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[JeffBowlsby]

Rich, Option M570 was a center seat cushion as in 'Comfort Equipment'.

@JeffBowlsby
So Jeff you are indicating that base 914's sold w/o center console would have come with the plastic 2 section tray as standard equipment & that the "seat cushion" that fits that tray is the option being referred to?

Could be, not really sure. That exact description was quoted from German market 914 price lists that I found many years ago. The only source of this info that I have come across.

I also have this 1971 USA-market price list with similar info.

[davep]

All 914 (4&6) would have as standard equipment a center deposit in front of the gearshift, and a two compartment tray between the seats. Option M570 was a seat cushion that fitted into the tray for a third seating position. Not a comfortable one since it is narrow, loose, and the driver would be working the gearshift possibly between your legs.

[914werke]

Thanks for the confirmation, I learn something about these cars all the time.
Its odd that PCNA doesn't see fit to correct their grammatical error, it only adds to confusion & uncertainty of the "product" they are selling.

So per Daves comment were dealers likely to have removed the deposit boxes (Like the spare alloy wheels)? Or they simply were so shoddily made that they haven't made it the near 5 decades?

[wonkipop]

Thanks for the confirmation, I learn something about these cars all the time.
Its odd that PCNA doesn't see fit to correct their grammatical error, it only adds to confusion & uncertainty of the "product" they are selling.

So per Daves comment were dealers likely to have removed the deposit boxes (Like the spare alloy wheels)? Or they simply were so shoddily made that they haven't made it the near 5 decades?

i think @davep might be incorrect about the deposit box (under dash in front of gearstick) being standard on all 914s whether 4 or 6.

there is a bit of conflicting info out there.
i've read old threads here where the usual expert types pronounce them as also only being on early 914s pre 1973. that would appear to be not true.

they are listed in the parts manual.
and they are listed as having been updated for particular years of production.
all years of production.




my 74 1.8 has one and has had it from new.
but its not a common thing.
no reason to doubt it was not ordered with the car. its faced with the brown carpet with white streaky threads in it - matches the carpet and brown interior of car - which if i am not mistaken was only in cars post 73.
that would counter ideas it was only an item on early cars (along with the parts cat).

we have collected a fair bit of research examples of the 74 and 75 1.8s and there is an occasional car with the parcel box - as its named in the parts manual.
these have also been very original condition cars.
no reason to doubt they came with the car.
but by far the larger proportion of examples dont have them.
only have the little plastic tray between the seats. often with the cushion but not always.

i believe the parcel box was a tick the box option order.
what the option number was - no idea.
even @JeffBowlsby says his list of option numbers is not complete.
its great he has the information that he has, must have been hard to dig up.

factory sales brochures showing the interiors of base model cars don't show package bins. so i think standard 914 condition was no package bin. you ticked a box for one.
and beyond that you ticked a box for appearance group and got the full console and gauges package. in 74 and 75 you could upspec a 1.8 to have the same console and guages package as the 2.0. what i think was the case was you could not upspec a 73 1.7 to have that. got some fairly trustworthy 73 1.7 on file with the package bin but never the console and gauges. again most 1.7s have neither.

[wonkipop]

as an aside.

i have often looked at the parcel bin in mine wondering exactly why it is the shape it is.
ie its quite tall and not exactly useful for most things you want to store in a console "bin",

its pretty good for rolling up a puffer jacket and stuffing that in there! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

my thought about the original design and purpose is that it suits the shape of a lot of womens shoulder bags in the 1970s and that is what it was for? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[wonkipop]

snooped around in my files which are mostly re 74 Ljet.
but i collected examples either side - 73 1.7 s and 75 1.8 s.

here are two 1,7 examples with the parcel box as porsche called it.

1.





