Rear Valance, Is this 914-6? Options

[DennisV]

Can anyone tell from the photo if this is the correct rear valance for a 914-6? I am referencing the Restorer's Guide to Authenticity, but the angles in the photos make it a little hard to tell. The text says

The four-cylinder car had this hole (tail pipe) several inches inboard of the 914-6 opening.

Given the condition of this valance, maybe we'll go for the M471 look (i.e. no valance). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[ClayPerrine]

Can anyone tell from the photo if this is the correct rear valance for a 914-6? I am referencing the Restorer's Guide to Authenticity, but the angles in the photos make it a little hard to tell. The text says

The four-cylinder car had this hole (tail pipe) several inches inboard of the 914-6 opening.

Given the condition of this valance, maybe we'll go for the M471 look (i.e. no valance). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Dennis,

I just took this picture of our 70 914-6 with a NOS rear valence that we bought for it. It was the correct part number so I know it is a 914-6 valence. I tried to get the same angle as your car.



If you look, the right side of the porthole lines up with the tow hook hole.

Here is a closeup for you.



For the cost of a real six porthole valence (and I am NOT saying how much we paid for the NOS one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pinch.gif)), I would suggest getting that one fixed. It is worth it, and a good body man can make it right.

Clay

Clay

[ClayPerrine]

Also, you have a later model bumper on it. The early sixes had a sharp corner on the license plate opening. The early bumpers are hard to find.

Clay

[gms]

@DennisV

take a look here:
Valance difference

[rgalla9146]

That valence may be a factory replacement judging by the color of the primer.
A four cylinder has a smaller hole, no ? and further to the right.

[DennisV]

I just took this picture of our 70 914-6 with a NOS rear valence that we bought for it. It was the correct part number so I know it is a 914-6 valence.

Thanks Clay. The photo is very helpful.

It doesn't look like the current PDF parts catalog distinguishes. I only find "rear apron" 914-503-009-10.

I am aware of the bumper. Between that and the primer on the valance, I'm guessing the car either backed into something or was hit from behind. It bugs me, but I am biding my time given that decent examples cost several hundred dollars and I've got plenty else to work on.

@gms Thanks for that link. Measurements always help!

[Cairo94507]

That is a 6 valance. Hard to find. As for the rear bumper, they changed from the hard edge to the smooth transition mid-year ‘71. My 6 is a late ‘71 and came with the smooth, later rear bumper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[wonkipop]

That is a 6 valance. Hard to find. As for the rear bumper, they changed from the hard edge to the smooth transition mid-year ‘71. My 6 is a late ‘71 and came with the smooth, later rear bumper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

thats right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

a bit like back in the 80s when all insisted that every 6 had an ignition key in the dash.

you got to love the way the road is paved with banana skins when it comes to this stuff.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[ClayPerrine]

That is a 6 valance. Hard to find. As for the rear bumper, they changed from the hard edge to the smooth transition mid-year ‘71. My 6 is a late ‘71 and came with the smooth, later rear bumper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

thats right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

a bit like back in the 80s when all insisted that every 6 had an ignition key in the dash.

you got to love the way the road is paved with banana skins when it comes to this stuff.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

Dennis has a 70 914-6, so it should have the sharp edged bumper. I was not trying to start a debate on bumpers and ignition locks.

Clay

[wonkipop]

That is a 6 valance. Hard to find. As for the rear bumper, they changed from the hard edge to the smooth transition mid-year ‘71. My 6 is a late ‘71 and came with the smooth, later rear bumper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

thats right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

a bit like back in the 80s when all insisted that every 6 had an ignition key in the dash.

you got to love the way the road is paved with banana skins when it comes to this stuff.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

Dennis has a 70 914-6, so it should have the sharp edged bumper. I was not trying to start a debate on bumpers and ignition locks.

Clay

neither was i. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

i'm recallling another thread where a member here had owned a 914/6 since very early on in its life and was critiqued for having the wrong bumper. turned out it had likely been replaced very early in its life probably due to damage.

to me that is as interesting as whether it had the bumper on it left the factory with.
if you know what i am saying. lots of ways a car can be original. depends what you are seeking out as the origin.

the ignition remark does have a moral.
there was a german mechanic down here who once owned a 6 he privately imported from germany in the early 80s. he was a real 914 nut. he had a 4 before the 6 also from germany.
the 6 was a late one with the VW ignition. back then he had to put up with all the real porsche owners who used to insist to his face his car was a faked 6. it wasn't. but he could never explain the ignition. it just wasn't widely known back then that the late 6s didn't have the earlier ignition. in fact i don't think it was known at all back then, at least down here. the snobs were pretty cruel to him.
and now we know......they were wrong. it was a long time ago.

there is a lot more knowledge out there now. but its by no means complete.
as we have discovered with the humble 1.8s more recently. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Cairo94507]

As far as I know, and have personally seen, the only 6 that came with the ignition on the column was the ‘72 model year.

