Door Sill Plate, Headlight Surrounds, Foam Steering Wheel, What serial number did these change happen at? Options

[jagalyn]

I know most of these changes happened in 1973 model year, but... does anyone know the serial numbers of when the changes happened?

Change from Silver metal sill plate to Black plastic?

Change from White headlight surrounds to Black?

Change from real leather steering wheel to faux leather foam wheel?

Change from chrome/black window cranks and door latches to all black?

[JeffBowlsby]

1974 models received the changes.

Not sure on the steering wheel, I think the 74 appearance group wheels were also supposed to be leather.

[falcor75]

My car was sold in California in March 1974 so production was probably a month or two earlier and it had the updated parts on it when I bought it a few years ago. I dont think its the kind of items someone would retrofit...

[maf914]

Regarding the optional steering wheel, the 914 Restorer's Guide to Authenticity states that "from 1974 on, the leather was replaced by leatherette".

[bbrock]

My April, '73 car has black plastic threshold plates and white headlight surrounds.

I think it had the early chrome/black door handle cranks but I had a tendency to swap handles around among my cars so can't be sure. It is not an appearance group car so no help on the steering wheel.

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

I know most of these changes happened in 1973 model year, but... does anyone know the serial numbers of when the changes happened?

Change from Silver metal sill plate to Black plastic? somewhere around April 73

Change from White headlight surrounds to Black? usually mid 72 when they finally all went to black but as early as 70 they were mixed. see the two shots, both from 70 brochures

Change from real leather steering wheel to faux leather foam wheel? aug 73

Change from chrome/black window cranks and door latches to all black? somewhere around April 73

Porsche then substituted many parts, for example although the black center dot instruments came in early calendar year 1974, we have seen LATE production 76 models 11/75-12/75 have the silver dot instruments installed

[Tom_T]

Jag,

The short answer is that there is no hard date nor VIN/Chassis No. where any of them started, because Karmann/Osnabruck (& Porsche/Stuttgart) basically used up what they had in the bins, & did so as the workers on the line grabbed them. While the changes you list & others were generally made for or at a certain MY, the changes were actually applied to & found on a more fuzzy date & VIN/CN order.

As for the ones you mentioned, but in the order of the changes (73 or 74):

1. The chrome window cranks & door handle bezels were actually "officially" 70-72 MY - but carried over into the early 73's as they used up the stock.

For example, my early 73 2L VIN...1954 built 8/31/18 +/- had the chrome cranks when I bought it from the OO in 75, while others with earlier build dates & lower VINs had black ones.

2. In 74 MY Porsche took over the VW-Porsche joint venture, & instituted a number of changes to try to lower the build costs, in an effort to offset the escalation of the West German DM vs. US Dollar.

This dollar devaluation had actually started a year earlier, & first occurred over 73 MY with the 2.0 fully-loaded (AG + PG options "914S") going from $5299 to $7599 (similar for the 1.7 & all 911s) from Aug. 72 to about March 73!

In reaction, they introduced the "914 2.0 'Sport' " trim level which was the USA sub-model name (I'm not sure of Euro name, but Jeff Bowlsby's 914 website's Models page lists the official factory model number) - which had the PG suspension options & a few of the AG options (see Dave Kawashima's excellent orange/black 914-2.0 Sport example on here), which they could still advertise as $5299.

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/ModelNumbers.htm

Thereafter in 74 MY, the 2.0s & 1.8s had to order each option &/or AG &/or PG option groups as separate additional cost items - again in order to keep the base prices lower. When the 2L /4 was first introduced in 73 MY as a replacement for the 2L -6, they included all options in the AG + PG in the $5299 base price, in order to attract former -6 buyers to the new top 914 model.

Frankly, I tend to agree more with this economic driver as the reason for the change of Porsche telling VoA to stop using the "914S" name & ads denoting the fully loaded one, since it was about the same time or just before that they started advertising the decontented "914-2.0 Sport" at the former's $5299 "loss leader" price, since there was too much "loss" in the full AG+PG 2L! I've talked with a couple of old time USA Porsche dealership employees from those days who felt that was the reason, & not some nefarious campaign by PCA 911 types, as others have suggested was the cause.

The rest of your listed items were part of those 74 MY changes:

a. They went to the black plastic door sill plates & carpet edge strips, from the 70-73 MY aluminum ones; &

b. They went from white to black headlight surrounds - which was actually done to better match the new for 74> mottled black painted bumpers on non-AG/non-chrome bumper cars (black painted bumpers matched the F & R valances, L & R rocker covers & targa top) - from the prior 70-73 body color match painted bumpers (far less work & cost to do them all black); &

c. They changed the 70-73 real leather-wrapped steering wheel & shifter boot, to a vinyl leatherette material for both (fake leather similar to that already used on the seats - IIRC some of the USA dealer 914 sales brochures called it "simulated leather"), but I'm not sure what you mean about foam steering wheel. All 914s 70-76 had a foam-rubber like steering wheel rim, but the optional & AG wheels were wrapped with real leather (70-73 MY) or leatherette (74-76 MY) - so the same stuff is under the leather/leatherette; &

d. There were some other changes done then, & others at the 75-76 MYs to try to contain or offset cost escalation of the 914s - e.g.:

i. In 74 MY they also went to the black plastic "914-2.0 & 914-1.8/1.7" rear badges from metal, & black-bullet gauges from silver bullet with only a single TS indicator light & clear plastic bezels (from glass 70-73), & some other changes;

ii. 75-76 MY went to decals for the rear 914-2.0/1.8 badges, heat seamed seat inserts (at the folds) from sewn 70-74, & some other changes.
.

3. Then as to George's examples of earlier equipment in 76 MY, they basically finished out with whatever parts stock left in the Karmann plant as they finished up the 914 run by Dec. `75, when Karmann switched to production of the 924, & Stuttgart produced the few 912Es during the rest of the 76 MY. So there were apparently some mixing in of the earlier parts that George mentioned as they finished out the all too short 914 run.
.

Some good resources for these types of MY equipment changes & other 914 info are at this site's O&H Forum, Lupawali Nailed threads, & at -

p914.com (& .net & .org) &

Jeff Bowlsby's 914 websites:

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/

http://bowlsby.net/914/CanAm/

http://bowlsby.net/914/WiringHarnesses/
.

Hope this helps!

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
///////

[Olympic 914]

I know most of these changes happened in 1973 model year, but... does anyone know the serial numbers of when the changes happened?

Change from Silver metal sill plate to Black plastic?

Change from White headlight surrounds to Black?

Change from real leather steering wheel to faux leather foam wheel?

Change from chrome/black window cranks and door latches to all black?

As others have said there seems to be no hard date to changes.

My is a early '73 1.7 Non -appearance group car. # 2387 built 9-72 and I am the second owner, it was all original when I bought it.

with the Aluminum sill plates

Black headlight surrounds

hard plastic steering wheel, no leather,

Black window cranks.

Also had the black painted bumpers

[jagalyn]

Thank's everyone for the info. It seems the 73 model year had a lot of variables and changes going on. My 73 survivor car has black and chrome door handles, black window cranks, black door sills, white headlight surrounds. I would have thought with all the late interior pieces, the headlight surrounds might have been black... but then again, maybe not. Thank you.