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Posted by: thomasotten Aug 8 2010, 10:09 AM

I have seen very nicely restored and/or custom cars with their fender wells painted to match the body, and an equal number where the fender wells are painted black. Modern cars seem to have their fender wells lined with black plastic, at least that is how my VW's and Audis are. This is not something that everyone notices, but some may have an opinion.

Posted by: 9146986 Aug 8 2010, 11:08 AM

The original "correct" appearing choice would be the same color as the body.

If you paint them black it's easier to touch up than body color. Also the black does help accent a good paint job. In some restoration circles it's the only way to go.

Posted by: underthetire Aug 8 2010, 11:37 AM

What are you using the car for?

Posted by: Spoke Aug 8 2010, 12:06 PM

The body color in the wheel well, trunks, engine compartment give the car that "NEW" look. It's a lot more work but I think it looks best.


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Posted by: Tom_T Aug 8 2010, 12:27 PM

Thomas, on the 914's originally the black in the fender wells wasn't paint per se, but undercoating - either dealer applied or less frequently as a factory option. It was there as added chip & corrosion protection.

If yours is anything but a concours queen & you personally like the look of black wheel wells (to hell with polls of other folks' opinions! ) - then definitely go with the black undercoating (Wurth Schutz & some truck bed liners have been recco'd on here).

If you're going to CW it, then I've heard 2 schools of thought on it, both with & without for CdE winners. IIRC the Sahara Beige owned by Steve G/smg on here lost out at the PCA Nat'l Parade - or at least was gigged points for it (rightly or wrongly by the judges) - because he'd removed the original dealer/factory black undercoating from the wheel wells, because Steve liked to show off the #99 customer special order paint color of the car.

Go to O&H Forum, "The few, the rare...." at it's nailed topics & see his 73 914-2.0, then PM or email Steve for his thoughts on it. If you're a PCA member, then you could probably also email or call the current nat'l. Concours Chair & ask the specific question & request a written reply to keep in your 914's file for when you show it & may need to challenge a less experienced/knowledgeable (on 914s) judge(s).

Of course if you're going the CW route, then you'll want to keep it the original color per the Karmann Plate (even if PCNA's COA is in error with a different color - they're often wrong), and resto it to as close to original fitment & listed options from the original window sticker &/or dealer BoS (or COA is those aren't available), with a few "personalization" additions which may not cost you too many points (e.g.: the period correct Porsche Crest shift knob, Porsche side stripes, SS HEs, etc.).

Keep in mind that originality is not judged at all at the PCA's local chapter & zone & usually regional level CdE shows. I was surprised to learn when I took the Zone 8 CdE Judges School in March (to figure out how best to resto my 73 2L), that they're basically only judging who can be the most anal about cleaning every nook-n-cranny (drain vents at the door bottoms, down inside hood/trunk latches, etc. - I mean really? ...... REALLY!!?? ). I was expecting much more on who had properly restored & prepared their Porsches to each model's/MY's proper OE spec, than a "cleaning contest"! Originality only comes in at the Nat'l./Parade level, and then usually as a tie breaker in tenths of points!

IMHO the lighter colored 914s - perhaps including black - look better with the black undercoated wheel wells, & I certainly prefer the added protection afforded by a good quality & properly applied full undercoating - esp. after spending a bunch of dough on paint/body work etc. on a resto. So I voted for them, but - as I said above - do what you like & want, & what fit's your planned use of the 914, & to hell with my & others' opinions, other than as informational input!

Here's a couple of shots of Steve's Sahara Biege with & without - or before/after his months of undercoating removal - FYI same car with & without for comparison!





Hope this helps!

Posted by: Tom_T Aug 8 2010, 12:35 PM

PS Thomas - after just looking at your build link, I see yours is a modified 914 - not CW per se - so do what you like & what you want to protect of your hard work & bucks!

However, you can still enter it in modified, street & wash-n-shine CdE events with PCA - IIRC, but maybe more for the fun of showing off all your hard work & apparently excellent results!

BTW - that Marathon Blue has always been one of my top 2-3 914 colors!

Posted by: Socalandy Aug 8 2010, 01:53 PM

What about the cars that had undercoating? My 72 was undercoated, was this a dealer option only?

