How many are there and what are they worth?

[balthazar]

The 914's sister, the 474, was sold in germany as a VW. The 474 was never sold here in the states. Everyone on this board knows that. Does anyone have a guess as to how many there are in the USA? How much would a perfect example of a VW 474 be worth in the USA?

[Peter_Hinkle]

Guess I am a moron as i didn't know about this. Is a 474 just the euro 914 or is it a different car? If it is simply the one that says 914 vw-porsche on the tail, then I did know, just didn't know they were called that! peter

[yoh!!!]

Peter ... don't worry!
A 474 is a 914. Also never met a German who refers to a 914 as a 474. Depending on the age of the German individual they will identify them as a Volksporsche or a Vopo (which has a rather unfortunate double meaning) or most of the younger Germans will see it as a Porsche 914, if they recognize it at all.
All the classifieds I have seen in Germany in the recent years called it a Porsche 914. Very few are left, most of them got killed by harsh winters and well salted streets. There is actually quiet a larger number of reimports from Arizona and SoCal. I would not know why a euro 914 would sell significantly better, may be a few 100 buck because you could tell a cool story.

MfG

Patrick

[chief914]

I have a '71 914 (474) originally purchased in Germany and brought to the states. I've never heard of "474" and have not seen any references to it in any of the original paperwork. Where would it be identified as a 474??

[Paul_Heery]

Chief,

You actually have a Typ 471. This is the nomenclature used at the Karmann plant for the cars. If you want to know what Typ you have, check the first three digits of your VIN.

[balthazar]

Peter, maybe I am the moron...I have been building 914's for a year now and am currently on my 3rd. I have only heard the VW version called the 474 (in classic auto books and on the web etc...)

Am I mistaken when I say the 914 was sold in europe as a VW and was called the 474?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Partway. It was sold in Europe as the VW-Porsche 914. I believe that VW dealers and Porsche dealers sold them, but I'm partway guessing on that.

I've never heard the 914 called "474", though if you look on the data plate on the expansion tank of at least some 914s you will see a label with "Type 47" on it, plus max axle weights and a little bit of other info. But I don't think anyone really calls them that.

--DD

[balthazar]

I guess I jumped the gun a bit. Automobile Atlanta has one and they call it a "474". I found out the info I need to know anyway. I know someone who has a German 914 for sale which my father is interested in(he has a classic auto book which calls them 474's). The asking price seemed a bit high to me (considering the condition). When I inquired as to why, I was told they are rare, sold a vw's, actually called a 474 etc...

You learn something new every day! That's why I love this board!

[yoh!!!]

That is not the only thing that is wrong with Automobile Atlanta !!! ;-)

Patrick Koch

[M. Hendrix]

AA makes the customer bend over forward to help you.



M

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Real European 914s are indeed quite rare. Most of them seem to have rusted away, and they didn't have the same cachet they did here where they were sold simply as Porsches. The only 914 that I saw in 3 weeks in Europe was the silver 914-8 in the Porsche factory museum.

--DD

[farleyd]

Quote:The only 914 that I saw in 3 weeks in Europe was the silver 914-8 in the Porsche factory museum.

Daaaaave! And you didnt buy it????

[campbellcj]

Searching Google for "VW 474" sure doesn't turn up much. I had never heard that model number/name either, prior to this thread.

[balthazar]

go to automobile atlanta's website and do a search of the used vehicles...are you trying to imply something?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by farleyd
Quote:The only 914 that I saw in 3 weeks in Europe was the silver 914-8 in the Porsche factory museum.

Daaaaave! And you didnt buy it????

Naaah. It wouldn't have fit in my checked luggage, and I was trying to carry too many bottles of wine to fit the car in the overhead bin of the airplane...

--DD

[campbellcj]

All I meant is that the "474" nomenclature sure is not common knowledge amongst the 914 crowd, including Europeans.

[balthazar]

I already admitted my mistake earlier...

My guess is that "474" comes from:

Type 47-4 (for four cylinders)...would that make a 914-6 a "type 47-6"?

So maybe it should be type 47-4 instead of "474"?

any takers?

[yoh!!!]

Hmm, No! If I am not completely confused them all the 914's start with 4XX, the next two digits are 70 to 76 for the year they were build (or better shipped to the US since mine was build in 73 but the VIN starts with 474) There is a similar system for the early 911’s and 912's and probably the rest of the porsche stuff...

For the 914’s it should look like this…

Chassis serial numbers:

1970: 470 29 00001 - 470 29 13312
1971: 471 29 00001 - 471 29 16231
1972: 472 29 01400 - 472 29 21580
1973: 473 29 00001 - 473 29 27660
1974: 474 29 00001 - 474 29 21379
1975: 475 29 00001 - 475 29 11369
1976: 476 29 00001 - 476 29 04100

Here is my recommendation on the “real” German VW-Porsches stuff…
They are rare! Most of them are gone! Those that are left are probably in worse shape then most of the stuff you will find in the US. There are few that were used in a way they would survive. There is a reason why early 911, 912 and also some 914 are reimported from So Cal and Arizona.
Something else to take in consideration is the evil TUV in Germany - something similar to the state inspections in the US. While in the US almost everything with working lights, windshield wipers and gas caps can pass the inspections the TUV people have the strong desire to poke holes in floor pans and other body parts. They also have a no good sense for non-original equipment like wide tires, suspension upgrades, header systems, big Weber carbs, and other nice stuff. Lots of cars will not pass the TUV without rust repairs after the age of 11 or 13…
While driving in Austin, TX I spot a 914 maybe once a month. Back in Germany I can remember one incident in the last 10 years aside from a meeting or other artificial situations.

MfG

Patrick Koch

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by balthazar
Automobile Atlanta has one and they call it a "474".

If you mean this one, the only "474" is their listing of the VIN. They know it starts with "474" but didn't bother putting the rest of the VIN into their database. They have a few others listed as "474", even US-spec cars, and some listed as "47429", and so on.

Which books refer to the European 914 as "474"? The trunk sticker says "Type 47", and the third digit of the VIN indicates the model year. That's the only way I know of to get "474"...

--DD

[Bleyseng]

Yoh! When did we get another 25 1976 914 built? I have always heard it was 4075 as the number built.
Geoff