I am the original owner of a 1971 1.7. I picked it up from the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. I used a mechanic to rebuild it but there are some minor issues I am trying to clear up by myself.

1) Rear luggage compartment light - where is the switch?
2) I am trying to use flat hub covers for the center holes in the Pedrini wheels. It is okay for the rear wheels but the front wheels have what I think are grease covers. These covers protrude out the hole and interfere with the covers I want to use. Are these covers necessary - are covers available that have a lower profile? Also, if I want to remove the existing covers, how do I get them off?

Thanks

1. There is no switch, it comes on with the lights.

2. Don't remove the grease caps. Find wheel center covers that are deep enough to go over the caps.

3. I'm also in Oakland ...

Your questions have already been answered, so...welcome.
Interesting that you are a first owner of a 1971 914 !
I hope to see some pics from your car soon in the forum.
good luck !

Yes.pics please. Including those flat caps.

Welcome. I used flat top plastic PVC pipe caps painted to match the wheels on the rears, and painted the grease cap in the front to match. I'll add a picture tonight. I've never seen a low profile cap for the front.

Here are some pictures.
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment

I think those center caps are designed for the 5 lug Fuchs. I ran across a set and like you, I tried to use them and could not. Someone will buy them from you. They are not cheap to buy new, so you might be able to get a good price for them.

And question 1 add-on. Since the light comes on with the headlight that means it stays on whenever driving at night. I think I saw a post some years back that added a switch to that light.

Car looks great.

Those are the wrong center caps for the wheels, which is why you have fitment problems.

The correct center caps for those wheels have room to fit over the grease cap.

Nice looking car. Welcome to the world! To remove those caps, I would suggest popping them off from the back side. When I had those wheels I had a round piece of pipe that a friend turned on a lathe to match the I.D. of the centerbore hole. This pipe would slide if from the back of the rim, (when rim was off the car of course) and gently push the center cap out by the edges. Better than prying it off from the front with a screwdriver and damaging the face of the rim. Not sure where you might find such a tool, but I expect others either have, or have made one and could help you out. I included mine when I sold the rims, so I don't have one to send you or use to get sizes to make your own.

I have a couple of electrical issues also:

1) The following items do not work - lighter, vent controls/lights, heater fan and the window washer spray.

2) The only one I need to fix is the vent and heater fan combo issue.

3) I looked at the Pelican schematic and traced the wires to the vent controls. It appears that the brown/white (which I presume is the power since it comes from the fuse) attaches to a connector in the middle of the bottom of the vent control unit. There is a brown wire that comes from the wiper control that connects to another brown wire that is attached to the top of the vent unit. Any suggestions?

Window washer isnt electric on these cars. Its pneumatic and driven with presure from the spare wheel.

914rubber.com has. Awesome wheel caps that will fit!

You may need to pull out the vent control slider assembly. Take a look at the electrical connection that speeds up the fresh air fan. IIRC, It is a PCB that the fan lever moves across. Maybe the lever's connection is not touching the PCB, or the PCB is worn down.

This is the fresh air fan, not really used for heat. I can hear mine running, but it really does not push much (any) air.

The heater fan is different. It is controlled by the red knob by the shifter.

Before I realized that the covers did not work. I bought a hub cap puller for a VW Bug. basically a strong coat hanger material that hooks into the holes on the cover.

But you may as well just take the wheel off and push from the back side. You only need to do it one more time anyway.