Well we have purchased probably the most famous Limited Edition model of all, the Matsuda collection black and yellow Limited edition. http://www.2-shores-classics.com/garage/cu...133&lang=us Thanks to Jeff Bowlesby, we were able to negotiate the purchase. I am leaving for Germany monday June 7th to take delivery and drive through Europe, visiting the original vwporsche914 factory along the way. We will add it to our current collection which features the matching car: http://porschebahn.wordpress.com/2008/11/0...-head-concours/

Please look for upcoming photos of the trip and the delivery of the car to the U.S.

awesome!

but the nardi steering wheel is "100% original and correct"? (as the ad states?

Nice!


Now all you need to finish that collection is a Grasshopper LE ...
Andy

that is a frisbee to me! First thing to be taken off of the car.

I guess that we could make one. Guy did a good job!

Dibs on the incorrect euro tail lights!

OMG, it has "Leaded Fuel Only" sticker on it. I haven't see that for a long time. It reminds me of my dad's 510 in the 70's.

That 'Guy' was Jeff Bowlsby

I'm not sure what he did with his Grasshopper, i haven't seen it in years but the car was done very well. It actually looked great in person, the pictures don't do it justice.

Andy

So that is a pic of the car! Jeff made one and sold it to a guy in Canada. I had never seen a pic of the actual car and thought that you posted a pic of another one that someone made. Neat looking though.

This is a Japanese equipped car. The rear euro lenses are correct for it and the front side markers are different than the usa type and made just for the japanese market. notice that it does not even have retractible seat belts!

Nice score George!

I think it's really cool!

Nice George!

Don't know if it's the same car that Jeff did but there has been a 'Grasshopper' for sale in New Brunswick for about 2 years . . . not sure if it finally sold or not. I think it was a small dealership who also sold 550 and 356 replicas

Ha! I was actually searching for it. It was on autotrader.ca for like 2 years and now I can't find it. Maybe Ian Stott in Moncton will know who this company is. I believe they were in Fredericton. The replicas they sell aren't Beck or Intermeccanica. It was *something* Ranch . . . Thunder ranch maybe

Probably something more like "Rust Haven Ranch" up in Canada!

... I should talk - with my sunny SoCal Rust Maven!

Cooool.....914 brother,I can go along?
I'll even let you buy my ticket

P.S. forgot, have to be in traffic court that day(june 7th)

Actually, Thunder Ranch is an American company - these guys were sales agents I believe.

Of the three 914s that I own(ed) the most rusted, by far, is the one that came from San Francisco. In fact I just pulled some of the California junk from the passenger footwell on the weekend. Some box that the speedo cable routed through that's part of the CA emission system I think. It's somewhere in the field behind my garage - if you want it I'll go find it before the wolves and polar bears get it.

Don't discount what salt air does to your cars down there. Now Arizona on the other hand . . . .

Well Mike, you've seen what happened to my 73 2L just sitting in my dry SoCal garage for the last 25 years, going in just 3 years after a rustoration & repaint!

They have flash floods in AZ & the Southwest too! No place is truly safe from rust on any of the pre-77/pre-rust-treated Porsches unfortunately!

... Oh & Coyotes too - both the animal & drug/illegals runner types, & Havalinas/Peccaries & Rattlesnakes - Oh my!!!!

Fortunately mine is a pre-EGR & smog exempt 73 2.0 - so I won't need the rust-box .... Thanx anyway though!

Feel free to throw that frisbee my way !!

That is very nice!

Did you remember to check the hell hole before buying it? I have heard they
sometimes have a little bit of rust there.



John

My LE Bee has that sticker on it still and also some kind of tag from Belgium. I wonder if that makes it worth more? George.......



Shoe

I actually visited the Matsuda collection around 10 years ago or so and it was absolutely incredible!! I couldn't believe all the cars and there was not even a single customer in there. I was the only person in there for hours. I remember he had a yellow 916 too and the other cars were so incredible. He also had a Ferrari museum too which closed down....

Funny how years ago we all wanted this aftermarket "STUFF" for our 914s and now we want to get rid of it! Scotty you really want that nardi? I was going to put it on e bay!

so yours is a euro limited edition??

So was the limited edition there?

