Hello everyone just wanted to introduce myself! Saw a lot of information from this site and thought I would join. I recently have purchased a 72 914 with a 1.7. Car was in decent shape on outside non running and interior was missing. I am looking to fix this car up to be a nice drivers car. New battery and plugs car is running still needs a tune.

When researching the prices of some items I was wondering if I could gets parts from another car that would help lower costs.

The car did come with two rough seats that are beige and the backing that goes with them which is rough itself. It also has inner door trim beige as well. I would I like to convert the car to a black interior as I am sticking with a white(exterior) on black theme.

Things I do need is an ebrake cable and handle. Has anyone used this from another car that was cheaper?

Also seat belts. Has anyone used just generic seat belts from eBay or another car? Now seem to be $500

Rear rubber padding that is not $300?

Arm rests from another car?

Also a good place to buy front rear and side skirts? Does not have to be NOS.

If some fabrication is required that is not a problem as I have a welder
Thank you in advance, Stack

Welcome!

For some of the interior pieces (and other great products) take a look at 914Rubber:

http://shop.914rubber.com

For seat belts, there are several third party sources such as:

https://www.seatbeltplanet.com/seatbelts-an...e-lap-shoulder/

There is a whole slew of of great sources for parts and services, many are small shops run by members here.

For used items from other cars, post a Want To Buy in the classifieds.

Good luck with the project and keep up posted on your progress.

... from far, far away

You might need a donor for some of your parts, but don't forget to check Auto Atlanta, Pelican, 914 Rubber and the other vendors listed around the site. Plus, whatever you need to do, I can almost guarantee that somebody here has already done it. Just search or ask.

George

It may take a little time to find the parts you are looking for, but all of them are available either from the classifieds here or other sources mentioned. You may be able to have your back pad recovered at a local upholstery shop if it's not damaged. I had the driver's end bolster of mine recovered and, while not a perfect match to the original vinyl, it's close enough for a driver.

If you don't want the tan interior, someone may be interested in buying it from you, depending on the condition. Tan isn't as common as black. Post some pictures of your car inside and out for advice about what and how to fix it up.

Mine is white with a beige interior too. Am kind of bummed the upholstery kits aren't offered in this color. Mine's in ok shape. Cleaned up very well but there are a few small tears in the seats and a big rip in the center console cover. Will try to clean the carpet this week - at least the tan carpet is available in case I can't save the old one.
If you get a chance please post some pics of your car. Thanks!

You can get that handle from "BDStone" or "GeraldShaffer" here. Both long time members here sell used parts and are very reliable. As suggested above check our classified section and when possible please buy from our member vendors. There is a members vendor section here as well. Note* One of the suppliers mentioned in an earlier reply would give a Blind man wrong directions. I wouldn't piss on the Bastard if he was on Fire. You'll figure out who it is in a few days if someone doesn't "call them out" here.

If you have a 72+ car, you can use seat belts from a 924 or 944 (not sure which years) with a little modification. Early VW Rabbit belts might also work? I know that the 924 family often used parts from the more pedestrian VWs of the time.

The ebrake handle is pretty unique on the 70-71 cars; it is a two-piece design and is supposed to flop down out of your way after you pull it up. (You have to pull it up again and then press the button to un-set it.) I haven't seen any direct replacements for the later handle, though I haven't really looked very hard. Getting a used handle would be the way to save some $$ on that.

I'm not sure which "rear rubber padding" you are talking about--if it's the pad on the engine bay side of the firewall, leave it out. It is most useful for trapping water against the firewall, promoting rust. If you're talking about the stuff on the cockpit side of the firewall, replace it with Dynamat or your favorite sound deadener, or leave it out and live with a bit more noise. If you're talking about the upholstered back pad that covers the firewall (and has the interior light in it), get yours reupholstered, or just cover the firewall with your choice of carpet.

I haven't seen arm rests from a different car used, but as long as you can do a bit of welding to put mounting points into your door's frame you should be able to use just about anything you like.

Realistically, used parts are your best value. Cruise the classifieds section looking for the bits you want. Also check on the Pelican Parts site; their Classifieds section isn't as big but does have some posts that aren't duplicated here.

For new parts, the "usual suspects" around here include Pelican, GPR, Tangerine Racing, Paragon ... Brad Mayeur at 914 Limited is relatively close to you--he's in western IL--so he might be a source as well. My favorite is Pelican, for reasons that are probably obvious.

I'll let others comment on good ol' George.