2.



its much more common in 73 1.7s than later 1.8s from 74 on.
a couple of good reasons for that i think.
you could not order the console and gauges that went into the 73 2.0 for the 73 1.7.
as far as i can work out no 73 1.7 ever got the top spec gauge console.
instead the parcel box was what you got when you went full spec on a 1.7.
the american sales sheets refer to it as a console in these 1.7 cars.
one sales sheet lists it as a No Cost option and implies it is part of appearance group 1.7.
the other lists it as an $18.00 charge option. (sort of implies not part of appearance group standard package for that particular car but ordered as a distinct option by the customer? )
but no M-Code for it.

I suspect that a full M code list for the 914 will be hard to find.
it would have been a document held by the VW-Porsche GMBH organisation rather than porsche itself? i know some of the M-Codes on the 914/4 are shared with the VW 411/412. so they are VW M-Codes not Porsche ones.

in 74 (and 75) it was a different story for the 1.8s.
they could be real strippers or they could go full appearance group.
that included the guages and console that went in the 2.0L as well.
@StarBear has one. from factory that way.
thats where the 1.8s are different from the 1.7s.
i think most people after the non stripper type car would have ticked the 1.8 appearance group box and got the full gauge and black vinyl console.
ticking the box for the parcel box would have become far less common. it would have been something you built up from a base model car.
same went for 75.

but according to PET you could still get the parcel bin.

i'll dig around further in my files for the 74 and 75 info.
but its a much rarer thing in those years.

i have one in my car but its unusual in other ways too.
its not appearance group spec like @StarBear s.
but it does have sway bars (factory fitted) and the bin.
but still has star steelies and not alloys.
it was ordered a very particular way.

[wonkipop]

i would speculate the following (with reasonable basis) for that package bin - so called "console".

for the 4s.

its a standard part of appearance group package for 70 thru 72 4cyl cars.
base 914s don't have it but you could order one as an option to base car.

-------

for 73 its included in appearance group 1.7 cars.
base 1.7 s don't get it. but it can be an option.
the appearance group 2.0 for 73 gets the full console and gauges.
base 2.0 s don't get the bin but can be an option.
the reason that the 1.7s never got the guage option was the engine did not come to the assembly line with the sump plate sender. having a temp guage in a 1.7 was not a factory consideration at that stage.
------

for 74 the guages and console are the standard inclusion for both appearance group 1.8s and 2.0s.
the base 1.8s and base 2.0s do not get the bin. but its an option if ticked.
the strategy changes in 74 and there is a 1.8 engine that came to the assembly line with a sump plate sender. its identified with a paint stamp number.
all 2.0s had the sump plate sender no matter what as they all had a temp guage,
either in main instrument cluster or in console.
74 is the first time the factory offers a temp guage in the base engined car as a possibility.

---------

for 75 - as per 74.

----------

for 76. all 914s are 2.0 fully kitted as appearance group with guages and console.

---------

dunno what applies for the 6s.
but am guessing its as per the 4s of those years.
there is a base car. no bin.
the full spec car has the bin.
but its an option for the base cars.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[JeffBowlsby]

I'm still processing the above, but here are a couple of other fun facts to ponder:

The 1971 wiring schematic includes an oil temp sender circuit on the ignition harness and the original ignition harnesses have this circuit. The 1970 and 1972 do not. My thinking is that a separate wire directly connected the 1971 ignition harness to a sump mounted oil temp sender. Unlike the later 73-76 cars with the circuitry in the main chassis harness.

The 1973-76 cars have the center console gauge harness connections in the main chassis harness under the carpet, the 1970-72 cars do not.

[wonkipop]

I'm still processing the above, but here are a couple of other fun facts to ponder:

The 1971 wiring schematic includes an oil temp sender circuit on the ignition harness and the original ignition harnesses have this circuit. The 1970 and 1972 do not. My thinking is that a separate wire directly connected the 1971 ignition harness to a sump mounted oil temp sender. Unlike the later 73-76 cars with the circuitry in the main chassis harness.

