AUTHOR Anderson

    ENGLISH

ISBN 10     0760331804

ISBN 13    9780760331804

OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS

Covers through 993.

TITLE     Porsche 911 Performance Handbook, ed 2

   ENGLISH

ISBN 10     476030033X

ISBN 13    9780760300336

OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS

Covers through 964 and introduction to 993.

AUTHOR Anderson

   ENGLISH

ISBN 10     0879382694

ISBN 13    9780879382698

OUT OF PRINT -- NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE @ BLOCKS BOOKS

Covers through Carrera 3.2

FROM MY REVIEWS IN EXCELLENCE MAGAZINE:

    Bruce Anderson, Porsche technical guru and Garretson Enterprises super wrench, has brought his  Porsche 911 Performance Handbook to press.

     The short but super 911 technical history, includes, not only the usual yearly production changes, but the incestuous relationships between the factory 935s and their derivatives -- Kremer, Gregg, Akin etc.  Until now, there was no way short of sifting through race reports to distinguish these cars and even then the relationships were not clear. 

    The second chapter covers flat six engine development from the 821 wet sump prototype through the 959 and includes four solid pages of 911 engine type number derivatives -- enough to send a hard core Porsche technical freak into ecstasy for days!  The evolution of the engine is clearly explained and illustrated with extremely clear photographs -- few things seem to be more difficult than photographing engine parts so they mean something -- including a series of factory race engines including the 935/77 with bubble type water intercooler.

    Had the chapter on What Goes Wrong been available 10 years ago, my ’66 911 with 150,000 miles hight not have dropped a valve through the top of a piston.  Bruce explains that the early engines were essentially bullet-proof EXCEPT for valve guides -- they wear.  When this happens, they don’t transfer heat from the vale to the valve guide and eventually the valve fails at the point between its head and the sodium filled stem.  This is the first time that I have understood what happened to my engine.

    Bruce is not trying to replace the factory shop manuals but provides supplementation and explanations, in which value judgements and explanation, in which value judgements about various engines and possible combinations are given -- including a breakdown of rebuild costs and an engine builder’s check list.  For instance, you will never find a suggestion in the factory shop manual that a ’77 911S engine was a relative turkey, but can be rebuilt as a really decent engine with few modifications.  Here lies the BIG advantage of this book --its explanations of technical points are useful for both the mechanic and the     owner who want to understand the what, why and how much.

    With each basic engine size and type, Bruce starts with cost-effective enhancements that allow a longer lived than original motor, right up to the general approach to building a 935 replica.  I am totally charmed by the formulae and graphs included.  double checking the mathematical assumptions made by a mechanic, is worthwhile before metal is removed -- now the equations are available.

    Suspension, wheels, tires, brakes and transmission are covered, though it is obvious that the real meat of this book is in the motors.  Personally, I can well live without the chapter on custom treatments.  Anybody who drives a 911 with a usable radio is spending too much weight on sound deadening anyway.

    The last chapter is another lovely surprise with a super dissertation on buying a used 911; included is a lucid explanation of the Porsche numbering system.

    ... this boo is an absolute must buy!

FROM MY REVIEWS IN THE 356 REGISTRY:

I know this is a 356 rag, but Bruce Anderson's PORSCHE 911 PERFORMANCE

HANDBOOK is a spectacularly good book, at a spectacularly good value at $18.95 and

belongs on any Porsche enthusiast's shelf.

Bruce Anderson’s Porsche Performance Handbooks are unquestionably the best source of information on the development of the air-cooled 911, but provide complete insight into all degrees of modification.