Hi guys - finally got around to getting the ‘74 AZ car registered and now the sorting out process starts.

The Copper ‘74 sits quite a bit lower than the believed to be stock Yellow ‘73.

The Copper ‘74 has quite a bouncy ride but, as expected, doesn’t lean much in turns.

Correct to assume the Copper ‘74 has lower / stiffer torsion bars and springs on it?

Not sure what shocks the Copper 74 has but I need to soften it up a bit to be usable for day-to-day use.

Should I track down a stock pair of springs? Do with slightly stiffer than stock and see how that feels? Rebush everything and only then think about the springs / torsion bars?

Thanks!Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Yellow = 195/65/15 tires

Copper = 185/65/15 tires

You can’t really assume anything. Cars can be low without stiffer torsion bars or springs.
If you don’t like the ride, figure out what you have and what needs replacement due to age and wear and then decide where you want to end up And what to replace to get you there.

Tires make a big difference. Air pressure, type, age and size.

Darn it man, enough with the hard won real world experience and advice! Simplistic answers only please.

So follow on - assuming I like the stance but not the ride I assume can I get to a comfortable ride while keeping the stance?

Thanks!

As Mark said - too many variable to assume anything - especially after 45-50 years of use & abuse on our 914s.

For example, the lower stance could be due to older worn sagging springs - stock or aftermarket - & ditto at the other end with torsion bars. Then again, could've been cut, adjusted the suspension mounting/perches, etc. - & the front T-bars have something like 2"+ of adjustment of ride ht. built in.

If you have records, try searching them for suspension work & parts, & then also you'll need to crawl under & start looking at stuff.

FYI - IIRC the stock factory rear springs were 90 lbs for ride comfort combined with the 80 profile OE tires (i.e.: 165/80R15), & the closest aftermarket coils that I recall are about 100 lbs - so you want to stick with close to stock for DD comfort.

You'll also end up with a harder & harsher ride with the stiffer aftermarket poly bushings all around, than with the OE rubber/soft-poly types - & the track/AX versions of the aftermarket bushings will be stiffer/harder/harsher than the street versions. So if you want a nice DD ride - stick with street flavor of softer poly bushings at all places.

Also, you'll have about 15% less "cush" (a technical term ;-) with 65 profile tires' sidewalls, compared to the OE 165/80R15 tires (SR on 1.7 & 1.8, HR on 2.0 & -6). So you'll get a better street/DD ride if fitted with the OE 165/80R15 size tires, but will lose some grip as compared to your current 185/65 & 195/65 tires - & those are also larger diameter, which results in both speedo & odometer errors (use a tire calculator to get the actual errors).

While I know that the hot topic 914 du joir on here is bigger engines, fatter tires & stiffer suspensions for the supposedly ultimate 914 - the reality is that the 914 was a pretty excellent mix of comfortable street ride with great handling as they came from the factory in terms of tires & suspension & engine options.

And if you want other non-car-nuts to ride with you - e.g.: kids, g-kids, spouses/GFs/SOs, parents, g-parents, etc. - then you may want to try to recreate the stock set-up.

Also of note - the USA 914s were shipped with the front suspension set 0.5 - 1.5" higher than was ideal - NOT for ride reasons - but rather due to the USA DOT's required heights for headlights at that time. So it was always common practice to drop the front end +/-1" using the torsion bars' adjustment, in order to get the car to ride flatter F to R, or maybe a tad lower. This also threw the weight balance forward & closer to 50:50 & improved handling/turning a bit.

So maybe look at your options for stockish with the copper car, then if you like it, do the yellow that way - or leave them as 2 "flavors".

There are some good 165/80HR-SR15 tires out there from Vredestein that aren't terribly priced, if the 185's are old & need replacement (or 195s, but 185s haven't been available much for a while in /65 - so I assume they're the older set). Then put the other set on the yellow car for the experimentation.

Also - a word of caution about the copper metallic 914 color here in CA - which probably applies everywhere else too - is that it looks like Orange in the sunlight, & therefore attracts as much attention from Cops & Chippers - as do red cars. Yellow is right up there too! Sports cars just add to the attention getting!

I know, having painted my 73 that color in 76 & racking up points until & changed it to the last (current) anthracite grey metallic "blacktop camouflage" color. My first car was a RED Open Kadett, which also caught too much attention.

So have your head on a swivel & radar/laser detector on sensitive whenever driving any of your 914s!


Tom
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Thanks guys, and super helpful post Tom. The in-depth response really lays everything out.

As far as tires go, as an original owner of a 1973 2.0 the car came originally with 165R-15 Michelins and Coker tire has worked with Michelin to bring back the tires from the 70's. I just replaced my XZXs from 1992 with an exact replacement. Other choices are available here;

https://www.cokertire.com/amfinder/index/in...inder_id=462416

No.

Sagging rear springs is the most likely reason. The excessive negative camber is a clue.
The stock front torsion bars can be adjusted easily to match any rear ride height.
The bouncy ride is probably due to worn out shocks.

It's low enough to be riding on the bumpstops, which would fit the ride description.

The front torsen bars can be adjusted to any height, so you really need to start in the back. Cut springs? Adjustable shock perches? Something was done to make it sit super low.

Thanks guys - let me get it in the air and see what the rear looks like.

Bruce and others have rear springs hanging around most likely?

Appreciate the info/coaching.

TD-

Come on!!!...get one of your many 914's going so you can join us at WRC.

Oscar

Been there, done that, don't have to do it again ...

Focus on one car. The one that requires the least rust repair. You'll go broke juggling 2, 3 or however many cars. Unless the springs you're looking to buy are near new, it's just another set of old springs that are off a car for a reason.

yeah, focus on one car at a time.

Until you have dug into the copper car you will have no baseline to judge. But almost any lowered car is going to have a harsher ride.

Zach