I don’t believe anyone is arguing about bumpers, we all want other enthusiasts to know the differences so when they are looking at cars they may want to buy they can recognize what they are looking at.

[wonkipop]

As far as I know, and have personally seen, the only 6 that came with the ignition on the column was the ‘72 model year.

I don’t believe anyone is arguing about bumpers, we all want other enthusiasts to know the differences so when they are looking at cars they may want to buy they can recognize what they are looking at.

that is what i am saying too.

there was a real interesting six down here.
or at least it was in an interesting state.
and i have to confess i was part of undoing it.
it belonged to a mate of mine.
he picked it up in the early 90s from the collection of the aus distributor when porsche took over and the collection was sold off.

one of the original demonstrators.

we were all a bit naive back then.

it was all just opinion heresay and myth.

when he got the car he just assumed that the stories about the two 6s that came here were fact. most importantly that both had been lhd cars when they arrived here and were converted later in the distributors workshop.

as a consequence the first thing he did was tear out all the "wrongly" converted interior to put it "right". it was just assumed that the distributor had kind of improvised.
it had no backpad - the firewall was clad in felt carpet. it had little bucket sports seats. and a centrally fitted under dash 356/speedster handbrake. it also had a 4 speed gearbox. the gearbox should have rung alarm bells. it didn't. either with him, or me when he used to discuss what he was going to do with the car to sort it.

out came the interior and in went a "proper" interior from a 73 he sourced in the USA.
the handbrake was "rectified" by "properly" installing a correct mirror image on rhd side.

even the gearbox was going to come out and a 5 installed. until he ran into mr. hamilton one day and asked about it. he was told no - its original. "i ordered it that way".

etc.

at the end of the "tidy up" it looked like a "proper" 914, which was a bit silly really given that there is no such thing as a rhd drive 914.

or was there?

years later it has emerged that possibly this one was - sort of. still to be fully determined.
it certainly seems that it arrived in australia already with the wheel on the right hand side. not a production line job. but very possibly done in the workshops.
the distributor had a lot of pull with porsche. alan hamilton was his name.

now it looks like, the more old guys you talk to still alive that were around the workshops the more some of them are saying, yes there was only one that was brought in lhd. and it was in that form to demonstrate a factory interior. it was later converted to rhd here in the distributors garage. but the other one was driven straight from the docks and it was already the "right" way around. this was for customers to experience the car from a driving point of view? to get potential customers interested. a rhd production car was still being mooted back at the point in time. usually left hand drive models were released first with rhd to follow.

sadly - all undone thirty years ago.
worst bit is i was around and shaking my head in agreement with what my old friend was doing with the car. none of us thought twice about it. least of all him. the car was "wrong" and it had to be put "right". it was all done with good intention.

in the case of that car - all the work that had been done on it - after it left the production line - probably shortly after it had left the production line - made it interesting?
i think in retrospect way more interesting perhaps than it had been originally.

sometimes it pays to hesitate is what i am saying.

----

i have had similar experience with my 1.8.
even more recently.
the amount of wrong information still out there that is stated with strong conviction still surprises me. i tend to adopt curiosity as my default position. it prompted a whole lot of research.
not that it matters a huge amount, but its nice sometimes to be able to say with some certainty back, and politely too, well actually you are not quite right.
i can now do that with regard to irrelevant and esoteric details such as charcoal hose plumbing, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
what glovebox manual actually came with the car, what color the head light motor surrounds really were and yes that pad under the trunk carpet is definitely right.
not because i go to concourses but rather to refute the guys who do.
call me a trouble maker. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

very occasionally though i do think that a surprising detail can tell a story if you know what i mean.

[porschetub]

Can anyone tell from the photo if this is the correct rear valance for a 914-6? I am referencing the Restorer's Guide to Authenticity, but the angles in the photos make it a little hard to tell. The text says

The four-cylinder car had this hole (tail pipe) several inches inboard of the 914-6 opening.

Given the condition of this valance, maybe we'll go for the M471 look (i.e. no valance). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Great looking part most are all bent up and rusted out,excellent candidate for resto ,very difficult to find now,you are lucky.