The 1973-76 cars have the center console gauge harness connections in the main chassis harness under the carpet, the 1970-72 cars do not.

thats pretty interesting stuff.

hints at something i came across when researching the EC engines of 74.
it was in the emissions legislation historical material i stumbled on.
not that i am an historian of the usa epa. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

but around about 72 all the USA domestic manufacturers and the main import vehicle makers (VW being a big player) sat down with the EPA to discuss the timing in play as a result of the Nixon Clean Air Act of 1970. the hiccup was going to be the proposed deadline for the introduction of catalysers. this had been set at 1975 model year.
it was agreed to move it one year to 1976. there were concerns that not enough platinum could be manufactured to ensure there were sufficient cats for USA wide car production.

As a side note California was always one model year in front of the EPA standards introduction. This was agreed to in 1970 for the same reasons. to allow for phasing of manufacture and supply logistics. hence california was to have had cats in 74. they still went ahead with unleaded phasing in on schedule but not the cats.

it struck me there was a possibility that the EC engine with L jet was originally intended for 1973 but was as a result delayed until 1974. they kept running with the D jets for 1973 in the 1.7s. the result in california was the unleaded 1.7 with the 73 (or 70) hp engine which was very weak. i still ponder that weird notation of the 1.8 engines in 1974. where the california engine is the EC-A and the USA engine is the EC-B. they reverse their notation from 1973 in a funny way. and in 75 they reverse it back again on the EC engines. it almost suggests that somehow it might have been that in 73 they might have been going with EA engines for USA 49 states and the EC 1.8 engine for california. like maybe a phased engine introduction. but they held back and just detuned the 1.7 D jet for california. you would need access to the factory archives to get to the bottom of it. but there is something there.

its almost like the wiring harnesses you are describing for the 73 cars were in anticipation for the L jet 1.8 variations that were available in 74 and were in the pipeline and incorporated into the body during production regardless. but a last minute decision was made on the engines to the contrary.

i'll dig around more in my L jet files to find any other package bin fitted cars i came across in 74 and 75. i've ended up with about 80 74 cars on file from the L jet research. i was tracking those painted engine stamp numbers.

what i found is the L jets for USA definitely only had 4 of those painted stamp numbers.
they corresponded to whether the cars were california or USA epa markets and whether they were fitted with the sump plate sender and engine wiring for the sender.

the same patter repeated in 1975. ended up finding all 4 of the numbers for the 75 L jet.
same pattern associated with the 4 numbers as in 1974.

i looked for it in the 73s. only two numbers. never came across a 73 1.7 that was fitted with guages and was what i considered trustworthy as an example. ie its sales docket data corresponded to its present condition.

another little thing i noticed is just about every 1.8, whether 74 or 75 i found has vinyl on the targa bar originally. (again using trustworthy examples). there seemed to be no 1.8s without the vinyl. there are some now of course but they were all repainted/restored cars. this was whether a base 1.8 or an appearance group 1.8.
i'm strictly referring to USA market cars here. there were vinyl targa bar deletes in Europe. the 74 1.8 in the porsche museum is a no vinyl 1.8, but thats also an AN twin carb euro engine car.

in 73 you could get a base 1.7 without vinyl targa bar and you seemed to get the vinyl with the appearance group. you could also get the 2.0 the same way.

most of the trustworthy 2.0s i have come across with the research seemed to have vinyl targas in 74 and 75 - whether appearance group or not. apart from the LEs.

that was a pattern i could see in all the examples we found for L jet research around the 73 to 75 model years.

not saying this is 100% accurate. there could well be examples existing that discount the pattern i have seen from the examples collected on file. but......its what i am seeing in the material i did collect.

