Trying to ID a 914

[jcoltrane]

The other day my dad shared with me some pictures of his dad standing next to a 914 he used to race in the 70's. I love Porsches (owner of a '14 911 TTS and '81 911SC), so this was a delightful surprise. I was hoping that the experts on this forum could tell me what kind of 914 it was based upon a couple of old, grainy photos?

Thanks!

[Tobra]

tough to pin that down much, early four cylinder car

I think the chrome bumpers could be had on the 1.7 and 2.0 cars

[John Rogers]

Can you tell us where he used to live in the 1970's please if you know or can find out. I would guess it is a road racer since the top is removed to make room for a bolt in roll bar. The rear window is still in which used to be a SCCA rule and the number 13 is pretty low. There is a letter "X" after the 13 on the front lid but not on the side while a "S" shows behind his leg. The tires and wheels seem to be street or "stock" for a "street class which also lets him use the stock seats. I am surprised the passenger seat is still in but that might be a "street" requirement? The small exhaust outlet looks like a 4 cylinder stock exhaust system, again for "street"?

I would guess those pictures were taken somewhere in the Midwest or midatlantic states as I seriously doubt it was in CA as I don't think we have grass like that? Probably taken off to the side of a race track somewhere?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Wow, John, your eyes are much better than mine!!!

One problem identifying 914s in detail is that so many of the obvious different parts can be swapped between years. For instance, this car has a 70-72 front bumper because it is chrome (not large rubber) and has no rubber "bumper tits" on it, but it is trivial to swap an early bumper onto a 73 or 74 car, and not very difficult to swap onto a 75-76 car either.

With that said, and assuming that nothing was updated or backdated on the car, then this car is a 1972 model year. The bumper says 70-72, and there looks to be a moveable passenger seat present, which says 72-76. 1972 is the only overlap in those two ranges.

It is pretty certainly a four-cylinder car, as it would be exceedingly unusual to fit four-lug steel wheels onto a Six.

So, again assuming that nothing has been swapped around on it, it should be a 1972 914-4 with a 1.7 liter engine and a tail-shift transmission.

But that is making quite a few assumptions....

--DD

[jcoltrane]

Very interesting, thanks gents for the information. This was in the Chicagoland area, my dad mentioned his dad raced at Blackhawk regularly.

I forgot to ask: is that Tangerine Red, I'm curious what color that is albeit with these grainy photos.

[John Rogers]

Dave can tell you for sure but it looks like the red we used on Julia's 914 back in 1998 when she first got it, we used a VW color called "adobe red". I would guess the picture was taken just outside the track area, probably where people parked their trailers and campers? You can tell the rules were different back then as he doesn't have his blood type on the fire suit or the back of his helmet. He may not have raced with the SCCA as they made you put a SCCA patch on your fire suit.

[PCA7GGR]

Its an unlucky 914.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Tangerine (or Blutorange as it was called in Germany, "blood orange") is a much more orange color than I am seeing in the photos. Then again, color reproduction can be a chancy sort of thing, so it could have been...

It looks like the best approximation to what I see in the colors that was available for 1972 was "Bahia Red".

Availability info taken from Jeff Bowlsby's Paint and Fabrics page, part of his amazing 914 Classic website.

--DD

[Glenn Stazak]

The X on the front of the car is an indication of a rookie in Midwestern Council Sports Car Club.
They are one of the largest racer clubs in the midwest.
I currently race a 914/6 at their track events.

[Glenn Stazak]

also looks like movable passenger seat which started in 1972 but you could certainly retro an earlier car. Skinny rear view mirror suggests early car as well

[Steam Driver]

I would say definitely Bahia Red, not Tangerine. The latter one of my all-time favorite colors on 914’s and also contemporary 911’s.