Porsche Books

the book has great pictures, all in color, good information, a spec list at the end, but there are too many spelling and grammar errors but it's worth getting anyway. Detailed in how the car came about, how it's made, and how it runs.

For those restoring or merely researching Porsches through 1979 production models, this book contains a mountain of information. Data on serial, engine, and transmission numbers is included as well as minute details on model identification. Highly recommended for the Porsche owner, or wishful owner.

This book is actually a collection of magazine articles about the Boxster. Complete reviews, road tests, and photographs as they originally appeared in magazines such as Road & Track and Car & Driver are simply presented. I like it.

In contrast with the many Porsche books developed along performance, historical and production series themes, this one is about practical experience in driving a porche. Mainly, the delicate balance between driving and experiencing your car and retaining optimum value. There are also sections on safe-guarding against theft, securing competent reconstruction, buying and selling and performing value retentive maintenance. This is practical, owner centered advice written by an author obvious very knowledgable on Porche ownership. A valuable edition to any Porche owners book collection.

This is an excellent book about the role of Porsche in the very best years of car racing.

May be more color pictures should be an improvement, but in any case I think this book it's a "must" for every body who loves car racing, mainly endurance races.

Even though this book is a little expensive, it is one of my favorite books on Porsche. Weitmann lived just a short distance from the Porsche factory, and for years was the official photographer for Porsche. His photos, and those of several other photographers, make this the 'family photo album' of the Porsche factory. You may recognize many of these photos because they are some of the most famous Porsche photos ever. Combined with Michael Cotton's fine editing and writing, this later revised-edition has grown to over 400 pages and covers most of the Porsche production and racing up to 1991. It is an absolute 'must' for any collector of books about Porsches. Buy your copy before it disappears from the shelf.

This book was sold through Porsche Cars North America's dealer network in the late '80s under a "BOU" (Porsche Boutique) part number. It is a compendium of the famous "Factory Calendars;" from the 356 of 1952 to the Rothmans Porsche 956 of 1984. Posters are displayed in full, half, and quarter pages. This is the only place you will find the entire collection in one place. Large format book; hardbound; 160 pages of quality reproductions with text in German, French, and English. Extremely hard to find and a welcome addition to any Porscheophile's library.

A first rate piece of work that no serious aficionado of Porsche Racing should be without. Excellent production values, high quality black and white photo reproduction of many previously unseen images, plus a nice full color section as well, all on #1 coated two side stock. From Gmund coupes to 917's, Pritchard writes engagingly, with impressive and detailed knowledge of a broad range of Porsche's legendary racing machines and competition activities. You will keep this one close at hand.

I have only used it for a couple of questions I had and found it to be quite informative....

The manual is well written and appears to have most information required except the main reason I purchased it. I needed information on removing horn and airbag covering, (which I found out later from another source) and it shows how to do horn and airbag repairs AFTER removal. If I missed that info I apologize but I don't think so.

This manual has everything a weekend tinkerer needs to keep their Porsche Boxster running in top condition. Manual is very well organized and easy to follow.

Offers very informative information and highly descriptive . Even though I wouldn't perform an engine overhaul, this manual offers descriptive details (inlcuding photos) for each step... not only for overhauls, but nearly every faccet of Miantenance upkeep and repairs of the Porsche Boxster. I would highly recommend this manual!!!! Just performing the regular routine maintenance on my Porsche utilizing this manual essentially paid for itself in it's first use (if anyone has ever owned a Porsche and was accustomed to bringing it to the dealership, should know what costs are associated with regular routine maintenance at a Porsche dealership). Just keep your receipts for repairs and bring your vehicle in for it's regular 30k/60k routine check-ups and your warranty should still remain in effect. This will also give you in-sight to any problems caught early and you can perform the repairs yourself.

Considering the long wait for this manual to be available and the relatively high cost I expected more.

I enjoyed this book. As a car guy and a new Porsche owner, it was a pleasant, rambling account of a restoration project and lot's of tangential life's learnings. Certainly not very technical, but technical enough to make it interesting for me, this was a book I read in a few evenings. It kept a smile on my face, and it kept me relatively engaged. The author writes well, and spins a decent yarn. Per the title of this review - reminds me simply of a (rather long) well-written article you'd find in any top-notch car magazine. No hesitation in recommending this book - but don't look for a detailed account of a technical restoration... that's not what it's supposed to be.

I was a bit mislead by the title of this book, particularly the part of the title: "...How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car...".

The Amazon review states that the author spent $60k on his car, whereas the author repeatedly states he spent $70k on his car restoration. This discrepency isn't really the issue, what I was hoping for was some description of what exactly the author bought and spent $70k on during the restoration. I am planning on restoring a vintage Porsche myself and was hoping this book would shed some light on various pitfalls I may want to avoid.

Of the 20 or so chapters in this book I'd say about 15 were dedicated to personal stories about the author and his illustrious career, and only 5 chapters to stories actually related to the Porsche he restored.

After reading this book I feel like I got to know the author quite well but not his Porsche. It was a delightful series of stories and I did enjoy the book, yet it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I found the cover and title of this book to be misleading.

Not a bad book at all, just not what I was expecting.

Wilkinson is a true character and he spins his experiences in restoring a pseudo-classic Porsche 911 (okay, to a true Porsche nut they're all classics) into an entertaining tail. He's an amusing cross between Tim Allen's character from Home Improvement and that uncle your parents don't talk about much because of the nutty things he's done. Strangely these characteristics endear you to him and as a pilot and aircraft owner I enjoyed (and frequently cringed at) his diversions into his experiences as a pilot and aviation editor. Speaking of this the book is rich with diversions into other aspects of his life tangential (or not) to the car project. For some this adds a lot and in general I enjoyed these but I could see where some might find it too fragmented and distracting. Overall though his series of life experiences, including those directly related to the books primary subject matter make for a fun and interesting read.

He's clearly an individual for whom there is no substitute for hands-on experience and the process is more important than the end goal. He articulates well what he's learned and, while the book is not bogged down with technical details, he discusses enough of these to keep a gear-head reasonably happy. No one would restore a car using this book as a manual but there's definitely something here for the technically inclined.

All in all it's a pretty easy and light read and a lot of fun. Perfect as a weekend read for the Porsche fan but with, I think, much broader appeal than that (general car nuts, pilots, those interested in 60's civil disobedience, etc.).

Before I even opened the book, a question came to mind. Why buy a Porsche? I have a number of buyer's guides and when I read them I am amazed that the company is still in business. How can they survive selling a car which has a leaking sunroof for 20 years??? German engineering is good, why can't they fix that quickly? Anyway, one buys a Porsche because it is a PORSCHE! That is what I got from the book. I did wished he had talked more about the car than other stories but the man obviously has a very full life.
Those cars have quirks and need a lot of care. If you are going to buy one, don't spend all your money on the purchase of it since you will need a lot for maintenance. Learn to be a mechanic too. If you want a reliable automobile that won't need to be the center of your attention, buy a Toyota. What is the fun in that? This book helped me see more what Porsches are about, PASSION!!!!!!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. There are probably a ton of readers and car-nuts out there who can sympathize with Wilkinson's view while laughing at the way it is told. The Gold-Plated Porsche is a fantastic read.