[wonkipop]

As another little bit of info.
we did find one 74 L jet that was retrofitted with guages and console post production line and the fitment was done by the dealer to utilise the inbuilt wiring in the chassis harness.

the fitment was done at the dealer pre shipment. all the paperwork with the car when it was for sale on BAT about 8 years back showed it clearly that it had been fitted by the dealer.

it was quite unusual as it did not use the sump plate and sender fitted to the factory made cars with the console and guages. instead it was a sender inserted into the oil pressure sensor/sender on top of the engine. i suspect the reason was that it is actually a little difficult to replicate the factory wiring from the sump sender to the top of the engine without dropping the engine. the dealer probably did not wish to do that much work.

the guages are also interesting as they are not factory VDO guages. they are another type fitted into the console. it all appeared to be original to the car from new at the dealer. it was a very original excellent condition car.

my conclusion was that dealers could do the console guages addition as a plug and play easily as all the wiring was there for it all the way to the dashboard. including the sump plate and sender in all the 2.0 engine cars. but it was not such an easy plug and play for the dealers in the 1.8s. hence most of the 1.8s with the console and guages were a factory production line order item to get the sump plate and engine wiring.

[wonkipop]

I'm still processing the above, but here are a couple of other fun facts to ponder:

The 1971 wiring schematic includes an oil temp sender circuit on the ignition harness and the original ignition harnesses have this circuit. The 1970 and 1972 do not. My thinking is that a separate wire directly connected the 1971 ignition harness to a sump mounted oil temp sender. Unlike the later 73-76 cars with the circuitry in the main chassis harness.

The 1973-76 cars have the center console gauge harness connections in the main chassis harness under the carpet, the 1970-72 cars do not.

the thing about the 71 cars is interesting.
not sure what that indicates.

but the lack of chassis wiring in 70 to 72 makes sense.
the cars coming out of karmann were only 4 cyl cars.
the premium 2.0 was the porsche 6 and they were kind of seperate.
with semi offsite production line going on.
and all the 6s had a temp guage.
how was the temp guage wiring incorporated for the 6 from 70-72?
but does not explain 71.

after the 6 gets canned the 2.0 4 becomes the premium engined car.
but its totally made at karmann. no further porsche production line involvement.
so for the first time a car with a temp guage is coming out of karmann factory?
makes sense they would rationalise the chassis harness down to one item no matter what.?

maybe they were considering a temp guage for the 4 in 71 as part of appearance group.
i guess the question is did any 4s ever come with the temp guage in the main instrument cluster during 70 to 72 when they were all 1.7s.
my files don't extend to looking into anything much pre 73 models.


the one other thing i can think of re 71 is that they were still at that stage gearing up for more ambitious production. they were definitely going to do a rhd version for 72. it was advertised in the australian press and potential buyers were notified. (i think the twin adjustable seats of 72 is a vestige of that plan before it was cancelled?).

in 71 all sorts of hard nosed decisions would have been being made as the 914/4 was not as successful as hoped in all the markets outside the USA and germany. it was a total bomb in the UK for instance. the other main markets for rhd were japan and australia.
chicken feed. probably quite a few things were being readied in 71 that never eventuated in plans for the 72 model year? dunno if that explains the temp wiring in 71.
but they would have been in a scramble canning the future of the 6 and altering strategy fast to develope the 2.0 L four.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby

this was the one and only 74 1.8 that had clear documented evidence of a dealer installed console and gauges (what you call plug and play installation).

you can find it on BAT if you keep on scrolling way back in time.
its right back at the start of the BAT auctions about 8-10 years ago.
(a stunningly original and excellent original condition car, wonder who owns it now,
its never come up for sale again).






the rest of the 74 1.8 console/gauge cars i have on file, and its quite a few correspond to factory installation in 2.0L cars and quite a few of those i had the window sheet document for which list the console/gauge as part of appearance group (ie already in car and factory installed/ordered?).

[wonkipop]

and i trawled the files on the 74 1.8 s.
79 examples on file.

all have vinyl targa bars except one.

this one.
you can also find it on BAT.
its a very poor condition 1.8 but suprisingly intact.
however it showed evidence of an earlier respray in factory original color.
rear badges missing and fixing holes filled.
overspray on black plastic cowl intact grill.
and when you looked at targa bar there were holes on lhs side for lower targa chrome trim.

my guess is it had the original vinyl stripped off.



i did not turn up a single other 74 1.8 (USA car) without the vinyl.
not saying there were not any, but i did not come across any others in 3 years of collecting examples for L jet files.

i will go back through files again as i am sure there was one other 1.8 i found with the parcel bin besides mine. i know the parcel bin was there from the start in mine.
either dealer installed or factory as i have the lhd drive carpets still and the section under the bin was unfaded and factory fresh. the brown carpets notoriously fade and the tunnle section of mine was the usual faded color where it was exposed to direct UV.

