!973 2.0 questions - Paint and configuration, Need some information please Options

[Downerman]

So I picked this up in Van Nuys and it's down to just the shell. Doors, hoods, well everything off the car. Rust cut out and repaired and next week the dustless blaster get's here and then I epoxy primer the car.

Now, that being said, the original color is L-80E which is Ivory White. I have read ALL of the threads and no one actually has the new paint formula to share here in the forums. My paint supplier told me to bring in some paint off the car. that's impossible as it sits 3' off the ground and ready to strip. I've been told to buy a quality paint (learned that lesson with my last car) and was told to get Matrix because PPG does not make a two stage that matches that L-80E number. Is there anyone who has sprayed a newer paint that feels the shade matches the original Ivory White? If so can you recommend the brand and formula?

Second thing is my car has the black undercoat along the underside but behind the rockers is white. I assume that the car was originally completely painted white as I see it under the black coating. I was planning on hitting some spots with some clear POR15, let dry of course, then entire car with PPG DP50LF with 401 Catalyst, then sealing all the seams with Wurth Seam Sealer GR1019. Then hit the underside with Raptor bed liner (Black) as many here have good things to say about it.
Any flaws or experience here from you guys that can share your experiences?

So my 73 is after the serial number denoting the black sills meaning I should have the black and mine are aluminum. I got two window/trim sets with the deal. One is polished Aluminum and the other is polished aluminum that has been either painted black or anodized black??? Is the black one correct? I can't imagine they would just paint those sills as they take some serious abuse but what did they use? The glove box lock was also painted black and that seems weird to me. I soaked it in brake fluid and it's of course chrome and looking good but was it black as well? It has the original center console with the correct gauges and I recently purchased a correct 150 silver dot speedo for the car. Are there any other 73 2.0 secrets that I might be missing?

On a side note, I called Porsche in Atlanta and they took my vin and engine/trans numbers and the car is numbers matching. The engine and trans are out of the car and appear to be complete. No compression out of #3 (Figures right?). If memory serves me, do the valves sometimes get stuck? This engine has sat for years and years. I guess it really doesn't matter because I'm planning on new rings and some head work (minimum). It will go to the machine shop for some thorough measurements.

Oh yeah, can you get a repo door sticker that has the vin in dot matrix form? Mine is ok but I'm not sure how to protect it from the blaster other than have him not get near it.

Thanks for reading.

[Tom_T]

Downerman -

See my blue notes in your message quote below, then the links for PPG & Glasurit mix codes for L80E "Light Ivory" (ignore all other names for the color that paint mfgrs use).

So I picked this up in Van Nuys and it's down to just the shell. Doors, hoods, well everything off the car. Rust cut out and repaired and next week the dustless blaster get's here and then I epoxy primer the car.

Now, that being said, the original color is L-80E which is Ivory White. I have read ALL of the threads and no one actually has the new paint formula to share here in the forums. My paint supplier told me to bring in some paint off the car. that's impossible as it sits 3' off the ground and ready to strip. I've been told to buy a quality paint (learned that lesson with my last car) and was told to get Matrix because PPG does not make a two stage that matches that L-80E number. Is there anyone who has sprayed a newer paint that feels the shade matches the original Ivory White? If so can you recommend the brand and formula?

Stick with Dupont, PPG, Glasurit or Sikkends paints, as they're the best out there (I don't know Matrix nor their quality). You don't need a 2-stage paint for a non-metallic paint like L80E, but I would think that any compatible clear coat could be top coated over the single stage L80E if you want the added protection. Being a small quantity for the 914, you may be able to get the old school solvent based L80E to shoot your 914 (I've been told that paint shops can have a CARB exception for small quantities on classic cars).

Make sure that it really was an original L80E, & I assume that you've taken the L80E off of the Karmann Plate on the driver's side front door jamb, but spend the money to get a COA from PCNA since it's a numbers matching 2.0 - if you didn't order when you called them (mention the COA ad in Panamera magazine & you'll get $10 or $20 off).

