guy took a perfectly good, never been wrecked nor rusted 74 2.0 and color changed it from sunflower yellow to forrest green. I cannot understand the motivation hereClick to view attachment Click to view attachment

Sometimes you just can't fix stupid?

well, I guess he just didn't like the color....
I changed the color of my car from zambezi green to ravenna green but I also painted the trunk, interior, floors, dash, etc.

It was his car, no need to make anyone else happy.

I have an original /6 that was Canary Yellow and it will not be yellow again while i own it.

Go ahead, hate me ...

It's OK to each their own. Yellow is NOT in my top ten colors either. Plus if you're restoring it from bad paint or was given the car in the color you don't like and have lots of money make yourself happy.

Because you dont like the colour it is but the car is otherwise to your taste.
Mine was Light Ivory the most boring of all the 914 colors. So I changed it, but then I took the whole car apart and painted everything.

How much is the asking on the green car?

I disagree

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I did the opposite during the V8 conversion of my MGB. Green to yellow. It probably hurts the value to do a color change (more on a 914 than an MGB), but for some it beats living with a color you don't like.

How about if we establish a high brow panel of experts to determine if the owner of a car has the right to do a color change?

To each their own...but I would have color-changed that 914 to Irish Green or a very dark non-metallic blue in a heartbeat—as either would look GREAT with that interior—so long as I could afford to do it the right way (which means no yellow left, anywhere). Which is the only thing that prevented me from color-changing my 914 from Bahia to Irish back in high school.

I respect those who cherish really original cars, and I do too. But my take for the rest is simple: As long as there are some "reference" cars out there, in super original shape, the rest of us can play as we like to. They're just cars...and the ones that need a lot of work aren't reference cars, or original, anyway...

Yep - except my car IS yellow... I bought in red, but it left the factory in white.

After 50 years, it almost surely needed paint at some point along the way (crashed or not).

Not a big deal, really.

The whole numbers-matching/original color = value thing continues to elude me. Give me a nice car in decent shape with salvage title at a bargain price and I will happily buy it & drive it. Then sell it at a similar discount later on (or not).

Because Silver 914s are ugly that’s why I changed color.

Well at least it appears to be a quality job with a good finish,not so bad if only the interior floors haven't been repainted.

my point is that one can NEVER get a good job with a color change unless the car is stripped to a bare body shell and media blasted. I actually did that to one of my roadsters years ago because I wanted it to match my 84 guards red cabriolet. It was originally white then yellow when I got it

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it is very very obvious that you did it correctly, just a lot of work. Looks great. I LOVE my bgts (notice that the lighter white one (paint not good) has been color changed from old english white to american white!


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I don't hate yellow, but I also changed my car from silver to Alaska Blue Metallic.
So glad I did!!

I don't mind the white and/or Ivory color on these cars especially this one with the orange trim, looks nice. I have seen all white 914s and if I were to buy one would put the black porsche letters on the side so it would have some nice trim to it.

I believe owners should be able to do whatever they want to their car. I took my original '71 Six, a rare 1 of 4 metallic gold car, and had it media blasted, rust repaired, etc. and changed it to Irish Green because that was what my wife and I wanted. Of course, this was done the right way so you will never find a speck of metallic gold on that car anywhere. I am sure some purists wanted to have me burned at the stake for that - but I am a big boy and can take the flack.

I do agree that if you can't do it correctly, you should strongly consider leaving it the stock color. Nothing looks worse than seeing a red car, for example, with yellow showing through on the door jambs, chips in the hood etc.

72 orig. Tangerine,,every Once in a while I think it would be nice...

I guess we will never be friends then.

It's funny. Decades ago my wife bought a 914 that was red but the trunks were still the original Delphi Green. Every time I opened the trunk I was glad the car was red because the green looked so ugly. Now I would love to had a delphi 914 and prefer it to red. People can change and so can colors.

Ohhh - tasty. Nice work @DickSteinkamp

Gotta say, that forest green is very striking. I can see why the previous owner picked that color.

I color changed a car from one shade of blue to another. I was happy with it for the first five years and then slowly came to regret the decision.

