Door impact bars... What year did they start? Options

[altitude411]

Question for you gurus... what year did the impact bars inside the doors start being implemented?

[TravisNeff]

There were some early 73 cars that did not have the door bars or updated window winders.

[Tom_T]

There were some early 73 cars that did not have the door bars or updated window winders.

If they did, then they were using the old early doors & regulators (winders), because the later regulators won't fit in the early doors as someone noted above.

Another reason later 73-76 cars could have late doors without side beams, is that apparently most of the repair part doors had no side beams - apparently due some loophole in the side impact law then - according to a couple of first person sources I know from Porsche+Audi dealers back in the 70's.

Also PO's could've changed to the lighter no side-beam doors for AX, rally & race reasons.

So a few 914s after the 1/1/73 effective date could also have replacement doors without beams.

FYI - My early 73 with 8/31/72 Chassis No. build date has the "early" late doors without side beams, late regulators & originally had the window handles with the chrome arms (later changed to black by OO/PO & me as they broke with use).

Cheers!
Tom
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[SirAndy]

There were some early 73 cars that did not have the door bars or updated window winders.

If they did, then they were using the old early doors & regulators (winders), because the later regulators won't fit in the early doors as someone noted above.

Early '73 doors have the later style windows regulator mechanism but *no* door bar reinforcement beams.

They have the best of both, the light weight of the early doors and the better regulators from the later doors.


I happen to have a set of those early '73 doors in my shed that will one day go onto my real /6 ...
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[914_teener]

There were some early 73 cars that did not have the door bars or updated window winders.

If they did, then they were using the old early doors & regulators (winders), because the later regulators won't fit in the early doors as someone noted above.

Early '73 doors have the later style windows regulator mechanism but *no* door bar reinforcement beams.

They have the best of both, the light weight of the early doors and the better regulators from the later doors.


I happen to have a set of those early '73 doors in my shed that will one day go onto my real /6 ...
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So I am confused by these posts.

If the body build tags assigned mean nothing about when the chassis was shipped from the factory, then you have to go by the vin number right?

If the car was shipped and then tagged with a date, then would that mean that of that date the car met US FED DOT regulations for automobiles?

I can understand the window regulators being different but if the DOT reg for a car sold in 73 must have side beam protection....then shouldn't the doors have had them?

[SirAndy]

I can understand the window regulators being different but if the DOT reg for a car sold in 73 must have side beam protection....then shouldn't the doors have had them?

MY (Model Year) and selling date are not the same.

The production for MY '73 started in summer of '72, so my best guess is that the regulations regarding the door impact beams for the US didn't go into effect until after the MY '73 production had already begun.

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