I plan on undercoating and then apply the base color over it

Posted by: Gustl Aug 8 2010, 03:01 PM

QUOTE(Socalandy @ Aug 8 2010, 08:53 PM)

Posted by: gopack Aug 8 2010, 03:55 PM

WHne i had the body work done, i undercoated the full underside, as well as teh engine compartment, and the gas tank compartment. the interior, and trunks will be bosy colored, even though there is no real visible paint in the passenger compartment (IIRC). I AM panning on a black car though, so I figured it would match AND be durable.

Posted by: SirAndy Aug 8 2010, 04:06 PM

QUOTE(Gustl @ Aug 8 2010, 02:01 PM)

QUOTE(Socalandy @ Aug 8 2010, 08:53 PM)

My 72 was undercoated, was this a dealer option only?

nope - it was available from the factory
M640 - PVC undercoating

Posted by: 9146986 Aug 8 2010, 08:45 PM

The story I got (from Allan Caldwell) is that at least one of the carriers on the west coast that hauled from the POE to the dealers, would just undercoat every car they hauled and add that to the bill, regardless if the customer wanted it that way.

Posted by: jsayre914 Aug 8 2010, 09:30 PM

i voted undercoat, because of the car down the street from my house


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Posted by: bigkensteele Aug 8 2010, 09:37 PM

I have a '75 1.8 that is not undercoated at all. When I tell some folks this, they don't believe it. Is this rare?

Posted by: thomasotten Aug 9 2010, 06:48 AM

Thanks guys, it is really a toss up with me. From my build thread, you can see that I commited the cardinal sin of color changing the car, so I don't think I will ever win an award on that account. :-)

As far as undercoating goes, I think that can allow dirt more grip and could build up more.

Perhaps we should also talk about the bottom of the car as well. From mine, it was never dealer-undercoated. You can see it has the base factory sealer, with a thin coat of color on that. It seems to have held up pretty well in most areas.

Posted by: dr914@autoatlanta.com Aug 9 2010, 08:15 AM

QUOTE(thomasotten @ Aug 8 2010, 09:09 AM)

Posted by: realred914 Aug 9 2010, 08:28 AM

body color looks nice and is most original. undercoating helps prevetn rust and stone dents.

you can have both, you can paint to body color then over coat with a clear undercoating to help prevent stone damage. or you can undercoat first with a paintable undercoat, then top that off wiht body color.


be sure to pay cloase attention to any seams, clean them well, epoxt paint them, then follow up with a seam sealer then top coat the seam sealer.


that is my opintion for th e best look .


however I do have a beater 914 all modifed also, and that I have no probelm with plain black under coat.

main thing for long life is to enfisize seam sealing and stone damage protection.


if you drive a lot on gravel roads, or have tires that pick up gravel easily, drive on salted roads or do other driving that risks stone or corrosion damage, your then better off with more undercoat.

seam sealer is required unless you have a museum car that never gets moist.

Posted by: andys Aug 9 2010, 09:29 AM

I scaped off the original undercoating on the rears, scuff sanded the paint, primered, then painted and undercoated. For that amount of work I said screw it, and kept the original undercoat on the front (which is in great condition). Back on subject, I vote undercoat since a stone chipped wheel well looks pretty lousey (to me). Undercoating can easily be touched up.

Andys

Posted by: rickthejetman Aug 9 2010, 08:55 PM

what do you guys think of black truck bed liner? for a daliy driver of course.

Posted by: '73-914kid Aug 10 2010, 07:09 AM

It's really heavy.. But if weight isn't an issue, it's some tough stuff..

Posted by: rickthejetman Aug 10 2010, 01:15 PM

QUOTE('73-914kid @ Aug 10 2010, 06:09 AM)

Posted by: charliew Aug 10 2010, 03:02 PM

Personally I don't think the diy truck bed liner is any more durable than a shutz type of undercoating but someone may get a better result than I did. I put the two part gatorguard on the inner fenders of a jeep truck and some of it came off after several years of hunting use. I also put some over por15 and all of it came off. I put the gatorguard on the bottom of a dunebuggy pan over por15 that had tiecoat primer applied inbetween and haven't used it enough to see how it will holdup. For a street car I think I will just use a acrylic auto enamel over epoxyprimer with a shutz rubberized under coat on top of that on the bottom and innerfender wells. Some people have said that spraying clear over the undercoat makes for easier cleanup.