If you're going to use the new water based 2-stage paint, then find a removeable part like the headlight or engine lids with the original L80E showing, & take that to the paint supplier to use the underside of it (not exposed to sunlight area) to have them "shoot" it for a color match. I wouldn't trust that Rustoleum for anything but a close-ish match on a basic driver resto, & you're going to a lot of work & trying to do yours right

Second thing is my car has the black undercoat along the underside but behind the rockers is white. I assume that the car was originally completely painted white as I see it under the black coating. I was planning on hitting some spots with some clear POR15, let dry of course, then entire car with PPG DP50LF with 401 Catalyst, then sealing all the seams with Wurth Seam Sealer GR1019. Then hit the underside with Raptor bed liner (Black) as many here have good things to say about it.
Any flaws or experience here from you guys that can share your experiences?

The black was one of the dealer applied undercoatings on the belly & wheelwells, with the body color over a chip gaurd from the factory, so you can recreate the finish with Wurth Underbody Schutz (look for the threads in the Originality & History Forum on that). You can recreate the black top-coated undercoating with various materials, or leave it off - if you'll drive it a lot, the extra protection won't hurt, but if you're looking for a top dollar originality resto, then I'd say leave the black off.

So my 73 is after the serial number denoting the black sills meaning I should have the black and mine are aluminum. I got two window/trim sets with the deal. One is polished Aluminum and the other is polished aluminum that has been either painted black or anodized black??? Is the black one correct? I can't imagine they would just paint those sills as they take some serious abuse but what did they use? The glove box lock was also painted black and that seems weird to me. I soaked it in brake fluid and it's of course chrome and looking good but was it black as well? It has the original center console with the correct gauges and I recently purchased a correct 150 silver dot speedo for the car. Are there any other 73 2.0 secrets that I might be missing?

Unfortunately things at the factory in the 70's was nowhere near accurate enough to denote anything about colors & parts, since they used up the prior year parts in the bins on early MY cars. My guess is that you had a DAPO who decided that they liked everything blacked out. The 1973 should have polished aluminum or chrome at the windshield, windows, sails & targa; & if an Appearance Group - chrome bumpers F & R & chromed fog light grills up front; & all 73s had the aluminum door sills/carpet strips set with white plastic rivets (black plastic started in 74>).

On a side note, I called Porsche in Atlanta and they took my vin and engine/trans numbers and the car is numbers matching. The engine and trans are out of the car and appear to be complete. No compression out of #3 (Figures right?). If memory serves me, do the valves sometimes get stuck? This engine has sat for years and years. I guess it really doesn't matter because I'm planning on new rings and some head work (minimum). It will go to the machine shop for some thorough measurements.

It sounds like you'll need a head job, but I'd recco that you do a thorough engine & transaxle rehab/rebuild as needed now, while everything is out of the car, & fix/replace anything which is iffy. Assuming that you're sticking with the D-jet EFI, make sure to match all parts to the correct 73 MY, cuz they changed many components in 74-76. I'd also suggest a thorough cleaning of the cases, tins & other components on the exterior - not just so it looks good cosmetically, but also so you can trace any leaks or whatever else pops up post-rebuild.

Oh yeah, can you get a repo door sticker that has the vin in dot matrix form? Mine is ok but I'm not sure how to protect it from the blaster other than have him not get near it.

As Larmo/Lawrence mentioned above, SoCalAndy on here does them, so take some pix of your VIN sticker & shoot him a PM or email with the pix to order. IIRC he has a topic on here for ordering them.

Thanks for reading.

For the old school PPG & Glasurit paint cards with the mixes, you have to jump around MYs to get the L80E & have to use the VW version - since they don't seem to list any Porsche ones online that I've found so far for my own 73 L80E. The 914s were all made & painted at the VW Karmann plant anyway, & initially the 914-6's used the Porsche 1110 Porsche paint code (for "Light Ivory with Black" for the Targa top in black), while the 914/4's used the VW paint code of L80E for "Light Ivory" (the official "Ivory" for VW & Porsche is a darker & more yellow-pinkish color). Eventually they went with the L80E only in the 73 MY IIRC anyway.

Since L80E was exactly the same color & mix for all MYs 1970-76, you can use info from any MY, & there was no difference between VW & Porsche paints/codes.

