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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Poll: Side stripes- where to trim them.

Posted by: Cuda911 Dec 23 2014, 02:10 AM

Poll time. I love the side stripes and added them to my silver car. I ordered a set for my blue one, and they just arrived.

Here is the pickiest poll you may ever see:

What do you think? Trim them before the wheel well, or wrap around into the wheel well?

I trimmed the stripes on my silver one just before the wheel well, but it seems that that LE's, etc. had the stripes go all the way across.

Before I put the stripes on my blue one, I thought I'd do a quick poll. Trim before the wheel well? (like on my silver one), or run all the way to the edge of the wheel well? (like in the blue pic below, not my car but mine will look like this if I install the stripes this way).

(Also, I think they look better 1.25 inches above the top of the rocker, like on my silver one, rather than 1/2 inch above like on that blue one. Opinions?)

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Posted by: ripper911 Dec 23 2014, 06:35 AM

I've been told that they are supposed to wrap into the wheel wells by a knowledgeable (if not well liked) 914 expert.

I cut mine just before the lip of the wheel wells when I installed mine, but I'm not going to add to them to make it look "right".

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Posted by: RobW Dec 23 2014, 07:09 AM

Trim short looks better IMHO

Posted by: Big Len Dec 23 2014, 07:14 AM

I had to laugh at your thread Cuda. With all the threads in the garage dealing with ignition problems, tranny issues, rust remedies, cars on jack stands for years, you start a poll asking about moving a stripe an inch in either direction LMAO.

Having said that, glad to see another person just as anal as me, as I changed the "E" on the engine grill cover because it had a tiny amount of discoloration for which I had my balls busted, so let me give you an opinion.

Stripes like yours should be low to the rocker as to soften the contrast between the black and the body color, sorta like a pinstripe does to a two tone paint job. I would go to the wheel well, but it hardly matters visually. But really, either way is OK IMO.

Really like both your cars. You've come a long way in a short time.

Posted by: AvalonFal Dec 23 2014, 07:14 AM

I looked at some old 914 mag ads of striped cars & the stripes on those cars wrap around the wheel well lips. I will add that my '74 has trimmed stripes & I do like that look better.
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Posted by: 7TPorsh Dec 23 2014, 11:40 AM

I trimmed mine because they don't wrap straight. Line changes at the corners. 3/4 view looks weird wrapped.

Posted by: VegasRacer Dec 23 2014, 08:57 PM

Not wrapped on the new 914 R coupe.

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Posted by: Johny Blackstain Dec 23 2014, 09:10 PM

Wrapped, like it was when the old man bought it

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Posted by: Mike Fitton Dec 23 2014, 10:47 PM

Didn't wrap mine, I liked it better cut right before the lip. These were mostly dealer installed add-ons and they were easier to install if wrapped around the edge then just cutoff with a razor blade on the inside.

Posted by: Cuda911 Dec 24 2014, 12:46 AM

Thanks for the feedback, guys, much appreciated.

Yeah, what Mike Fitton says is pretty much what my thoughts were: It's way easier to wrap around and cut off, than to do the careful cutting along the lip.

I think the "negative" version like Johnny B posted looks good wrapped, but the "positive" version like I have looks better trimmed. As stated by 7TPorsche, it can look funny from angles other than straight on from the side.

Trimmed it will be. I'll post pix in my '73 914 thread once I get around to putting the stripes on.

Glad my thread gave you a good chuckle there, Big Len!

[I changed out ALL of the deck lid letters, since they were slightly pitted]

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Posted by: Justinp71 Dec 24 2014, 01:52 AM

I did the wrap at about 1" above the bottom. Edit- I guess on a flared car you have to wrap. On a narrow body car I'd vote for the trimmed version.

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Posted by: tumamilhem Dec 24 2014, 11:25 AM

They are supposed to be wrapped around and just inside each wheel weel.

I prefer the script to be centered between the wheel wells instead of far forward only over the door. This is correct for the LE negative stripes. I have seen the positive stripes both ways in ads. I think they look better centered than forward.

And yes, they should sit higher than just over the rocker. About 2x the height of the bottom narrow positive stripe.

Posted by: 7TPorsh Dec 24 2014, 11:39 AM

Trimmed

Posted by: RickS Dec 24 2014, 11:41 PM

What you did on the silver car - height and not wrapped is perfect - and I don't use that word casually.

Posted by: Cuda911 Dec 25 2014, 01:50 PM

Thanks, Rick. I plan to do the same with the blue one.

Before putting on the stripes, I played with it a lot on the computer, and looked at hundreds of photos.

I think the wider space beneath the strip (like on the silver one) looks better than the "standard" install which leaves just a narrow strip of the paint showing beneath the stripe. Otherwise, the stripe and the rocker panel don't have enough visual separation, in my opinion.

Again, it may have been an "ease of install" thing by the dealers. Way easier to run the stripe just above the rockers, than it is to measure multiple points to ensure an even spacing when installed higher up.

Also, I like a the center block portion of the middle stripe to evenly frame the letters on the door. If you look at the Porsche ad in Post #5 above, it looks pretty random of they installed the letter spacing, with the "P" right up to the door gap.

Posted by: Starlack Dec 25 2014, 02:00 PM

Hello
OK .
Here is a Picture from my Car.

Posted by: Cuda911 Dec 30 2014, 12:41 AM

Interesting, Starlack, never saw them on the rockers before. Excellent looking car.

OK, the stripes are on! I did them similar as on my silver car. Oddly, although I bought them from the same vendor, the letters were a bit wider font and several inches longer than the set I purchased for the silver one.

Before and after pix:

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Posted by: RobW Dec 30 2014, 06:19 AM

Now that's a good looking 914!