--DD

Thanks to everyone for the replays, advice and warm welcome. I am debating on selling current seats, padding behind them and door for inserts as well and just seeing if I can go with a more modern/custom interior. I will try and post some pics of car later. The car has about 3 small places in body that need cut out and repaired. also the metal in the floor needs some attention. The front and rear trunk, engine bay are surprisingly clean. I really don't want to spend more then 1,500 on interior.

Dave the rear padding is for the rear bumper the chrome is good just the padding on it is broken. Replacements seam expensive, if I got to pony up the cash I will but would rather not!

Also my car has all the trim for vinyl around the rear window top and side area. The car doesn't have the vinyl now and is just white. I saw vinyl kits for 44$ but am wondering if I could just get it from a local sewing store? Any thoughts?

Ah, the rear bumper pad. Yeah, that's not cheap. There are fiberglass bumpers, and I think 914rubber was considering making a fiberglass bumper top? Not sure. He was doing rubber repros, though.

Make sure you get vinyl that will hold up to the elements. I'm not sure all grades will do that. Or you can use truck bed-liner spray. I've seen that look pretty decent on the sail panel and roll bar. Not exactly original looking, but decent at first glance.

--DD

Yea I probably would just pony up the cash for the pad but thank you! Here are some picc

And more

Passenger side seat floor is bad but both trunks are spotless

These are what I prefer was black. I am thinking interior black

Dirty but rust free trunk. both doors have the paint bubble like this and one spot on hood needs taken care of. Then I will respray it and get interior looking good. Hopefully won't take long

There are many members here that sell many nice used parts. Place a WTB for the parts you need and you will get a response.

I would do an exhaustive search for rust before you invest any money on cosmetics.

Pull off those rocker panels to see what's hiding.

Make getting the car structurally sound and safe for the road your first priority.

Will do thanks guys!

I can tell you from experience that when entering the concours is not your ultimate goal, one can "build" a new interior at a fraction of the cost of sourcing all of the tidbits and kits required to do a factory-look interior.

In my case, my 71 is a go-car verses a show car so the full duct tape interior that was present when I purchased the car went into the trash can first off. Then, as mentioned earlier, I scoured the car for rust and found very little and none on any panels in and around the interior of the vehicle.

Along the way to a working daily driver's interior,
I installed:
- domestic German-looking grey square weave carpet from A-1 Foam and Fabric local to SoCal / glued where permanent, and black edge bound where visible edges would be exposed to wear or sight such as the floor mats etc.
- glued domestic German-looking grey square weave carpet on the backpad with edge binding at the rear glass and moved the interior light to a forward dash location within the innards of the obsolete ash tray (so that when you pull out the ash tray, you are actually pulling out the map light to shine down on your sloppy shifter's knob
- two racing bucket seats with superior lower back support to stock seats with
four point harness belts
- a dash cap to hide the San Andreas model dash pad
- a dash recovering kit / made from black vinyl matching the original
- two door panels using the old warped ones as templates
- a manual throttle / very handy on warm up phase on a carbed engine
- a three gauge cluster and deposit box as a center console to tell me what time my engine overheated, caught fire or would have an electrical short from the battery to any of twelve gas lines made of brittle plastic..... replace those lines first thing after you purchase a good portable fire extinguisher and keep it in the car at all times - an do not use a hose clamp to hold it in place as that defeats the immediate access needed when you see flames

a few other little items along the way such as new bulbs in gauges, refurbed by gas tank sender, and learned how to easily tune valves, timing, etc.

Have fun

Forest that doesn't look all that bad! I would like a decent looking car but was just wondering if anyone "skimps" in certain areas and looks decent. If it looks too bad I will just pony up cash. Though I will probably take your some of your thoughts on the carpet. Thr car kinda looks like it is sagging a bit in bottom and want to reinforce a bit more then it is. The more I am taking this car apart the more yellow I am seeing. The tunnel that runs through the center of the car is cut up so bad I just stare at it. i think someone caulked it back together. I wonder how I am gonna weld it with wires and gas lines through there then screwed in straps over there....One part says fix n drive the other part says just sell the engine, seats, tranny, dash, wheels./tires, suspension, trim, hood, trunk, lights, and get that thing on a rotisserie and start welding in a cage and see if I can find a salvaged subie for powerttrain/suspension.

Pictures would help. Though the comments they elicit might not make you happy. (Especially from those of us in low-rust areas, where we scrap 914s that qualify as "drivers" in the Rust Belt.)

--DD