Variations of the VW Cabin / Dome Light |
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Variations of the VW Cabin / Dome Light |
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Feb 10 2015, 10:26 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 200 Joined: 25-February 13 From: South Florida Member No.: 15,579 Region Association: South East States |
Okay, so I've been collecting interior lights for the past year and have been thinking of doing this for a while. So some of you may be irked by my next statement, but it is factual. There is truly no such thing as a Porsche 914 interior light. All of these lights carry a VW part designation and the VW light was already in mass production before the first 914 was ever built. But, I see the topic come up from time to time as to which light is for a 914? All of these lights can be used in a 914 application, some with a minor mod electrically speaking, others are plug 'n play.
The light which is branded "Hella", "VW", "Made in Germany" with a white square button and chrome edge is the one typically found on 914's imported to the US market. The Sidler light was also made in Germany and Saturnus was made in Yugoslavia. Hella later acquired Saturnus and is now known as Hella - Saturnus. All of the lights below, to my knowledge however, are authentic authorized OEM VW parts. So, if you need to be period correct, you would get a white square button, chrome edge light. If you just need to be able to see in the dark, any will do just fine. BTW, there are other lights out there, but they are typically aftermarket, non-VW, non-OEM reproductions. Let the debate begin... Attached thumbnail(s) |
dlkawashima |
Feb 10 2015, 01:21 PM
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#2
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 9,749 Joined: 1-October 10 From: San Jose Member No.: 12,234 Region Association: Northern California |
Yeah, there's very little to debate. It's well known that the dome light used on the 914 was used first on VW Bugs.
The only thing I question is if the Saturnus dome light was ever installed at the factory. While there is evidence the Saturnus was installed on Yugoslavian Bugs, I've seen no evidence of it ever being factory installed on 914s. Steve Gaglione once said over in the Originality and History sub-forum that the Sidler was installed on the very earliest of 914s coming off the assembly line, and then white switch Hellas for the rest of the production. So if you're looking for the correct dome light and have anything other than a very, very early (as in 1969 build date) 914, get a white switch Hella. Here's another short thread about my search for the name of the "S" dome light: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=2&t=183993 Here's a better look at the three "correct" dome lights (white switch with chrome edge). Saturnus - Sidler - Hella. Click image to supersize. Oh, and my Sidler dome light, while solid, had almost no "chrome" left on its edge. I used Spaz Stix Ultimate Mirror Chrome to restore the finish. |
913B |
Feb 17 2015, 08:43 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 845 Joined: 25-April 05 From: South Bay/SoCal Member No.: 3,983 Region Association: None |
Yeah, there's very little to debate. It's well known that the dome light used on the 914 was used first on VW Bugs. The only thing I question is if the Saturnus dome light was ever installed at the factory. While there is evidence the Saturnus was installed on Yugoslavian Bugs, I've seen no evidence of it ever being factory installed on 914s. Steve Gaglione once said over in the Originality and History sub-forum that the Sidler was installed on the very earliest of 914s coming off the assembly line, and then white switch Hellas for the rest of the production. So if you're looking for the correct dome light and have anything other than a very, very early (as in 1969 build date) 914, get a white switch Hella. Here's another short thread about my search for the name of the "S" dome light: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=2&t=183993 Here's a better look at the three "correct" dome lights (white switch with chrome edge). Saturnus - Sidler - Hella. Click image to supersize. Oh, and my Sidler dome light, while solid, had almost no "chrome" left on its edge. I used Spaz Stix Ultimate Mirror Chrome to restore the finish. I found the Spaz Stix Ultimate Mirror chrome paint at Amazon, but it says it is meant for airbrush, stupid question, I dont have an airbrush, can I use a paint brush and paint it on. http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Mirror-Chro...rror+Chrome#Ask Thanks in advance. |
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