[rgalla9146]

Alan Hamilton was a famous Australian F1 competitor in his day.

[wonkipop]

Alan Hamilton was a famous Australian F1 competitor in his day.

not F1

you are thinking of Alan Jones.
Drove for Williams.
World Champion 1980.

but alan hamilton did race and was very good.
raced in australia in touring car championship in late 60s and 70s.
he had a bad crash at one stage and it stifled things for him.

but the hamiltons were interesting.
his father norman was the first distributor of porsche outside germany after WW2.
he beat max hoffman to it with is distribution deal in the USA.
its why there were RHD porsches from very early on.
they were not for the UK they were built for Australia.

he may have been the last independent porsche distributor still standing in the late 80s when he finally fell over in the big recession. porsche "bailed" him oiut and took over the distribution here. they wanted to anyway.

he had a lot of very special cars in his collection.
i think the deal was he had privileges thanks to his father's early (earliest international) support for the company.
it went something like an annual overseas trip to the factory to discuss business and buy any car he wanted or took his eye.

when i went out with BC to pick up the 914/6 in the early 90s from a farm in rural victoria, sitting in the "hay shed" near it was a disassembled 917 can am car.
one that i believe never raced. i think it lives in the USA now. it was under sheets and covers and in crates and boxes.

[rgalla9146]

Alan Hamilton was a famous Australian F1 competitor in his day.

not F1

you are thinking of Alan Jones.
Drove for Williams.
World Champion 1980.

but alan hamilton did race and was very good.
raced in australia in touring car championship in late 60s and 70s.
he had a bad crash at one stage and it stifled things for him.

but the hamiltons were interesting.
his father norman was the first distributor of porsche outside germany after WW2.
he beat max hoffman to it with is distribution deal in the USA.
its why there were RHD porsches from very early on.
they were not for the UK they were built for Australia.

he may have been the last independent porsche distributor still standing in the late 80s when he finally fell over in the big recession. porsche "bailed" him oiut and took over the distribution here. they wanted to anyway.

he had a lot of very special cars in his collection.
i think the deal was he had privileges thanks to his father's early (earliest international) support for the company.
it went something like an annual overseas trip to the factory to discuss business and buy any car he wanted or took his eye.

when i went out with BC to pick up the 914/6 in the early 90s from a farm in rural victoria, sitting in the "hay shed" near it was a disassembled 917 can am car.
one that i believe never raced. i think it lives in the USA now. it was under sheets and covers and in crates and boxes.

My mistake... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I confused these prominent Australian icons.

Allow me to save face with a small rear valence observation.
Original (factory fitted original) valences were sprayed with an undercoat type
material on the inside at both ends.
I've seen it on more than the ones pictured.
One of those pictured has had a right exhaust hole added.....unfortunately

[wonkipop]

Alan Hamilton was a famous Australian F1 competitor in his day.

not F1

you are thinking of Alan Jones.
Drove for Williams.
World Champion 1980.

but alan hamilton did race and was very good.
raced in australia in touring car championship in late 60s and 70s.
he had a bad crash at one stage and it stifled things for him.

but the hamiltons were interesting.
his father norman was the first distributor of porsche outside germany after WW2.
he beat max hoffman to it with is distribution deal in the USA.
its why there were RHD porsches from very early on.
they were not for the UK they were built for Australia.

he may have been the last independent porsche distributor still standing in the late 80s when he finally fell over in the big recession. porsche "bailed" him oiut and took over the distribution here. they wanted to anyway.

he had a lot of very special cars in his collection.
i think the deal was he had privileges thanks to his father's early (earliest international) support for the company.
it went something like an annual overseas trip to the factory to discuss business and buy any car he wanted or took his eye.

when i went out with BC to pick up the 914/6 in the early 90s from a farm in rural victoria, sitting in the "hay shed" near it was a disassembled 917 can am car.
one that i believe never raced. i think it lives in the USA now. it was under sheets and covers and in crates and boxes.

My mistake... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I confused these prominent Australian icons.

Allow me to save face with a small rear valence observation.
Original (factory fitted original) valences were sprayed with an undercoat type
material on the inside at both ends.
I've seen it on more than the ones pictured.
One of those pictured has had a right exhaust hole added.....unfortunately

everyone is called alan or bruce down here.
------there is a monty python sketch about it.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Literati914]

..The early sixes had a sharp corner on the license plate opening. ..
Clay

Was the sharp angled bumpers only a six thing, I was under the impression they were part of all the very early cars?


.

[Cairo94507]

All of the '70 and early '71's came with the hard edge bumpers- not 6 specific.