The LE I just got had a brown interior but has been dyed black. Is there a way to dye it back to the original color or would I be better off finding a brown interior to replace it?

Yes if the vinyl is in good shape. Just lightly sand it with a 400-600 grit paper and wipe it down with a good cleaner to open up the pores. I actually have 4 cans of the dye in that color.Plenty to do the interior. Let me know if your interested and you can have it for 25 plus shipping.

Thank you for the info and offer. I will check the overall condition tomorrow and let you know.

That is the #31 Beige interior under the dye, like I have in my 73 2L - not brown, which is much darker color.

Beige:
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Brown:
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74 Smooth & Basketweave Leatherette color chart (not great color rendition, but shows the diff.):
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I don't know how well that sand the vinyl will work & you cannot get into the basketweave nooks anyway, aside from destroying the surface. If you're trying to do a proper resto on this LE, then get a COA from PCNA & it should tell you the original colors & may say if it was a "real" LE.

So you may be stuck with either an aftermarket repro. reupholstery or finding a proper beige interior & either the tan (504) or dark tan (503) loop pile carpet that went with it, as in the chart below:
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The DAPO probably did that because the Beige & tan carpets are almost impossible to find nowadays, & in the process completely pucked-up the nicest interior color IMHO!

Appearance & Performance (morph), AA, PP, etc. sell the aftermarket interiors, since the originals are NLA, unless you can find an excellent salvaged one! I decided to use mine & find some smooth vinyl for backpads otherwise unusable to repair the bolster rips in my seats, etc.

Contact Davep & Jeff Bowlsby on here for LE info (do a member search, then PM or email them & start the dialog - they'll be happy to help), cuz they're the gurus on them & can help your mission a lot!!! Other good originality resources are Steve Gaglione (smg or sahara steve with the 73 2L brown interior pic above), & George at AA (dr914).

Where in the Smokies are you?

Thanks for all the info, Tom. I plan on sending off for a COA at some point to see what was originally in the car.

The dye job was apparently done over 20 years ago by an owner before the one I bought the car from. To be honest, at this point I am not a die hard originalist (?) so if I am unable to locate the proper color interior at a reasonable price I will stick with black. Perhaps in the future I will restore to original. The carpet has also been replaced with some hand cut stuff and glued to the floor.

My current goal is to get the car roadworthy and then restore as I drive. I live in Sevierville TN and the winding roads are beckoning

Would you like some Beige/Brown carpeting? I have a full set, it desperately needs cleaning, but you can have it for the price of the shipping. There are no worn patches or holes in any of the pieces. It's about 10 different pieces.

My car was a 74 signal Orange with the #31 interior. When I converted it, I reupholstered completely different (gray and burgundy leather) so I went with Charcoal/black carpet.

Send me a PM if you're interested. I may have some of the #31 basket weave material too.

Mike

I know the roads around Sevierville well!

Unfortunately I've only enjoyed them in our 88 Westy or rental cars when back there on trips! Would love to do them & "The Dragon" sometime in my 73 914 2L once restored!

Probably best to just live with your "DAPO dye job" & get it sorted out mechanically, then work on the rust issues (e.g.: my comment elsewhere on your front panel).

Given the relative rarity & ever decreasing numbers of "real" LE's, you're probably well served to eventually get it back to original eventually. I did a "rolling resto" on mine back in 80-84 before I went to grad school, so I wouldn't have problems, so it works well but required some planning being my only car & DD back then!

Mike Knox has made an excellent offer for the carpet set, so take him up on it. They're NLA now, so getting a nice used set & restoring it is the only alt. to finding NLA or new repro carpet. Get it clean (carefully) then you can have the worh edging redone with matching vinyl at a local carpet or upholstery shop.

Then you can work to collect the rest of the beige interior over time. You might want to look on TheSamba & eBay right now, since there are some bits available now - & then check back over time, but the 73-74 ones are the match, since pre & post MYs had different inserts & after even the smooth was different IIRC (72 may work with the basketweave, but the smooth is a match IIRC).

