Shop Manual

Porsche 71 911S shop manual and owners manual – Do I need them?

If so where cheap/free?

Do you need it? That depends on what you are doing and what car you own. The factory shop manuals were, for many years, printed as updates. So if you are doing work where you need such a reference, the 1971 manuals would be needed for pretty much any 911 from 1971 until 1997. The 1998 (996) and later cars are a different chasis and would not have need of these earlier books.

The factory books are excellent resources that document EVERYTHING… but they are references aimed towards experienced and trained mechanics, and not suited for many DIYers. A few of the later cars (911SC, 3.2L Carrera, and I think there may now be one available for the 964) have excellent manuals available from Bentley. These may also be good alternatives for cars on either side of these as many of the systems are the same, and the ~$100 prices here will be much more attractive than the cost of the factory books. There is also a manual from Haynes which is largely aimed at the early 70s 911s… but as a generalization, this resource if not very thorough.

If you want the factory manuals, but want to bypass the high cost of ordering through a dealer, check eBay and PCA Swap Meets.

Corsa Workshop Manual DIY-DVDS.com