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Posted by: weener101 Jan 11 2011, 11:22 AM

Howdy, new to site...looking at a 75 914 1.8 that's original owner, supposedly never painted...all orignal etc. My question is ..the rear hood has different gap sizes on the left and right. Is this original/normal? The right gap is about 5/8 " and left side is about 3/8" . The rest of the car gaps look great. Can this be adjusted or is this normal or a sign it's been hit. Rear hood seems to ride slightly higher on the left also. Thanks much for the help. Dave

Posted by: realred914 Jan 11 2011, 11:41 AM

gaps seem a bit wide. more careful inspection of the trunk rear pan is warrented look for kinks and bends signs of recent welding or repaint.

Posted by: mepstein Jan 11 2011, 11:43 AM

Broken hinge is a common problem.

Posted by: rick 918-S Jan 11 2011, 11:47 AM

Check the hinge mounting points on the body. Sometimes these break off and are welded back on in the wrong place. Also look at the bolts that mount the hinge to the lid. If they have been unbolted the socket likely removed paint from the bolt heads. It may be a matter of re-aligning the lid.

Posted by: underthetire Jan 11 2011, 12:07 PM

I agree on the gap width. Should be more like a 1/4 on both sides.

Posted by: orange914 Jan 11 2011, 12:25 PM

hood gaps, door gaps on most older cars were never as good as cars built now. i think we assume they were to start with when new, like new cars nowdays.

i don't think i've ever seen really nice gapped headlights on any 914... part of the 914 charicter we all love!

Posted by: Tom_T Jan 11 2011, 01:34 PM

Dave -

The rear trunk/deck lid usually rides high when the hinge plates are pulling loose or cracking - or as Rick/Area 51 said, the repair wasn't placed properly.

Not a big deal in either case, as new brackets are available and a good body shop can remove old, grind & re-weld replacements in. It's a common malady on 914s, but not a deal-killer.

Open the engine bay lid & look up on the upper inner rear fenders behind the battery on pass side & behind relay box on driver side & look for the hinge plates to see if they're either cracked, bent or separating from the inner fender sheet metal.

Here's pix of my replacement hinge plates FYI, so you know what to look at:

Face against body (inside) -


Face outside that you'll see -


If you weld & know a bit about these 914s, then you can do it yourself.

Posted by: realred914 Jan 11 2011, 01:36 PM

thats why pirates have charector, eye patch, scar, and hooked arm all ad to pirate charector. eye eye eye a pirates life for me, ho ho ho ho a pirates life for me. with a swig from me jug and a swing from my sword, a pirates lfe for me, yoyo yoyo a pirates life for me

Posted by: weener101 Jan 11 2011, 01:51 PM

Thanks to all. Can anyone measure their rear hood and give me the proper dimensions and gaps off an original car? thanks much. Also, can anyone give me a ballpark on what kind of price a mint 50K mile, always garaged , one owner 1975 1.8 would bring? Mint condition!! thanks

Posted by: KELTY360 Jan 11 2011, 02:37 PM

Start a thread asking for a PPI. There are a lot of 914s and expert owners up here who are willing to help evaluate a car. 'Mint' condition rarely is, but sometimes it takes someone with a trained eye to see the deficiencies.

Where are you located?

Posted by: bandjoey Jan 11 2011, 05:02 PM

Take this from our group experience and not a put down. We've "all" bought mint condition cars only to find the rust in the hidden places. The Great News is we can help U inspect the car and know what you are looking at.

Under the battery. Under the floor tar at the back window under the firewall pad. Under the trunk pad at the tail lights. Etc.

Do a search for rust and you'll see all of the places to look.

Post pictures and we might help with the price too

Once U drive the 914 you'll never go back. Just don't fall in love with the first car you see until it's been inspected.

Posted by: weener101 Jan 11 2011, 05:16 PM

Thanks everyone. I've owned a 356 Roadster for 35 years(my first car). In the middle of restoring it and have put a ton of money into fixing all the rust that has accumulated through the years...soooo, I know what you're getting at. I'm really sensitive to the rust problem. There's no such thing as a rust free 356, unless you've just restored it! I don't know much about 914's..just that I had to chose to buy either a 356 or a 914 all those years ago...always wanted a 914 and thought ..someday I might get one! Thanks for the help and the welcome to the site. If I ever take the plunge, I will def. get a PPI by one of you experts. Best regards. Dave

Posted by: detoxcowboy Jan 11 2011, 06:38 PM

If you measurements are uneven, you can adjust a bit at the 4 bolts where the hood actually mounts to the hinged support arms, also sometimes these arms can bend a little or have been bent a little.. no matter where your hinges are, the hood size will never change unless shaved and should fill trunk between the fenders also of which distance (between fenders) will not ever change unless in a wreck those distances and measurements are not dependent on hinges.. only even spacing all around and mounting is dependent on hinges of which you still have some play as mentioned in the first 2 sentences... poor hinges will not make for big gaps on both sides because the trunk is one size and fills one area...


just a recomendation, it bothers me when newbie are directed to worst case scenario (weld new hinges) first..

Posted by: detoxcowboy Jan 11 2011, 06:41 PM

but with patience and time you can get those headlight so dman close in gaps you would need to measure, I got punched in the headlight by a truck and mine are visabley perfect now, almost within measurement..

Posted by: Cheapsnake Jan 11 2011, 07:10 PM

53 1/2" (From 914 Info, above). Now that you have the dimension, don't worry about it. If the car was hit hard enough to change that dimension you'd see evidence of it elsewhere and it's highly unlikely it would have been worth rebuilding anyway. As someone mentioned before, the dimensional control on these cars was not up to today's standards. center the deck lid and drive it like you stole it.

Tom

Posted by: rick 918-S Jan 11 2011, 08:47 PM

Here's a link to the chassis specs.

http://www.914world.com/specs/bodydims.php