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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ 1970 914-6 headlight surrounds
Posted by: bobm Dec 1 2015, 09:16 AM
Looking for some assistance. My 1970 914-6 has black headlight surround covers. I am being told that they should be white in color. Being new to the 914 world can anyone confirm this. If this is true does anyone know the correct shade of white (code) Any photo's of a Six with the headlights up. My car is being painted and a good time to get things correct.
TIA
Bob
Posted by: Cairo94507 Dec 1 2015, 09:33 AM
Hello Bob - You are correct, they should be white on the Six. If memory serves me, they are a kind of ivory white. My car was repainted from gold to black when it was about 1 year old and they painted the headlight surrounds to match 
so I will ask Scotty to bead blast them or somehow strip them to see if the white is OK underneath. I thought I had pictures of a Six with the headlights up and the one I have on an Adriatic Blue car has the headlight surrounds painted black too 
. I know they were white on Sixes.
Posted by: iwanta914-6 Dec 1 2015, 09:36 AM
Posted by: iwanta914-6 Dec 1 2015, 09:40 AM
Also, I think they are just white plastic and not painted...
http://www.pbase.com/9146gt/my9146gt_mechanical_headlights_plastic_covers_white
Posted by: Larmo63 Dec 1 2015, 09:42 AM
Correct, they are black plastic and ivory colored plastic.
Most of the GT race cars look to have had black surrounds.
Posted by: bobm Dec 1 2015, 09:43 AM
Thank you for the Photo. It does look Ivory. Anyone know the code or the correct shade.
Anyone restore one??
Posted by: scotty b Dec 1 2015, 09:46 AM
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=269147
Posted by: stugray Dec 1 2015, 09:58 AM
I have a pair of original intact white surrounds if you would like pics.
Posted by: db9146 Dec 1 2015, 10:02 AM
Bob,
You are correct in that the early (70-72s) had the off-white surrounds. Many of them have been painted black over the years and I have not been able to find a source for the correct early off-white ones.
Posted by: bobm Dec 1 2015, 10:08 AM
Any Photo's would be terrific. I will look at the Krylon Fusion. Is IVORY the correct color?
This forum is GREAT thanks for the help guy's
bobmspeedster@yahoo.com
Posted by: Gustl Dec 1 2015, 10:40 AM
they used white headlight surrounds up to MY'73
I don't think that there is a paint code, because they're not painted; they are made of white plastic
here's a pic of mine: 
Posted by: Martin Baker Dec 1 2015, 10:49 AM
Look here for some info.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=269147&pid=2271902&st=0&#entry2271902
Posted by: McMark Dec 1 2015, 11:11 AM
Moved to Garage...
Posted by: iwanta914-6 Dec 1 2015, 12:13 PM
...
Posted by: Tom_T Dec 1 2015, 03:32 PM
All 914s 4 & 6 had the white (off-white) headlight surrounds which were solid white colored plastic through-&-through up to the 73 MY, then they switched to the black (solid black plastic through) for 74 or 75-76 MYs.
The later replacement parts would've been black after the whites were gone, & that may be why GTs are seen with black surrounds, cuz I've seen pix of them with both white & some black surrounds.
If they are painted over black from white or visa versa, then the paint may be able to be stripped off without damage to the underlying color.
PS - Assuming yours are white underneath - try stripping the black paint on yours with mineral spirit of paint thinner carefully. Once stripped if they look yellowed or darker than when new (like the pix above), then you can soak them in chlorine bleach solution - or maybe oxi-clean bleach solution - to lighten them back to original, as folks have long done with them & other white plastic parts for resto's when yellowed or browned from age. I would NOT sand blast them, but soda blast may be okay, or it may eat into the surface a bit.
Tom
///////
Posted by: Lennies914 Dec 1 2015, 04:24 PM
bobm,
I'm sure I have 2 or 3 pair of white ones. Shoot me a pm if you end up needing a pair.
