Settled - Side Valences are affixed with plastic button head rivets, 'Rocker panel' rivets Options

[JeffBowlsby]

We know of two docmented original 914s, both have side valances attached with plastic buttonhead rivets, not aluminum rivets.

Black rivets for cars with black valances
Clear rivets for the 1974 LE cars with the yellow or orange valances

PET also only lists the plastic button head rivets.

All the photos of 914s with aluminum rivets are not original, are commonly available and have been replaced at some point.

Thanks to George Hussey, Steve Gaglione (2nd owner of very orignal Sahara Beige) and Alberto Favilla (original owner) and to Rich Daunhauer (914Werke) for their knowledge.

[DBF]

Hate to beat a dead horse, BUT - why are there so many 74's with aluminum rivets? If so many people were taking off the side valances, shouldn't we also be seeing some cars with sheet metal screws holding the valances? It would have been a lot easier to use screws and people weren't as concerned about keeping the cars original back in the day? Couldn't the factory have simply used some aluminum rivets at some point when they were running low on plastic rivets, maybe the supplier shipped the wrong rivets to the factory, or the guy bringing the cases of rivets from the warehouse to that part of the factory occasionally grabbing the wrong case of rivets?