1971 914-4 Clearance Height?, Noticed my 914 is leaning ... should I be worried? Options

[unclemoki]

My recently "partially restored" 914-4 seems to have a noticeable lean. I checked the distance from the ground to the wheel-well all around and this is what I got:

Front Passenger/Right: 26"
Rear Passenger/Right: 23.5"

Front Driver's Side/Left: 25"
Rear Driver's Side/Left: 22.5"

I don't know what's "normal" for 914's but I'm wondering if I should be worried? I want to do more work to the car (electrical, shifting) but I feel like this needs to get sorted out first. I checked some pics from 2024 to compare and it looks like it might have been like this for a while so not sure why it seems much more noticeable now.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions?


Quick History:
My late dad was the original owner. It was his daily driver for many years and then garaged for many years after he retired. At some point he passed it along to me. I'm not aware of any major body damage. I've heard stories of it being involved in an accident in the early 70's but I don't have any details.

I like to tinker but I'm no mechanic and I don't know much about 914's. In early 2020's I started a restoration project with a local shop - body (remove rust and dents), fresh paint, rebuilt engine, new exhaust, refresh interior ... spent more than I should have but got it looking pretty and back on the road. Brought it home summer of 2024. I've driven it maybe 100 miles in 2 years.

Aug 2026 .... sorry about the orientation



Aug 2024 ... for comparison

[unclemoki]

I appreciate all of the feedback, THANKS!

My worry was that I might be discovering some kind of warp in the unibody. When I looked at the 2024 pictures, I noticed that the driver's side tail light is closer to the bumper than the passenger's side which is what got me wondering. If that WAS the case, I was thinking I should halt any more work until that gets worked out. But if this is just a "suspension" issue, that's a relief and something I can deal with. And maybe that difference in gap between the tail light and the bumper between the right and left side is nothing to worry about.

Yeah, I'm a big-ish guy ... 250+. I typically drive solo although my wife (she's definitely lighter than me) has threatened to steal the keys a few times.

Looking at the numbers I posted earlier, and ignoring the lean, the difference in height between the front and back is consistently 3". Is that typical?

As for the entire length of Driver's side being 1" lower than the entire length of the Passenger's side - I'll put it up on the QuickJacks to see what I can find ... not exactly sure what I'm looking for but maybe something will be obvious.

@bdstone914 ; @Shivers
The shop I've been using specializes in classic Porsche and the owner has a couple of really nice 914's and 911's. He reassured me that his bodywork sub was top notch. They took care of the rust on the "hell hole", added a new battery tray, and said they gave the body a full once over and that there was a little rust but not much and it was all taken care of. Not sure about "wear" though. I'll have to re-check the receipts to see what else was done (if itemized). I know all "soft" stuff was replaced so I would assume any rubber bushings. Not sure why I'm just noticing this lean. My wife said she recalls thinking it leaned a little bit when I brought it home but reassures me that it now seems much more noticeable. Not sure about the specs on the springs or shocks but I'll try to document what I see when I get under it, for ref.


@Ninja - Thanks! it has been a labor/effort of love/nostalgia. I was hoping to have it done before my dad passed so I could take him out for a ride, but the restoration opportunity came too late. Still, I felt the need to finish what I started, if only as a nod to my dad's work ethic. Although he was from the depression era and probably would have told me to keep the money and sell the car ... lol!