And;
Posted by: gms Dec 1 2015, 04:48 PM
The use of "GT" has been bastardized to the point that people use it to describe a 914 with fender flares. Porsche originally made the 914/6-R to race in the FIA GT (and later IMSA) classification thus the term GT. Every 914 built between 1970 and 1973 was ORIGINALLY equipped with white head-lite surrounds...that is all that was available.
Some may have been painted over
Posted by: gms Dec 1 2015, 05:37 PM
I just went thru 1000 vintage photos of 914s racing in FIA and IMSA in 1970 and 71 and guess what I found? Nobody races with their headlights up!
Except:
In the 1970 Marathon de la Route 3 factory prepared 914/6s (914.043.2541, 914.043.2542 and 914.043.2543) had no headlight surrounds.
In the 1970 RAC Rally the car (914.043.1732) has white headlight surrounds
In the 1970 24 hrs of LeMans the car (914.043.1020) had no headlight surrounds
In the 1971 Monte Carlo 3 factory prepared 914/6s (914.143.0139, 914.143.0140 and 914.143.0141) have black headlight surrounds
so the answer is black, white and headlight surround delete
Posted by: DennisV May 23 2023, 10:32 AM
Correct, they are black plastic and ivory colored plastic.
Does anyone know what type of plastic these are made from? I am wondering if it would be safe to use acetone to try to get the black paint off of ours.
It appears acetone would be https://www.millerplastics.com/how-acetone-affects-certain-plastics/.
Posted by: 914werke May 23 2023, 10:43 AM
Holy thread resurrection Batman!
Ive restored them using soda blasting.
Typically you wont get them to ever look perfect again so painting afterward to a
period ivory may be necessary.
Posted by: flat4guy May 23 2023, 08:18 PM
Just ordered a new set for my 914-6 as the PO had black ones on there.
Posted by: Shivers May 23 2023, 09:36 PM
Clean and in the sun. 1972
Posted by: Mikey914 May 24 2023, 05:21 AM
Actually, they were white when they shipped from the factory. We actually did quite a bit of research on these before we made them. Thinking that they were an Ivory. I obtained several sets, and what was confusing was the fact that some were textured and some were smooth.
Here's what I found out -
1- Lots of folks have "restored these". The smooth was actually textured and someone had primered and painted them with an ivory white paint.
2-I got a NOS set and they were textured, also an ivory color.
It makes more sense that they all were textured, as the mold cost was quite a bit. Changing made no sense.
To make sure we got the correct color we actually sanded into the plastic (on the inside where it couldn't be seen). We found that the plastic was actually not an ivory, but a more true white. Over time and UV exposure it gets an ivory color. I suspect this is why factory changed from the white to the black.
Got everything you need to rebuild the assemblies right here -
https://914rubber.com/early-headlight-rebuild-kit-with-white-surrounds-for-914
As well as stand alone (just the surrounds) -
https://914rubber.com/headlight-surrounds-for-porsche-914
Attached thumbnail(s)
Posted by: ClayPerrine May 24 2023, 11:15 AM
Actually, they were white when they shipped from the factory. We actually did quite a bit of research on these before we made them. Thinking that they were an Ivory. I obtained several sets, and what was confusing was the fact that some were textured and some were smooth.
Here's what I found out -
1- Lots of folks have "restored these". The smooth was actually textured and someone had primered and painted them with an ivory white paint.
2-I got a NOS set and they were textured, also an ivory color.
It makes more sense that they all were textured, as the mold cost was quite a bit. Changing made no sense.
To make sure we got the correct color we actually sanded into the plastic (on the inside where it couldn't be seen). We found that the plastic was actually not an ivory, but a more true white. Over time and UV exposure it gets an ivory color. I suspect this is why factory changed from the white to the black.
Got everything you need to rebuild the assemblies right here -
https://914rubber.com/early-headlight-rebuild-kit-with-white-surrounds-for-914
As well as stand alone (just the surrounds) -
https://914rubber.com/headlight-surrounds-for-porsche-914
Sometimes I think that one day we will be able to go to 914Rubber and order all of the parts to build a 914 from scratch.