Here is what I've found in my own L80E paint code research:

> For some reason this website doesn't list L80E in their PPG charts -
http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/aclchip.as...swagen-pg01.jpg

But they do in other 70-76 MYs here -

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1976-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1976-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1975-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1975-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1975-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1970-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1970-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1970-Vol...9121.1524935589

http://images.tcpglobal.com/chips/1971-Vol...9121.1524935589

Print the above out &/or save to your computer for future reference.---^


http://www.autocolorlibrary.com/aclchip.as...swagen-pg01.jpg

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedispl...973&rows=50

https://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/colou...ch_porsche_1973

http://p914.com/p914_paint_73.htm

http://p914.com/p914_paint_L80E_72.htm

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[bbrock]

... & all 73s had the aluminum door sills/carpet strips set with white plastic rivets (black plastic started in 74>).[/b][/i][/color]

Interesting. My '73 2.0 has black plastic sill plates. It's possible they were replaced by a PO but I have all the receipts for the car from 1976 on so they would have to have been replaced within the first 3 years after manufacture. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[Downerman]

Thank you all for the great information. I think I will leave off the undercoating living out here in Monterey area. Also with respect to the black sill plates. The 914 book by Dr. Johnson (and I have no idea how it's perceived in the 914 factual world) say's that in 1973 after serial # 473 291 8919 they were black plastic. Hoping to shed some light on comment below.

Interesting. My '73 2.0 has black plastic sill plates. It's possible they were replaced by a PO but I have all the receipts for the car from 1976 on so they would have to have been replaced within the first 3 years after manufacture. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)
[/quote]

[David Billo]

...The 914 book by Dr. Johnson ... say's that in 1973 after serial # 473 291 8919 they were black plastic.

My 4732924778 has black plastic.

[914_7T3]

...The 914 book by Dr. Johnson ... say's that in 1973 after serial # 473 291 8919 they were black plastic.

My 4732924778 has black plastic.

My late '73 VIN #4732921258 also has black plastic.

[Tom_T]

...The 914 book by Dr. Johnson ... say's that in 1973 after serial # 473 291 8919 they were black plastic.

My 4732924778 has black plastic.

My late '73 VIN #4732921258 also has black plastic.

It might be helpful if you guys with them also listed the VIN sticker date, just to see if they all fall in June 73.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[bbrock]

It might be helpful if you guys with them also listed the VIN sticker date, just to see if they all fall in June 73.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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Well.... This only muddies the water again. Black plastic sills and



Karmann tag translates to 04/09/73 but COA lists 04/05/73 as completion date. Car has late doors with crash bars but silver dot gauges and early window cranks, early brake pressure regulator, but IIRC, a mix of 2-bleeder and 1-bleeder calipers (don't remember which end is which without looking).

[Tom_T]

It might be helpful if you guys with them also listed the VIN sticker date, just to see if they all fall in June 73.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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Well.... This only muddies the water again. Black plastic sills and



Karmann tag translates to 04/09/73 but COA lists 04/05/73 as completion date. Car has late doors with crash bars but silver dot gauges and early window cranks, early brake pressure regulator, but IIRC, a mix of 2-bleeder and 1-bleeder calipers (don't remember which end is which without looking).

And this surprises you about our 914s Brent!!?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

914s & the VW/Porsche/Karmann records are a bit loosey-goosey, & rarely will you see a COA with the Transaxle number listed, which I assume means that the source Kardex lacked it too (unless the COA person was in a hurry that day).

It's also VERY common to have the COA staff misread or mis-translate the option codes, & use a newer non-914 code result - like Pat Garvey's "Swedish Equipment" on his 72 914/4, & he swears to his wife that it did NOT come with a Buxom Blonde in the right seat when he picked it up at the dealer in 1972! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Brent - your Chassis no. 1519564 should be 15th week - 1st Day (only counting M-F, for Monday April 9th 1973) - 95 (Karmann) - 64th car built that day. So maybe either the COA person had their glasses off or was in a hurry & wrote 4/5, or maybe the guy at the Karmann plant who stamped the Karmann plates had mentally lost a few days from heavy stein tipping over the weekend before 4/9/72.

You could send the Chassis no. translation to them by email, & ask them to recheck the Kardex & correct your COA appropriately.

