A question came up recently when I was discussing 914 paint colors with the owner of a '73 Marathon Blue Metallic car. He believes that the original paint color name of a 914 is shown somewhere on the car (he hasn't told me where, yet). My understanding is that only the paint code is shown on the car, as stated in Brett Johnson's 914 book, quote: "the plate bearing the paint number, indicating the original color of the car, is on the left hinge door post."

Other than that plate with the paint code, I am not aware of any other location on the car where the paint name or code is shown. If the plate is not present, you need the COA to be sure of the original paint color (and hope the COA is correct).

If I'm wrong I always prefer to be corrected rather than continue believing my error! So let me know...

Thanks,

some of the cars did have a sticker above the plate (usually the metallics) silver with the paint name. Stuck at an angle on the door post up near the fender

Barry - in addition to the sticker George mentions, I've also seen pix of a couple where the paint color was written in marker under the dash frame or back. Bowlsby lists several non-metallic stickers at the link below too.

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

IIRC somebody posted a pic of that with the question if anyone else had that on here a few months back or last year.

So I guess "Mr. Marathon" finally decided to call you back!!??

I find this interesting, and it made me contort myself to see if there were any markings under my dash. None. I'm not metallic, but now my back sure is!
Pat

Thanks George, I didn't know that! I suppose by now most cars have lost that sticker. I've never seen one.

Can someone who has a 914 with that sticker please post a photo of it?

And Tom, thanks for your comment as well, more information I didn't know!

Always like to learn new stuff.

Best regards,

Barry

nice pull George...

Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Dave

Dave, thanks for the photos. I also went to Jeff Bowlsby's PLM page and saw the sticker photos he has on his site.

Barry

My '73 2.0 only has a paint code of 98 on the plate. No letter prefix or suffix. Anyone know what this means? No color name sticker either.

Colors are listed here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=colors

98 = Custom Porsche Color

So, it could be anything. 98 colors are pretty rare. Do you have a picture of the car showing the original color?

Nope, I have no info on the history of this car. I've tried looking in places that might have not been repainted and all I see is red similar to the color of the car now. One place I've seen a difference is to stick my head under the dash and then look up at the bulkhead and it's not red. Not sure how to describe the color...kind of dull grey or off white, it's dull, not glossy. Hard to tell with the shop light. Would this area have been painted body color by the factory? Or is this just some kind of primer?

No, the under dash area is not a good place to check for original paint color. If you ever have to remove interior door panels, the inside of the doors would be a good place to verify the color. I assume your car has the black undercoating on the bottom of the car but you may be able to chip some of it away in areas like the heat shield above the muffler. Maybe remove the shift linkage boot or cover on the firewall.

Boy, agree with that! The factory may have primered everything, but the under dash area saw little of the final coat. Additional time & materials = lost profit!

Best place to check is, as you mentioned, the belly or iside the door panels. Saw a six this summer that was Irish Green, but flakes from the tarred belly indicated yellow as the original color.
Pat