To Badge Or Not To Badge, Purist vs. Polished - A 914 Identity Crisis Emphasis on the Emblem Options

[tumamilhem]

What you should know should you decide to badge your 914.


TO BADGE OR NOT TO BADGE. THAT IS THE QUESTION. ONE OF THEM, ANYWAY.

We all love our beloved Porsche, er...VW...uh, VW-Porsche 914s. Therein lies a silly to some, but in actuality, a long-time identity crisis for this car, particularly persuaded one way or the other by engine type (/4 or /6). Yet even the /6 with the Porsche engine was unbadged (save the model photographed for its Driver's Manual). Some may find this a silly issue, yet some purists remain conflicted to how they should - or want to ID their 914. Badge it, or not?

Those who are purists or make their cars Concourse may not don the emblem crest upon their bonnet - though may want to, but authentic integrity prevents them. Most of us go ahead and ID our (Porsche) 914 with the Stuttgart horse and coat of arms shield because of its nice finishing and polished touch.

So what are your thoughts on badging your car or not? And if not, what hesitations prevent you?


BEARING THE BADGE ON THE BONNET; BUT WHERE...EXACTLY?

If you decide to badge your car, where exactly is it placed? No crest emblems were ever applied by Porsche (or VW, obviously), save the only known car, the 914-6 on the cover of the Driver's Manual. Dealers gave the option to install, but how did they know where to place the badge (exactly)? Most simply center and place it to where they think it will look good. But if you want to don the Porsche crest on your bonnet, wouldn't you want to place it (and drill holes into your hood) exactly where it's "supposed" to be? According to the only known factory-placed Porsche crest emblem on a 914 bonnet, it is 80mm from the bottom point of the badge to the top of the bumper lead, centered in the middle of the bonnet.



Beautiful all original car tainted by incorrectly placed shield too high on the bonnet and slightly to the right of center.




The only known factory-correct placement of a Porsche shield on the bonnet of a 914 on the 914/6 Driver's Manual.


DONNING THE CREST. BUT WHICH ONE?

If you are going to badge your bonnet, you're also going to want to make it "authentic" by using the period correct emblem. Unfortunately, this is a bit tricky for a couple of reasons, one depending on what year your 914 is.

It seems somewhere in 1973 OR 1974, the Porsche crest changed. Conflicting authorities say it was changed sometime during 1973 and others say sometime during 1974 (instead of changing at the beginning of the year for more specific and simple identity). Ergo, some cars produced in that year (whichever happens to be correct) that donned the crest (911s) had one badge and at some point later in that year donned the "new" badge. So you could have two 911s of the same year and depending on when during the year they were produced would determine which badge would be correct.

Where this falls into place on the 914 is to know what period-correct badge (would've) gone on your car if it was factory badged. This is not an issue with late '69-'72 models or '75 and '76 models. However, if you have a '73 or '74 model, who's to say which crest is correct for your car? Depending on what time of year it was produced and which year it was produced (Porsche's website has both badges for 1973 year cars, indicating it may have changed sometime mid-1973. However other authorities, including P914.com and PorscheResource.com claim it was changed sometime in mid-1974, hence both badges would be period-correct depending on what time of year your car was produced). During the time the Porsche shield changed, be it mid-1973 or mid-1974, the most distinctive difference are the color bars. The prior years had orange and black bars, as opposed to the latter years donning the now more commonly recognizable red and black bars.

The other problem in badging your car "correctly" is finding the right badge. The early orange and black bar shields are difficult to find and draw a high price - and a lot of faux badges. More dimpling than the original, slightly off raised PORSCHE lettering, no marks on the back or slightly incorrect marks on the back or a smooth back, no solder marks where the pins are and slight curvature of the shield are identifiable signs of a high-priced fake, though many are difficult to tell apart. The latter early red and black bar badge is not as expensive, though still pricey as there have been three red and black bar badges to since follow it (one after 1976 being identical on the front but having full ID number on the back as manufacturer had changed), having transparent red bars as opposed to the original opaque orange and black enamel paint over the PORSCHE text with slightly different font lettering. The early red and black bar badges, being the most identifiable amongst the masses, are the most commonly fake productions.



Period-correct orange and black bar shield for early 1973 (or) early 1974 and prior Porsches. This one came off of a 1968 911E.




The evolution of the Porsche crest (per Porsche).

[Tom_T]

Great write up!

In addition to the early 914-6 prototype(s) with the hood/bonnet badges (one of which is what was used for your owners manual pic above), both "factory custom-built" 914-8 (one for Dr. Porsche & the other for Piech) sported hood badges .... oddly enough both in different position by the factory, as shown below......



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I personally prefer it closer to the leading edge of the hood/bonnet/lid, rather than further up, as did apparently somebody at the factory.

The lid's leading edge is backed up on the underside by the front cross-element of the lid's frame, so the placement will also depend upon clearing that brace, since in most cases you don't want a pin going through the skin+brace due to both the added depth & the fact that there can be movement between the two parts, eventually popping off the pin fasteners & loosing the badge somewhere on the road!

