My 72 has these ho hum wheels and the round polished hub caps. the car would normally come with a tool that had clips for pulling these things off, I of course dont have that little tool. whats the best way to pull these off without damagaing the wheel underneath. have tried a screwdriver and a piece of wood between the tool and the wheel but there has to be a better way.

I used a tire iron and if necessary, a small piece of wood to put against the wheel.

The trick I've used is to place the tips of a set of needle nosed pliers in the holes and a long socket against the wheel lip. Hit the pliers' handle and off comes the hubcap. You can use a screwdriver handle in place of the socket of you want a plastic surface to pivot on. On real stubborn ones, I've used a rubber mallet when hitting the release point.

You can still get the hub cap puller clip/tool around for cheap, & it's the same one for VWs. For used, look at the parts classifieds on here, club, TheSamba, eBay, etc. & at local 914, VW & Porsche swap meets. Or get some spring steel wire & fabricate one. As simple as they are, they do work well.

Also IIRC the was one of the usual 914 suspects selling them new (AA, Pelican, PP/Automotion/Eklers, SMC, GPR, etc.) - or perhaps one of the Dubber stores I've seen online (BoWesty, Bus Depot, VW ISPwest, Wolfsburg West, etc.) - & the price wasn't too bad ($5-10 maybe). Try to Google with the name & part no.