Unfortunately COAs are as loose on facts in many cases, as are the records - even when they have the correct information available. My COA took 3 redo's to get the interior color decoded correctly (#11 is Black with Basketweaver seat inserts, mine is #31 is Beige, but they insisted it was Black until I emailed them a document from Jeff Bowlsby's site with the codes, but they still refused to change it), & their COA manager refused to correct it until I called the PCNA Customer Care GM to get it done, & it shows "Information Not Available" for both completion date & Transmission (Transaxle) Number. They also insisted that my early 73 wasn't sold until Sept. 74 & then that it was sold new in CT - NOT California, until & emailed a pic of my CA reg card which shows 1st sold 11/9/72 in CA!

So PCNA's records leave a lot to be desired, as does their staff qualifications & customer service on a very expensive COA service where they will not give you a copy of the Kardex source document, whereas PAG in Europe will do so. To the contrary, my VW COA cost $76 IIRC, & was right the 1st time - despite there having been 10x as many Vanagons built, than 914s + 911s of that era.

FYI - I have heard that PCNA brings their computers to some of the bigger national PCA events etc., where they'll look up the digital copy of the microfilm/microfische actual Kardex. So you could get to them at Monterey or another Parade up near you in MT, etc. to have them look yours up, & have your phone/camera at the ready to snap a screen shot to print out for your car records. Otherwise, send them pix by email & ask them to correct.

Very interesting on the mix of other early & late parts, but you should check on them with the OO & PO('s) - if you're not the OO.

Mine has the mix of F late 2 bleeder & R early 1 bleeder calipers, but mine was built on 8/31/72 with 8/72 on the VIN sticker - a super fast 1 day build! ;-D

In reality the parts could've been mixed over an extended period, Porsche did Recall BO for the wheels not being the correct p/n ending -01 for the new front hub-centric hubs (self-centering hubs with the lip around the center hole), which ran through the Dec 72 production of 73 MYs. So it's possible.

I've not seen any late 73's without the silver dot gauges, but that could start a whole new discussion if somebody who is an OO who has the all black gauges now!

Early bar-less doors were only on early 73's made in up to September-ish or October-ish 1972, but then the replacement doors sold as parts were apparently mostly or all without the extra side crash protection bars - at least for some time. So I've seen some late 73-76 with the lighter late doors due to accident of shopping cart damage replacements.

Unless you know for sure that the mix of parts was on there from day 1 - your early chrome shank window cranks could be later replacements, as could be the black sills/strips, & so could the calipers - if a PO did an an exchange on rebuilts or new & they got the early single bleeder type. If you are sure that all or some of that mix was on yours from the factory, then please do post an info topic over in the O&H Forum, so that others are aware of the extent of the mix of parts throughout 73 MY.

My early 73 had early chrome shank cranks, but when one broke later in my ownership 77-ish, they only had the late black shank type at the dealer, so I replaced both to black, but have gotten an NOS set of early chromes for my current resto. So without my ownership of my car as #2 owner since Dec. 1975 (I'd seen the car since Nov. 72) - a later owner would think that it had black window cranks from the start. Similarly for the mix of early/late calipers, "light weight" early-late doors without the bars but with the later window mechanisms.

So happy to muddy the waters even more, but don't shoot the messenger!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[bbrock]

If you are sure that all or some of that mix was on yours from the factory, then please do post an info topic over in the O&H Forum, so that others are aware of the extent of the mix of parts throughout 73 MY.

Nice and thorough Tom (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif) I'm not at all surprised the date on the COA doesn't match and wasn't terribly concerned since the dates are close; unless there is a reason I should be. On the transaxle, I have an email from Sara in my COA file that confirms the number was not recorded on the Kardex. I wanted that confirmed since "Not Confirmed" is not the same as "Does Not Match." At least nobody can claim my transaxle is not original. My COA has the color codes correct except they list the Porsche codes rather than VW codes. I thought that was interesting.

So... to the mismatched parts. The OO sold the car in 1976 to the PO that I bought the car from. The only thing I have from the OO is the warranty voucher and service record. Since the car was only 3 years old when it changed hands, I'm doubtful that many parts were swapped out before that time. I received from the PO, a stack of receipts that seems to be very thorough and include every battery, shock replacement, brake job, tune-up and even the replacement owner's manual and key she bought. So I have operated under the assumption that most, if not all replacement parts were recorded in those receipts. I can't rule out part swapping 100% but can reasonably assume low probability on most. That said, I've been jogging my memory and:

Sill plates - It seems unlikely these were ever swapped out. It's not something you expect to replace in the first three years. My VIN is just a few chassis beyond the switch over VIN listed by Johnson (I just looked, and that was in the 1st edition) but before the June date. I'm inclined the think that date may need to be backed up a bit but can't prove it for the above reasons.