[wonkipop]

@JeffBowlsby .
here is some stuff i isolated out a year or so back when i was looking into the targa bar - vinyl question re 74 and 75 base 1.8s. found where i put them in a file.

sales brochures from 75.

German market brochure.



UK market brochure.



French brochure



all three brochures use the same photo.
and its a base 1.8 in classic stripper form with no vinyl for european market.


.....and here is the USA brochure from the same year.
almost identical brochure with the rest of photos like european ones.
but not the car for this particular shot and page in the brochure.



its a vinyl clad targa bar.
but look carefully, the models are the same people dressed the same.
and seem to be out on the same day in a close by location to where they other shot was taken.
it could be they are using an american market car for the shoot.
or it could be the same red euro spec car and the photo has been airbrushed and worked over. (i say this because they did do a work over on the 74 brochure for the USA version and simply airbrushed in the warts - and got them looking not quite right when they did it, made the warts too small. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) - i can dig that brochure up as well from files).

but they sure went to a bit of trouble to have a different brochure for the USA in 75 and they show no cars with any painted targas. all with vinyl.

I'm thinking every USA car for 75 at minimum had a vinyl targa.
and i'm pretty sure it was the same for 74.

not sure every 1.8 in 74 or 75 for europe was without the vinyl but its possible.
very hard to find out as so few examples of original euro spec 1.8s are out there.
but the couple i have found from old sales ads were all painted targa bars.

[wonkipop]

and here is the other one from the 75 brochure.

UK, France, Germany all have this shot.




and same page from USA brochure (otherwise very similar).



can't tell if its the same car and same photo but simply airbrushed to make the 1.8 differently portrayed for USA market or they actually rolled a US spec car into exactly the correct position. if they did roll another car in for the shot they were bloody good, very precise. (they add the warts in on both cars too, or vice versa, used american spec cars and airbrushed warts and vinyl targa out as well as changed the white black interior to white - who knows. but i don;t think its two different stagings of the same shot with different cars).

anyway they sure are distinguishing the 1.8s differently in the sales material.
dunno if it proves anything but it matches what i built up in the 1.8 L jet files. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[JeffBowlsby]

Checking a few archives:

The center gauge console was first offered for the 1973 2.0L and only the 2.0L. I am sure a dealer could get the needed parts and install it in any 914 as has been done many times over the years. See page 19.
https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zMan_1973_S...iningManual.pdf

The targa vinyl became standard on all 914s (except the USA LE cars and apparently the 1.8L ROW market cars) beginning with the 1974 model year. Interestingly (to me anyway) the 1974 914GT (German market LE) had the vinyl, yet the 914SL (Japan market) did not. Its my understanding that Porsche designers wanted to make these limited edition cars in their various markets, be stylistically different from the standard model year cars. See page 5.
https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zMan_1974_2...iningManual.pdf

[gandalf_025]

Going back to the center cushion questions..

Does anyone know if when the cushion was added to a car, did it count as
a third seat and that provoke the center seat belt to be added and the
change of the foil sticker that says Seating Positions 2, to Seating Positions 2+1.??

[914werke]

Per my OG post my PPS just showed "Seat cushions" under optional equipment, no mention of additional seatbelts as well .
Perhaps Jeff has some info related to a option code for those?

[JeffBowlsby]

Center seatbelts were optional equipment M166 (US cars) and M186 (ROW cars)

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/OpEq.htm

[gandalf_025]

Does anyone have an idea of how many cars were optioned with the center seat belt.??
And I suppose it would show up on a COA..??