Posted by: dr914@autoatlanta.com May 24 2023, 11:35 AM
yup offwhite (if that is a color! LOL)
Looking for some assistance. My 1970 914-6 has black headlight surround covers. I am being told that they should be white in color. Being new to the 914 world can anyone confirm this. If this is true does anyone know the correct shade of white (code) Any photo's of a Six with the headlights up. My car is being painted and a good time to get things correct.
TIA
Bob
Posted by: flat4guy Jun 1 2023, 08:17 PM
Clean and in the sun. 1972
What was your process? Going to try easy off this weekend for starters.
Posted by: flat4guy Jun 1 2023, 08:50 PM
All 914s 4 & 6 had the white (off-white) headlight surrounds which were solid white colored plastic through-&-through up to the 73 MY, then they switched to the black (solid black plastic through) for 74 or 75-76 MYs.
The later replacement parts would've been black after the whites were gone, & that may be why GTs are seen with black surrounds, cuz I've seen pix of them with both white & some black surrounds.
If they are painted over black from white or visa versa, then the paint may be able to be stripped off without damage to the underlying color.
PS - Assuming yours are white underneath - try stripping the black paint on yours with mineral spirit of paint thinner carefully. Once stripped if they look yellowed or darker than when new (like the pix above), then you can soak them in chlorine bleach solution - or maybe oxi-clean bleach solution - to lighten them back to original, as folks have long done with them & other white plastic parts for resto's when yellowed or browned from age. I would NOT sand blast them, but soda blast may be okay, or it may eat into the surface a bit.
thank you - trying this tomorrow.
Tom
///////
Posted by: Jett Jun 2 2023, 08:13 AM
Clean and in the sun. 1972
What was your process? Going to try easy off this weekend for starters.
I cleaned several sets with soap and water and the submerged in a partial bleach bath for a week, but checked and cleaned them daily until they looked original again. Had to buy a cheap fish tank to hold the bleach water.
Posted by: DennisV Jun 11 2023, 03:59 PM
I don't know if this will be of interest to anyone, but there must have been a few different vendors for these. After many hours of stripping with acetone and soaking in a bleach solution, there is where we are left. These are clearly different materials. The one on the right is semi-opaque. Neither has a Porsche part number on them. Neither has any texture. I am guessing they are old, but aftermarket. I thought I was restoring something original, but may end up painting them after all.
Posted by: porschetub Jun 11 2023, 05:36 PM
I don't know if this will be of interest to anyone, but there must have been a few different vendors for these. After many hours of stripping with acetone and soaking in a bleach solution, there is where we are left. These are clearly different materials. The one on the right is semi-opaque. Neither has a Porsche part number on them. Neither has any texture. I am guessing they are old, but aftermarket. I thought I was restoring something original, but may end up painting them after all.
Dennis be carefully with acetone,used sparingly it fine but it can cause plastic to go brittle or melt.
IMO a good colour would be VW Alpine white code L90E ,a lacquer and you could get it mixed into a spray can ,seen it mixed and its bright white with yellow and black tinters should be spot on.
I would apply a primer suited for over plastic just to be correct for maximum adhesion.
See how you go,cheers.
Posted by: Mikey914 Jun 12 2023, 10:06 AM
The problem you run into "restoring " these is the texture. Acetone will remove some of the texture, and paint fills it in.
Yes the new ones are an off white, but you will never be able to make them look like new with correct finish.
That's why we made them
Posted by: Shivers Jun 12 2023, 10:11 AM
Clean and in the sun. 1972
What was your process? Going to try easy off this weekend for starters.
Like others said it was a bleach / water bath for a week and simple green after. I didn’t
use anything abrasive.
Posted by: Mikey914 Jun 12 2023, 11:35 AM
That would be the best case scenario.
Still curious if there was any "whiter" plastic underneath.
We didn't realize the original color until we sanded on the inside. Removing a small amount of material. It was more dramatic than we thought it would be. It would tell you how effective your technique is.
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