Window Cranks - After thinking about this, there is a high chance these were swapped; and most likely by me. I had 3, 914s and a pile of extra cranks since those Volkswagen cranks were everywhere back in the day. This was 30+ years ago and I've gotten a lot stupider since then. If I swapped cranks, it would have been more likely I put the later crank in the 2 liter since I've never been a huge fan of chrome BUT, I know that I snapped more than one crank knob off and there is a good chance I did that with the original black cranks and just swapped in whatever was handy. So let's scratch that one off the list.

Brake calipers - This just got really weird. I was going on memory so just went down to look. I have ONE single bleeder rear caliper and the rest are dual bleeder. That seems really fishy. I don't remember ever swapping a caliper, but jeezus, it was 30 years ago and originality wasn't a concern to me then, being able to get to work was, so... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) . Maybe my car got the last single bleeder at the factory, or maybe my memory just sucks. I for sure have the early style pressure regulator though and definitely never touched that.

I fear I've hijacked this thread too much already, but at what point would you say the 73 MY switches from early to late. I actually celebrate the fact that mine seems to be a bit of a mutt.

[Tom_T]

If you are sure that all or some of that mix was on yours from the factory, then please do post an info topic over in the O&H Forum, so that others are aware of the extent of the mix of parts throughout 73 MY.

Nice and thorough Tom (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif) I'm not at all surprised the date on the COA doesn't match and wasn't terribly concerned since the dates are close; unless there is a reason I should be. On the transaxle, I have an email from Sara in my COA file that confirms the number was not recorded on the Kardex. I wanted that confirmed since "Not Confirmed" is not the same as "Does Not Match." At least nobody can claim my transaxle is not original. My COA has the color codes correct except they list the Porsche codes rather than VW codes. I thought that was interesting.

So... to the mismatched parts. The OO sold the car in 1976 to the PO that I bought the car from. The only thing I have from the OO is the warranty voucher and service record. Since the car was only 3 years old when it changed hands, I'm doubtful that many parts were swapped out before that time. I received from the PO, a stack of receipts that seems to be very thorough and include every battery, shock replacement, brake job, tune-up and even the replacement owner's manual and key she bought. So I have operated under the assumption that most, if not all replacement parts were recorded in those receipts. I can't rule out part swapping 100% but can reasonably assume low probability on most. That said, I've been jogging my memory and:

Sill plates - It seems unlikely these were ever swapped out. It's not something you expect to replace in the first three years. My VIN is just a few chassis beyond the switch over VIN listed by Johnson (I just looked, and that was in the 1st edition) but before the June date. I'm inclined the think that date may need to be backed up a bit but can't prove it for the above reasons.

Window Cranks - After thinking about this, there is a high chance these were swapped; and most likely by me. I had 3, 914s and a pile of extra cranks since those Volkswagen cranks were everywhere back in the day. This was 30+ years ago and I've gotten a lot stupider since then. If I swapped cranks, it would have been more likely I put the later crank in the 2 liter since I've never been a huge fan of chrome BUT, I know that I snapped more than one crank knob off and there is a good chance I did that with the original black cranks and just swapped in whatever was handy. So let's scratch that one off the list.

Brake calipers - This just got really weird. I was going on memory so just went down to look. I have ONE single bleeder rear caliper and the rest are dual bleeder. That seems really fishy. I don't remember ever swapping a caliper, but jeezus, it was 30 years ago and originality wasn't a concern to me then, being able to get to work was, so... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) . Maybe my car got the last single bleeder at the factory, or maybe my memory just sucks. I for sure have the early style pressure regulator though and definitely never touched that.

I fear I've hijacked this thread too much already, but at what point would you say the 73 MY switches from early to late. I actually celebrate the fact that mine seems to be a bit of a mutt.

