USA 74 carrera vs ROW 74 carrera

[mspirito]

I have been seeing ads on this and other venues for ROW 74 & 75 carreras.
These people claim that the 74 carrera that was sent to this country was substantially different from the euro version apart from the motor.
It seems to me that the people at porsche would have probably put the same suspension and body panels etc on both carreras and just put a different motor in the ones for USA vs Euro delivery.
Do any of you have knowledge to the contrary?
One one recent advertisement it was claimed that the euro version had the same parts as the 73 carrera and the US version was a different machine all together? Seems way too complicated for me.
Thanks for the input.
Mike

[dd74]

The engine was different. The ROW engine was an MFI 2.7 engine; same as the '73 Carrera. The U.S. version was a CIS 2.7, substantially less horsepower.

Beams were put in the doors of the U.S. version for safety purposes. I don't think the Euro version had this.

The bumpers were different in that the U.S. version had collapsible tubes. I think the Euro version had just hollow tubes - non collapsible and lighter.

Ride height for the U.S. version was higher.

Sugar scoop headlights for the U.S. version. Euro headlights for the Euro version. Red U.S. tail light lens vs. amber/red for Euro.

Despite these differences, the cars were fairly equal in weight and suspension, and used the same ratio gearing. This is why the U.S. '74 was not that much slower than its more powerful European sibling.

[911st]

I am not an expert. I suspect the main difference was the RS mfi motor & exhaust, heavy bumper shocks, different height adjustment w spacer on top of front struts, different lights and turn signals. Maybe we did not have the side impact beam in the doors.

Except for the motor, mostly minor.

There may have been some differences in trim like plaid interior inserts. Cool!

Again, this is just a guess.

[javadog]

Actually, the ride height changes and some of the safety related differences came later. Apart from the engines and some lighting/labeling details they were essentially the same car.

JR

[Macroni]

http://www.audettegarage.com/euro_carrera/

Great write up here.

[Steve@Rennsport]

Originally Posted by 911st

I am not an expert. I suspect the main difference was the RS mfi motor & exhaust, heavy bumper shocks, different height adjustment w spacer on top of front struts, different lights and turn signals. Maybe we did not have the side impact beam in the doors.

Except for the motor, mostly minor.

There may have been some differences in trim like plaid interior inserts. Cool!

Again, this is just a guess.

I've owned my early production '74 Carrera since new so I'd offer a few observations,....

My car has crush tubes, as do many of the early & mid-production cars, none of the 74's had the strut spacers: those came along in '75.

All US cars had door beams and I have reason to believe that the Euro ones had them as well.

US cars had red taillight lenses, Euro cars had amber ones. US cars had front side reflectors, Euro cars had a rubber insert behind the turn signal lenses.

US cars came with sealed beam headlight assemblies but many dealers installed the Euro H-4 or H-1 assemblies as an option.

Great fun,

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Steve@Rennsport

All US cars had door beams and I have reason to believe that the Euro ones had them as well.

I have a couple Euro 911s, neither of which has door beams. Methinks they eventually got them, in the mid-80's. Not sure of the year.

JR

[HarryD]

So Steve,

how about a picture of yours

[dd74]

Originally Posted by Steve@Rennsport

Great fun,

+1.
Even the CIS '74 can be fun. There's a couple stock '74s that have just had suspension work running around Willow Springs. 34-years old, and still faster than a lot of other cars on the track.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Steve@Rennsport

My car has crush tubes, as do many of the early & mid-production cars, none of the 74's had the strut spacers: those came along in '75.

All US cars had door beams and I have reason to believe that the Euro ones had them as well.

My RoW '76 didn't have door beams, Installing crash bars in the doors was part of the DoT process for bringing it into the US.

The bumpers were hung on non hydraulic crush tubes.

[stevemfr]

The RoW cars did not get door beams until the mid-80's sometime (I was one of those guys who installed the beams back then). I remember reading a story that a Porsche test driver was killed in an accident and afterwards it was determined that his chances would have been much better with door beams. After that, Porsche installed door beams on all cars. Don't know if it's true or not, but it sounds nice...

[javadog]

I got to thinking about the bumper shocks and finally recalled that when the new bumpers were introduced, the cars could be ordered with either the simple tubes or the heavier collapsible shocks. Shortly thereafter (maybe on US cars built after Jan 1, 1974, I don't recall the date) the shocks became standard for US cars. For ROW cars, the shocks were optional, even in future years, at least in some markets.

JR