OK, The Raspberry car had a rear reflector on the tail light panel. It's a 73.

Were these ever dealer installed? I'm thinking like the Dealer installed radios, luggage racks and Amco Consules.

Will the concours weenies ding me at the PCA judged shows?

Keep it or ditch the thing

Rick, being your repainting the car anyway, ditch it. You can always add it later if you want too.

IIRC you'll have either 4 or 6 holes to patch where the reflector mounted. So it may be too painful to go back in there later to punch holes back through all your work!

Rick, dealers back in the day were happy to accommodate whatever a customer wanted added to their Porsches - at a cost of course! Others had a local body shop or Indy shop do it for them, or some added it themselves.

I think if Pat Garvey were to weigh-in here, he'd say to ditch it & that you'd get gigged by the CW police.

However, when I took the Zone 8 Concours Judging class last March (mostly to figure out CW/originality issues like this), I found out that they don't even judge period/vehicle/model correctness & originality at the local CdE show. They only are basically judging to who can clean their cars the best in every imaginable & unimaginable nook & cranny!

Of course this can vary from zone to zone & by judge/teams.

Where it apparently does come in is definitely at Parade level (national) & to a lesser extent as a tie-breaker type point gig at regional/zone level CdE events.

If it were me, then I'd go back to the stock look.
.... esp.since you're sticking with the raspberry color as it's OE paint IIRC - the reflector tends to get "lost" on red & some dark 914s, being the same color/tone.

However, if you do decide to keep a reflector, then I'd suggest using the original aftermarket one specifically designed for the 914 (either the original one used in perfect cond. or one of AA's repros of it - Bowlsby's website has a pic under accessories subsection fyi). I say that because they are the proper height to match the 914 taillights, plus you done see a half-cut reflector on each side where the re-purposed 911 reflector has to be cut down to fit. At least then it will have the period correct & correct for the 914 reflector as a "personalization" item.

That's all just IMHO - others may disagree.

Steve G. with Sahara Beige in "The Few, the rare...." nailed thread in O&H might be a good person to ask as well. Then there's also the PCA Concours Chair whom you can email from the PCA if you want more specifics.

Hope this helps!

Thanks guys. I will remove it. I actually don't have one but the car has the holes for one. It would be easy to simply bolt one on and forgetaboutit. But I think this car is too important to fudge. If the reflector was a dealer thing I would keep it.

I'm with you George. I'm not a fan of the reflectors either. Just a time saving thing. The rear body panel will need to be metal finished inside and out. Not the worse thing but work is work.

Oh Boy! Where to start?

Let's try here - the rear reflector panel was NEVER a Porsche authorized dealer installment. The panels were either cobbled up 911 panels, or a "thing" created by Automotion (as I recall - could have been AA). It doesn't belong on any 914, and should NEVER pass muster in a "real" concours. Much like the Porsche crest on the front hood - Porsche did it on one 914 - ONE, and it wasn't a production car.

To call this a "personalized item" is fine, but it does not meet the terms of concours, si it get a significant gig from me.

And, I'll tell you this - if, as Tom related from his "class", Zone 8 (one of the former premier concours venues) has sunken to "car show" status, then I give up. Apparently, class winners there are no longer world-class winners, but merely wash 'n shine classes.

Now, personalization doesn't have to kill you for a concours win, or decent placement. On the right 914, and given that the competition were lazy, even that rear panel might not keep you from a win. You have to realize that the competition wants to win as much as you do, and that this is concours competition - not a "wash n shine". Know that you will/should lose points for the panel & make up the loss in extra cleanliness.

My first PCA Parade win (when they wore lab coats & white gloves) is an example. I loved mt chrome wheels, was coached by 3 guys on how to make up for it with cleanliness, and whipped the 2nd place car my over 20 points. Couldn't happen today.

The next Parade win was made with the same chromes, but the margin was 2.5 points.

Those same chrome wheels (with enhanced tires) cost me a Parade win five years later, by 0.3 points! Times had changed.

But, I don't think that times have changed for the concours better in the last ten years. Too much think about "everyone should get a trophy" and to heck with the concept.

I chaired the 93 Parade concours. Yeah, it was 17 years ago, but by that time the judging was out of control towards giving in for major infringements on originality.

Burned me so badly that I dropped out of any kind of involvement with PCA. Still a member after 37 years, but shouldn't be.

In the future, my involvement in concours will solely be with multi-marque invitational events (and I've won several of those). Since PCA has sold us out, I reckon I may as well hang out with ohers who recognize the value of originailty.
Pat

As someone who purchased a 1973 914 new from a dealer, I can say that I never considered these reflector panels other than a tacky add on and never one that was ever installed by an authorized Porsche dealer.

I should definitely lose the thing and not reinstall it.

My personal taste is those panels make the car look bad. I have never liked and never will. Different strokes I guess.

No offense to those who have them installed on their cars, I guess the reflector does add some margin of safety from being rear ended.

Just for clarification, Alan Mittelman of Anything Limited produced the first reflector kits (his company later became known as "Mitcom"). They were NEVER anything but cut down 911 reflectors, and they didn't appear on the market until sometime in 1974, after the panels were in the parts stream. The company may be best known for the Chalon kit, but they sold all kinds of "racing" parts as well as a big line of dressup items and car covers.

The Cap'n

I agree 100% about them not being concourse original. Personally I like mine.
I respectfully disagree with Capn about them NEVER being anything but cut down 911 stuff.
Notice in the picture, mine has finished edges with black line and beveled edges.
They're was some made for the 914. I have only seen a few.

Click to view attachment

I'm an oddball, so I like the look of the rear reflectors, but I don't like all the holes you've got to drill in the back panel to mount them.

If you want to make a reasonably "correct" car, leave it off. My wife, and yours, and your interior decorator would say the red reflector clashes with the rasberry color