As I thought Brent, the OP Downerman would find this type of info helpful, even if beyond his original questions, as he says above.

I can't say offhand how many quick stops to the dealer that I made to grab a replacement window crank when the knob snapped in my decade of DDing my 914 75-85, but it was a few. I do have all of my records12/75>, but unfortunately for then young & stupid me in my 20's & too busy with other stuff - I never persisted to get the 1st 3 years of records 11/72-12/75 & the center console back after the sale back in 75-76 (the OO removed the console for his 2 kids to sit in it), but I do have binders with all of my receipts from day one. I was in no way as anal CW then, as I'm trying to be now in my resto of it back to as close to as original - including the quirks - at this late date.

Since you did get the OO's records, you might check to see if the caliper was replaced in his time, & they may or may not have listed the p/n on the receipt to check if it was early single or late double bleeder flavor. But it might give you an answer. It being just the one, I'd lean more towards a later change out for a repair or maintenance.

As with window cranks, calipers, etc. - my bet is that there was no hard date nor VIN nor Chassis No. on the switchover on any parts at all - including the Black Plastic. However, usually it was more a case of carryover use of prior MY parts into the new MY - rather than visa versa & using parts intended for the next MY at the end of the production year.

My educated guess is that 73 & 74 MY's were the most prolific production years for the 914s - both in excess of 24,000 per MY (note that the chart at 914 info on here goes by calendar year built - not MY) - so that maybe they exceeded the expected 73 MY production & ran out of the early parts quicker in the case of the sills, or made the changeover to the less costly black plastic midway in production if the OEM supplier had already switched over to new tooling for the plastic ones.

And/or it could've been a cost driven late MY change to try to keep the entry price on the 914s lower & close to the start of the MY, due to DM to $ inflation on the prices - when the then new 73 2.0 "914S" with App. & Perf. Groups of options went from $5299 West Coast, up to $7299, so they intro'd a "914 Sport" without much of the AG & PG options to still be able to advertise a 914-2.0 at $5299 later in the MY (see Dave K's Orange 73 2L on here).

The OO or PO could've also changed the sills to black if they preferred that look - aside from wear or breakage - since they were only something like $5-10 for the full set of black plastic back in the 70's the aluminum parts set were twice that), because a 914 buddy in the `70's wanted me to switch mine, but I preferred the aluminum & the chrome cranks & door handles look.

For Downerman or anyone doing their cars - there is probably enough squishiness on dates for 914s, that they can go with a look which they prefer, & still keep it more or less period correct - since there is no definitive answers on many things.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[bbrock]

but I do have binders with all of my receipts from day one. I was in no way as anal CW then, as I'm trying to be now in my resto of it back to as close to as original - including the quirks - at this late date.

This sounds familiar! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) When I started my project, I joked that maybe it was my mid-life crisis that caused me to pull my old car out of the mud and give here some love. It wasn't, but boy is it an interesting journey with lots of nostalgia. I've gotten to know the person I was back then better and how much my priorities have changed. Fun stuff.

Since you did get the OO's records, you might check to see if the caliper was replaced in his time, & they may or may not have listed the p/n on the receipt to check if it was early single or late double bleeder flavor. But it might give you an answer. It being just the one, I'd lean more towards a later change out for a repair or maintenance.

I should clarify. All I have from the OO/First 3 years is the dealer stamps in the service record in the maroon folder. No receipts. The car's history is blank from the date it was purchased to the first service stamp after the PO purchased the car (at ~35,000 miles). After that, I have very detailed receipts which I have entered into a spreadsheet. I just looked through them again and... guess what? On 5/7/1982, at least one window crank was replace at Autothority, Inc. in Fairfax, VA. Would you look at that? No mention of a caliper in any receipts though. If a caliper was swapped, it was probably done in the first three years or a twenty something kid more preoccupied with college, work, and a new wife than preserving the originality of a car.

There is one other receipt that raises an eyebrow. A 4/18/1978 receipt from VW-Body Shop in Merriam, KS that has no details on what was done but describes themselves as a "Complete Body and Paint Shop." No doubt, that is when and where the car was resprayed and might have been a time to refresh sills. Still the VIN and plastic sills fit what Dr. Johnson wrote. I think there are mysteries this car will never reveal and I like that. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)