Thank you for the suggestion. Please what is the hell hole and what should I be looking at when first purchasing a 914? "HELL" and "914" should not go together!!!!

Congratulations George... Enjoy your trip in Europe.

--Rob

I have no idea, was hoping you would know. I will get pics of the tags under the hood & post them or send them to you.

What is the red box under the glove compartment for?

That's a standard equipment in order to survive in the blood thirsty metro Tokyo traffic.
A flare and a flashlight?

Am i the only one who noticed the 70-71 sliding carpeted footrest block in a 74 that has a sliding passenger seat from the factory?

http://bowlsby.net/914/CanAm/
Check it out Don. You might be a rich man!

I am definately already rich Bill, I have a great group of 914 enthusiast for friends and I know Buttercup's mommy!

YES, and other 914's too

So, where in Germany is the car at?

Wow..wow..keep those pictures comming !!!!

Alex.

Looks like a fun trip, but where's the Liederhosen (sp?) & Suspenders & Little Brimmed Felt Hat??

Somebody needs to get George a pack of white Haynes crew socks or something - STAT!!!!

Seriously though - I'm no CanAm expert, & I thought that the LEs came with painted Mahle 4-lugs, but those are painted Fuchs 2L alloys - wussup wid dat!!??

I ask because I bought a set of 5 Fuchs 2Ls last year to restore to 2L OE finish to "recreate" what originally came on my 73 2L - which all had been painted Phoenix Red like a Cremescicle - including a good pale green zinc-chromate primer on the wheels first - that I assumed was done by a DAPO or DAP+AD.

However, if they were a legit option on Cremescicles instead of Mahles, should I not F them up & instead save them for a LE guy needing them, & be looking for another set of Fuchs 2Ls to restore for mine??


This be they .... BTW another DAPO did paint them all over with silver & all but the one in the pic below had been stripped of the silver by the seller/PO ....

Click to view attachment

.

George, Jeff, DaveP, others - Plz weigh in & advise me before I do something stupid - if indeed these wheels need to be preserved for "the cause" as is!!??

If the latter, then I could always trade to an LE guy/gal needing them, if they sourced a comparable restorable set of OE finish Fuchs 2Ls I suppose.

Jeff will give you the straight scoop but these fuchs were specially ordered for the matsuda car. All of the others had mahles. Also side vinyl was specially ordered for this car as well

George, that is great, I hope you had a time,

I really enjoyed seeing the Georgia plates on it.
Wonder what all the europeans thought when they saw that.

John

I believe that in some markets that the Fuchs came painted as the LE Mahles did. I would not alter the painted Fuchs if I had them. Remember that the LE was really a North American version. There were other versions such as the GT in Germany, and I believe the SL in Japan.

Probably "Cracker"!

Thanx Dave. As George said, maybe Jeff can also shed more light. It makes sense that if the Matsushida SL could be ordered with painted Fuchs 2L wheels, then so could one from anywhere else in the world one would think.

On my 5 wheels - 3 are date stamped 11/73 & 2 12/73 - so I supposed they could've been fitted to a 74 MY LE Creamsicle.

If I don't strip & restore them to "standard OE finish (satin background with semi-polished petals & rims & anodized), then my problem will be try to trade them or sell/buy another set of "regular OE finish" Fuchs @L's for mine to restore/refinish.

That's because mine is an early-73 MY (8/72 mfgr.) 914-2.0/"914 S" which came with the wheels as part of the full compliment of the Appearance & Performance Groups' options (Sport & Comfort groups in Euro-speak).

I just don't think orange wheels will pass CW muster on my L80E 73!

That is the first time I have seen such an empty space outside Mittelmotor...

Michael is a very genuine and soft spoken guy, no wonder his business is booming. It was at the end of the day and all of the cars were inside.

Tom, everythig I know is here:

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

The photos I have of the 2 914 SLs (Japan market) both have painted FUCHS.

USA LEs and ROW GTs have the Mahles.

I have seen other wheels painted but they all appear to be customized and not factory original.

George, you say the wheels for 14438 were special ordered? I think they were part of the factory package for Japan, but I have no proof, just the two Japan cars in photos.

The document below is from the 1974 S+T manual which depicts a prototype 914 Can Am, but the car obviously changed details when it went into production, so we cannot be sure that this document is accurate.