Hi All,
I bought a 914 Rear rubber bumper top from 914rubber. But when I went to fit it to my bumper it is (slightly) undersize. I could make it fit if I wanted to oversize or slot the attachment holes in the bumper - but...isn't it suppose to fit correctly without my trimming & making it fit?? I mean to say, @ $385, it should fit like a glove. ( not O. J. Simpson's glove.
Anybody have experience with this (tight fit)???
thx, Gary

You should contact Mark @ 914. Rubber.

Yep. & I have, just before posting this - I'm tempted to just trim to make it fit-but
my curiosity needs to be satisfied!!

Mark has a real job (airline pilot). Give him a chance to get back to you. He will. You could call them tomorrow.

Just got one and installed it yesterday. Mine seemed a bit undersized as well. I had to run to the hardware store to get new nuts and washers to replace my rusty ones, so I set the bumper top in place in the sun. When I got back, it had warmed up enough to be just pliable to go into place. Fit is great, and a little stretching is expected as it settles in.

Mine fit perfectly....different batch maybe ?

A real job? Airline pilot? What is your point? I'm a Quality Engineer. What does a airline pilot know about dimensions? Answer: Absolutely Nothing.

I suspect the point is that when he's gone, he is pretty much gone. He is restricted, I believe to flying 10 days a month and when he arrives in Denver at 5pm and has to fly out at to puerto Vallarta at 6am, I doubt he returns calls. I wouldn't. As far as what he knows about dimensions, he owns a successful architectural supply firm as well. So, what's your point? he knows a bit about dimensions. You are the first I have ever heard of to have bumper top trouble. Probably because most everyone else knows Mark will make it right and they wait for the phone call...

Try laying it in the sunshine, it may expand to fit perfectly.

My gad I should hope they knows their dimensions! Feet, metered, miles, kilometers. Longitude altitude, attitude.

But the pieces should fit. That's why you bought them. These particular ones are Costy too. IMHO Mark's business is run pretty much the way you would expect. He will make good, but not everything is perfect Monsieur the first time. Pardon! And should we not have someone doing a breakeven job making molds for us, we would be botching it ourselves. I have pictures to prove it.
As for laying things out in the sun, I have to ask if that is sunshine above or below zero Farenheiht? For me at the moment it is dark, but still a toss up.

Call me crazy. But, I expect 1st time quality. That's what I paid for. Not a effing phone call... "owns a successful architectural supply firm as well"?? Guess what. I couldn't care less. Not my problem. I simply bought a part that doesn't fit. I don't need your B.S. excuses to explain poor quality.

Send it back!! I know for a fact he will refund your money.

I.L.S.M. or B.T.

Patience, Grasshopper

You/we are driving 40 plus year old cars. If a poorly fitting bumper top causes this much grief and consternation, your travel days are going to be sorely tested along the way.

I'm not going to call you anything. Not many rules around here but that is one. Besides, you're doing a pretty good job on your own.

Send it back. Make one yourself.

X 10

Mark will make it right. He is probably the most stand-up vendor you will ever find. Please do yourself and him a favor and give him a chance to respond to you before making a big deal about it here.

BTW, I wouldn't pigeon-hole him as just a pilot (not exactly a profession to be scoffed at). He is a very intelligent guy and has been doing R/D and QA for a number of years in two separate silos. His parts are not slapped together from some makeshift mold in his garage. He spends thousands of dollars on tooling for each part before he releases it to the masses, and the last thing he would to do is put something out there that is "pretty close" to right. That just isn't who he is.

As for your bumper top, I can only guess that your bumper was previously tweaked, or you got that 1 in a 1000 part that just wasn't quite right. Whatever the issue is, I can promise you that he will do everything he can to remedy the situation.

Another plus 10.

Mark has saved our collective arses on a whole bunch of NLA parts, or parts only available at exorbitant prices.

Prime example is the front targa seal. I have an old AA catalogue dated late 2007 in which part number 914 563 039 10 is listed for $375.00, and to my knowledge that was the only version available at that time. Mark's reproduction is $179.00, looks and fits great.

I've got some parts that have had problems, he was quick to make amends, and asked no questions. And several times threw in some other pieces for free.

It is not right to air your grievances here after Mark has taken the time and effort to do his best to make/create parts for our weird little cars.

You should have done this in private.

Mark doesn't need me to stand up for his reputation, but I will gladly do so. He built it on his own and has a successful business to prove it. I can't understand the motivation of someone who is dissatisfied with one purchase to belittle the seller, in a public forum of satisfied customers.
This says more about you, "quality engineer" than it does about Mark.