The COA may also confirm that it's a "real" LE under the options section, which will back up it's ultimate value & may lead you to do better/more original solutions in the process of all this rolling resto. If you join PCA, they get a $20 or so discount on COAs, plus 20% on parts from dealers from time to time, as well as 2 magazines per month & the events for your $42 annual dues. Although a counter-culture of that taildragging Porsche enclave myself since the 70's, I figured it was a good deal in my best interest to get my 914 resto'd.

Git er dun & & then post us all some pix!!!!

Did the LE come with beige interior?

I have a '91 Westy Weekender - great vehicle if you aren't in a hurry



Have contacted Mike Knox and accepted his offer. How could I refuse?
I plan on getting it roadworthy and then slowly restoring it back to original. What do you think about the A/C? That will be the last thing on the list but just wondering about restoring or updating or deleting.


Will definitely get the COA just not sure how soon.

There are actually several Creamsicle's listed on Jeff Bowlsby's site that show a tan interior. Not sure about the Bumble Bee.

IIRC - I'd seen at least one Bumblebee online somewhere with the beige interior, but cannot be certain that it was a "real" LE. Basically they could've taken any of the Black or Light Ivory chassis & made them into an LE with either the black, brown or beige interiors. .... but I defer to Bowlsby & Davep as the LE experts!

I noticed your 91 Orly Blue Westy in your sig, which I why I mentioned it on those hills - ours is Dove Blue & still pretty much original at now 200,0000+ miles (2 engine overhauls - first replaced entire case due to rod through top in 99, & top end 05). We were loaded with 4 & all our gear for a 3+ week trip from CA to Indy, Cherokee/Qualla, Little Rock, OK then back to CA - so we were veeeery slow up the grade!

It was late August on one of our annual trip back when our kids were young, that we had all the torrential rains & flooding in the lowlands (maybe 96 or 98), & we actually hit snow up at altitude before we even got off the freeway to go up to Ashville!

OT, but here's a partial pic of our Westy - my wife's DD & general use car too! Paint is original - except we repainted the FG pop-top/luggage rack, & below rear hatch/left jamb & lower right fender panel where we had some "oops" repaired/repainted.

The OE allow wheels/wide tires were also part of the "bribe" to my wife for me to keep spending on my 914's resto - after she saw me hunting for Fuchs 2L Alloys & said: "What about my car?" .... I'm still working on some center caps for them!

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You should definitely keep it. Even if it doesn't work, keep it. It is a nice option to any 914 plus it is original to the car. Its a shame so many people get rid of it. Heck, I plan to add it to my LE when i restore it.

As for the interior, its a shame they didn't spend a little extra time and dye all the smaller areas. It bugs the crap out of me when people do stuff like that.

I was planning on keeping the A/C. Just thought I'd ask.

How lazy is a person when they don't even pop out the interior light to finish the job?

My Westy needs a motor and some minor frame straightening on the right rear corner.
It has the side molding and alloys. Overall in OK shape as far as body and interior are concerned. No rust to speak of.

The real question is what sort of DAPO dyes their beige upholstry & completely pucks it up, when It's cooler than black & impossible to get OE replacement now!? That bugs the holy crap out of me when people dye a perfectly good interior in the first place, aside from doing a half-fast job - see seat cushion & bolsters too!! Looks more like aCYA job to cover up some problem or something!?

AC is personal preference to keep or not, & if it was put in at the dealership as an original option then it's okay to keep it (especially if you have paperwork invoice showing that), but if a later aftermarket add-on then you want to take it out eventually in your resto.

Mine didn't have it & I was considering adding it in my 73 2L's resto for more comfort in my old age - doing a vinitage DPD look but with the updated R134 innards from AA, but George H talked me out of it since it wasn't original to mine (& he lost a $2-3K sale of the new AC unit in doing so).

Look at the GoWesty website for their 2.1 & 2.2 to 2.5 L upbuilt waterboxers, cuz they have a 4 yr 48k mile warranty available on them, while most others are only 6-12 months & 6-12k miles ~ plus you'll get more HP & Torque than stock. The long warranty alone is worth it, in addition to they're being like a FAT Performance or Raby for Vanagons!

I've "promised" my wife one the next time ours needs a rebuild! & my son wants the 145 HP one!

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