Part of the confusion on the 80 mm placement may be that the 914 has the deck lid PLUS the bumper top pad to a frontal start point, whereas the 911 does not & simply has a roll-over edge - ergo, one could measure from the leading edge of the front bumper top pad & back to the point.

Since it was a Dealer Option, perhaps there was a dealer service bulletin that came out in the day which told them where to place it on the 914??? Maybe some of our members who worked there back in the day could chime in if they recall anything of the sort? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Here is a confirmed dealer applied badge on a known original owner 72 914/4 1.7 of a long time buddy of mine.....



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I've kept the pix all in the same orientation for ease of comparing locations.

As for your "To badge or not...." query, I too am still unsure if I will badge my early 73 914-2.0's front in my resto (she was never badged by the dealer AFAIK) - as well as the dealer option PORSCHE script positive side stripes, because I really do like the look & added bling on a L80E Light Ivory - basically white - 914, but then there is the originality purism question. So maybe I'll get another front lid, paint two & mount the badge on one, as the side stripes are vinyl & can be removed - since with off-white the fading would be minimal to none behind the stripes & between the deck lids. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

Also FYI & for those interested, I just saw an ad in the Panorama that Porsche is again selling correct badges from the various periods' resto's, so NOS is no longer the only option.

Porsche also sells new correct 901/914 shifter knobs (shift pattern) & crush rings - which brings up another "badging" another dilemma for me, as my 73 914-2.0 had the dealer optioned leather/leatherette shift knob with the Porsche crest as officially sanctioned by Porsche, made by AMCO, & sold by Porsche+Audi dealerships & AMCO direct.

While Pat & many on here hold true to the "...only as is came out the factory doors originality test...." - my personal attitude on O&H correctness - & that of many multi-marque Concours d'Elegance organizations in the US & worldwide - is that anything should be a period correct original or true to original reproduction of items both from the factory &/or as available at the time "back in the day" from dealers & other factory authorized sources, such as the above badges, side stripes, shift knobs, etc. - which were considered "personalization" items by Porsche - as well as AC (VPC & DPD) - with any updates as necessitated by wear/age or law (e.g.: R12 to R134 conversions of compressor), and things like suspension bushings, Sachs, Koni or Bilstein shocks/struts, tires (a whole other size/type dilemma today), etc. which would need to be replaced with time & use.

We have to keep in mind that back in the 1950's, `60's & `70's that Porsche & many other European auto manufacturers did NOT provide a complete line of options on their cars - especially those for export to the USA & other markets, but rather authorized or licensed other OEM/OES manufacturers to make the parts & accessories to be sold through their dealerships etc.

Ergo, DPD, AMCO & others - and particularly Volkswagen of America (VOA) & it's Volkswagen Products Corporation (VPC) were authorized to make a number of products sold through Porsche+Audi dealerships (VOA dealerships also sold Porsches up to the 1970 MY, when they were required to open separate Porsche+Audi dealership facilities), while VOA was still the overarching corporate presence for marketing in the USA until the mid- or late-70's.

Likewise, even Porsche has reacted to changes over time in availability in tires, oils & other parts, and have offered factory guidance on what to use now in their recommendation bulletins/letters - and are therefore accepted by the penultimate "factory." (See the Porsche letter recommending 195/65R15 for 165R15 tires in the O&H "Wheels & Tires" nailed topic.)

Of note in the dealer options brochure pages below, that the alloy wheels & chrome tailpipe extension are parts shown in the 914 PET parts manual, and are listed therein alongside the accessory/option items made by AMCO (shift knobs, overriders & luggage rack) & by VoA/VPC (AC, center storage box & console, etc.) - so how one can draw an arbitrary line between factory made vs. OEM/OES authorized items all available to buyers & clients at their local Porshe+Audi dealership, as part of Porsche's corporate mixed sourcing & outsourcing strategy.

IMHO, this thinking of super-strict originality taken to the extreme, then leads one to say that an identical EFI part from a Bosch box & p/n is not original but the identical part from a Porsche box & p/n is, or ditto for your replacement shocks. While that is extreme, it's probably attractive to Porsche for parts sales revenue for as long as they're fully supporting a MY/model, but falls apart afterward.

That said, I believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and we all should accept that we'll have differences & respect others' choices.

So to badge or not - you pick either:
1.) I like a badge & will do it, or ....
2.) the "Badges.....We don't need no stinkin' badges....He-he-he-he!!!!! approach. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

1972 Dealer Options Brochure (courtesy of Jeff Bowlsby's excellent 914 website):




Note that these accessories/options above are shown for both 911 & 914 models, so dealer sold outsourced items were available for ALL Porsche models in that period, as are some sold even today.

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I think that there was also a page or two showing the frontal options/accessories (e.g.: chrome front bumper overriders, etc.) - which may have also shown the front hood/bonnet/lid badge for the 914, as I recall seeing something of the sort when we used to go to the local LA Porsche+Audi dealership during college in 1970-74 just to (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) & (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif) !!!!