes, progressing to the rear. The book is full of colour photographs, over 250 mainly in colour, (and no I haven't counted them - it says so on the rear cover) the photographs and illustrations are of excellent quality and in many circumstances explain more about a modification than the text. I was surprised at the number of modifications and chassis / suspension / brake tuning parts that are available for the 'Bus', the author must have done a vast amount of research to produce such an in-depth account of the 'VW Bus' chassis / suspension modifying scene world wide, the modifications covered in this book range from the straight forward 'bolt on' tricks to the fully engineered (welded, machined, etc) high tech modifications, including 'air suspension'. It's pointless for me to give examples of some of the mods, there are just too many to choose from. Initially I thought the cover price of £17.99 was rather steep, however, after reading the book I've had a change of mind, after all, where else would you get so much specialised information for less than 18 quid. The book is finished off with two appendix chapters, the first being a listing of clubs and suppliers that may be useful to the reader, the second is a comprehensive listing of chassis numbers and model designations, very handy when looking for bits from the VW parts bin or breakers yard to modify your van.
To summarise - from a professional point of view I thought this book was well laid out and informative, full of clear colour pictures on almost every page. An ideal compliment to a workshop manual when pondering modifying your VW Bus, a fair amount of information and ideas in a book with only 128 pages. A very minor disappointment in the lack of clubs listed in the appendix as often clubs are a focal point for information and many Bus Modders are members of one club or another, but as I say this is only a very teeny tiny disappointment. From a personal point of view, the book was loaned to me to review by 'VW Books' but as I enjoyed reading this book and found it very informative, they might not get it back, it could well become the newest member of my collection, cheques in the post. My thanks to VW Books for 'loaning' me the book -
they can be found on 01592 245 345 or on the web at www.vwbooks.co.uk