So send it back and do without. Or, consider that maybe it needs to stretch. Like others have said, put it out in the sun and let it expand. There's other parts that must be heated with a torch to install. In the long run, it may stay looking better rather than looking loose and saggy.

An engineer? What does an engineer know about manufacturing or business management. Absolutely
nothing. That statement sounds kinda silly doesn't it?

I'm gonna second the bent or deformed bumper. That is the first thing that came to mind.

You can also gently warm it with a heat gun and it will likely fit well. If it doesn't I'm sure Mark will make it right. He is hard to get a hold of and sometimes it takes a few repeated attempts.

....Or you can send it back & buy a OE unit for 2x that money, if you can find one.

This is the 1st I've heard from you. Yes, I can be difficult to reach when I'm at the day job. I do skim my email and check messages here on the forum. I'm always happy to work with customers especially if they have an issue with something.

Yes the bumper are a tight fit, and yes the material will expand and contract with temperature changes, it has an expanded foam core so there is air in it. It's actually a better product than the early solid rubber version.

I can't find any contact info from you, but if you drop me a PM I'm more than willing to help out here. If you are not happy I will ALWAYS take a return for anything you are not happy with.

Gary,
Lighten up your coming across as a jerk .
This site is full of good people helping each other with our 914's. You should apologize for your curt message or go someplace else. It's up to you, your next move.
Tom

Wow, calm down dude. Mark @ 914rubber is one of the good guys...actually one of the really good guys in the little business microcosm of 914 parts suppliers.

914Rubber has always worked with me when I had problem and I sure they will work for you too.

We are extremely fortunate that 914Rubber is there for us.

I think I bought the last NOS ones from Strasse about 5 years ago. It fit just about like that. The threads 'caught' as you put the studs through the holes. I thought about trashing Porshe's quality control on the forum, but decided that would make me look like an ass. So I contacted Strasse and they said that they sometimes need gentle persuasion. Today, they still look pretty much perfect...

By the way, Mark is in Fresno. So, he is working his day job...

He's a quality engineer Curt. The guy who checks one unit out of every 5000 and then when someone calls with a problem tells them, 'that's impossible! I checked one out of 5000 and they were within specs, therefore, they all must be within specs.'

Crickets....

Blake, my assistant forwarded me some pics that Gary sent in.
Sometimes it takes a bit to filter up to me through the normal channels, but he contacted me with your email as he should.
Looking at the pictures it does look like the fit is not ideal. I'm having my assistant do a check fit on a bumper I have in my shop. I had my assistant ask the year as there is a different rear on the early cars. My first inclination is was the bumper, as I have one on my car and it wasn't to difficult to install.

I'll get back to you shortly.

Blake did the check fit and yes it is a tight fit, but it can be fitted correctly.

I can't download and attach til later but Ill post later

Mark

One thing about retail sales, Mark. You earn every damned penny that you make. We can swap stories at WCR. BTW, any WCR specials forthcoming??
BTW, what's a vacume?

Tried to attach from my onedrive, can't get the file to attach correctly.
I had an issue with a guy I was working with to make some parts an he ran out with my molds. I finally got them back, but didn't mean to attaché the file that got uploaded.

Do your cardiologist a favor and never buy anything from AA!

You Sir, are a Douche Bag. I will refund your money out of my own pocket, "if" you sell your 914 and never post here again. (your making a fool of yourself and it is reflecting poorly on us as a whole) Besides wouldn't an 80's Corvette really suit you better anyway?

please make ALL your future purchases from AA....

if you haven't been around here for very long you can be excused for not knowing that affordable let alone available parts are rare. now the are some "vendors" that are just car guys like us that have the ability and resources to manufacture and supply us with some of the hard to get or completely unavailable parts as a SIDE BUSINESS !

this means that you arent ordering from rock auto or amazon and should not expect to have the same response time of 24hr customer service.

mark has provided exceptional service to me and every one that i have heard of, even the couple of 'tards like you that have gotten impatient like you when they didnt hear back form an email right away. he has always taken care to make things right.

so calm your shit and relax, Rome didn't get built in a day and parts for your car wont ever be like going down to o'rileys .... oh wait they will have that parts in 3-5 days

Ok the pics from Blake's install. Keep in mind he only packs and ships parts as ships parts and has no mechanical ability.

He mentioned that the top was a tight fit in that the holes do line up, but he had to play with it when he tightened it down. It did yield an acceptable install in his opinion. I would agree from what I can see. I had him actually put it outside in the sun, which was actually out today, not that it was exceptionally warm, but it did help to fit while it was tightened down.

Other side

Also, when the bumper is mounted you don't see the back side.