Reddit reviews Volkswagen Station Wagon, Bus (Type 2) Service Manual: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 (Volkswagen Service Manuals)

this one should work. But considering that it's well below your price limit, you might consider getting something else as well.

If the engine is in need of a rebuild, this might be helpful as well.

As far as tools go, I assume he has a full socket set but does he have a torque wrench, breaker bar, and jack stands? If he's worked on his car before he probably already has that stuff but if not, those will be necessary from day one of working on the van.

Even better than that one is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Station-Official-Service-Manual/dp/0837616352/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1413919702&sr=8-11&keywords=volkswagen+repair+manual

I have both. This one gives step by step details specific to your bus and the correct details pertaining to your engine.

Don't get me wrong, the keep your volkswagen alive book is good for encouragement and common sense, but the service manual is where it's at. On the Samba, it's referred to as the Bentley manual. It really is the gold standard.

Get the Books!

The three wisemen as I call it.

In order of usefulness

• The Muir Book
  
• The Bentley Manual
  
• The Haynes Manual
  
  I will argue that the Haynes manual is mostly redundant if you have the other two.
  
  check out ratwell.com and the type2 mailing list.
  as someone else pointed out, the samba is a great resource too.
  
  Also invest in a nice torque wrench.
  
  Replace all the rubber fuel lines in the bus.
  I don't care if the guy you bought it from "just did it", do it anyways.
  convert to electronic ignition. Hotspark is affordable and works well. Others swear by Pertronix. YMMV. Keep the points in the bus with you and a spare set just in case. At less than 10 bucks, its a lot cheaper than a tow.
  Spare coil is also good to have.
  Put it all in a "go box" make sure you have what you need to get going again for most problems.
  
  I have a 75, with a 77 block, and the fi from a 79. These vehicles are almost always frankenstiened together.
  
  Take oil leaks seriously.
  
  Finally, Have fun.
  Owning a bus has been one of the best experiences in my life. Its not all sunshine and rainbows. I have had my fair share of strandings. But now my bus is a champ. I know her inside and out and when I drive her it puts a huge smile on my face.
  
  Welcome to the club!

https://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Station-Wagon-Service-Manual/dp/0837616352

It has been a great tool in working on my bus.

This is novel, I get to post on this sub as an answerer instead of a questioner lol.

So, I've got 6 VW busses. They are not really for sale so to speak but those are the credentials. I bought my first bus in 1998 for a $300 while still in high school with 0 mechanical knowledge other than changing my oil.

As some have said here the best way to start is to just jump right in! Find one you like and go for it. When I started buying VWs they were still trash vehicles, everybody had an old one in the backyard and they were just looking to get rid of them. Now they are a bit more precious, you will pay much more for a poor condition bus than I would have for a great one back then. But the upside is there are many more aftermarket places for things that were harder to find then. NADA, Edmunds and the like are useless to find out what busses are worth. It's best to get familiar with online VW communities like the Samba they also have an excellent classified section.

I used a book 60% of the time to figure things out on my bus. Two books you REALLY NEED are The Idiot's Guide and the Bentley book. Between these you are pretty much covered. The Idiot's Guide is similar to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I would recommend reading it cover to cover.

For the other 40% of my VW learning curve I utilized people's advice. Air cooled VW enthusiasts are the best people to get to know. They will always wave and stop to chat when you finally get to drive your bus. Find your closest VW auto club and start joining in activities, make connections and offer to help people fix their cars, it will be a huge help and you will make friends.

Now just a quick final observation and opinion. You said you wanted a "camper van". From that description I can point you to a a '68 to '79 Westphalia. Those are what most people picture with that description. There are three main body styles for busses; Splitty, Bay Window and Vanagon all fall under the general model number Type 2 (beetles are type 1). I don't want to write a novel here so I'll cut it short. If you have any other questions feel free to ask here or PM me, if I don't know I'll know where to look.

Good luck! Here's some crucial literature as well!

http://www.amazon.com/Volkswagen-Station-Official-Service-Manual/dp/0837616352/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1416243503&sr=8-3&keywords=vw+bentley+manual

http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Volkswagen-Alive-Step---Step/dp/1566913101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416243535&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+keep+your+volkswagen+alive