@Coondog ....not my car, but I’m just saying! One of my all time favorites. Click to view attachment

I wanted to change the color when I had my '71/6 done but didn't for the reasons others have listed and wanted to keep it "original". The hypocrisy is that the rear fenders needed work so I had them modified to allow clearance for 15x8s. I also had the front side markers deleted. So much for original. Given another chance this little fucher would be chartreuse instead of silver. Not that there's anything wrong with silver mind you... So my only opinion on this (as if anyone cares...) is that if you're going to change color do it right and leave no trace of the previous shade...Click to view attachment

the factory color changed this one from white to silver, and blacked out all of the places that the white would show except for the floor boards, they are still white!!!!Click to view attachment

this car was color changed from ancona blue, guess they guy had a lot of white paint on handClick to view attachment

the factory color changed this many times!Click to view attachment

My car was originally Irish Green. Some PO, some time (I assume in the 80's) did a cheap re-spray to something resembling Bahia Red. I've kind of gone with it by respraying the underside and in other places that weren't resprayed, like below:

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I definitely need a new paint job, and I never considered going back to original Irish Green. I never really liked it. When it's dull and faded, it just looks old (70's in a bad way). HOWEVER, Having seen Cairo's car with it's fresh Irish Green, I may be changing my mind. His car is beautiful. Maybe I can go "Christmas Tree" with red underbody and Irish Green up top

Cairo's car

My 914 is originally white, the PO painted it orange, the door jambs are orange, but the interior trunks and engine bay was very carefully masked off and left white. It actually works quite well, only 914 owners have ever noticed.

Now for double blasphemy, I'm going to wrap the wife's teen.

Why do you prefer the red crayon? Because you like it.

I guess the upside is that 914s are going up in value enough that we start finally appreciating originality.

I will still do to my 914 what makes me happy. As should all. The fails will only help the value of the OG.

Knew that was going to open up a can of worms.........
Nothing against Silver personally, it just doesn’t make a car pop for me. My top 914 colors are Red, Yellow, Blue, which I don’t have..

I changed my car from Malaga Red to Mexico Blue. It’s not a 914 color ever offered, but rather a 911 color from an earlier year. I wasn’t shooting for originality and I wanted something that really popped and screamed 70’s sports car.

I will say this in perhaps the spirit of your original post. When I did my color change, the entire car (and I mean everything) was stripped to bare metal. That is because I strongly feel that if you’re going to do a color change, at least do the job right.

I would maybe change it to a same year model factory color. A stretch maybe to a 911 factory color of that year. There's a magic to keeping this cars appearing as close to new. Nostalgia element pays when you sell a classic car. I know that quite well. Modify it in any way that is for a specific taste and you'll have a hard time finding someone with your own tastes.

Wow another color saga (good not bad thing). Interesting comments by all but as many of you said if the color is not your favourite change it to something you like knowing it may affect value in the future. The exception has to be original and salvageable paint which needs to stay the same, that's more of a preservation than restoration issue.

Thems fightin’ words.
I searched specifically to find a silver car. Of course, you can see that I’m biased. I agree that in bright daylight the silver cars wash out and the primary color cars have a lot more pop. But move it indoors and the silver really highlights the curves on the car.
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Appears the good DR has gone quiet due to amount of guys that have colour changed,@ the end of the day it is what the owners wants to do as mentioned I like my silver but would like Ivory White because it is so serviceable and easy to touch up and it works for these cars.
My last full resto (and last) was a 87 euro Golf GTI in Alpine White looked really sharp.

I couldn’t agree more. I just HATE it. Maybe I’ll paint it pink just for you.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s what makes the world go round. It’s why we all have so many flavors of ice cream. It’s not a one size fits all. Some like their car original, others modified... some it’s all about show, others it’s about go.

For me it’s about originality. I’d rather have a car as it came from the factory. And if I ever did sell it, it would probably be purchased by someone who thought the same.

Each to their own, my car had had a colour change at some point, originally red, it had been repainted in a metallic green. Dylan thought it might have been a Pontiac colour.
I wanted a period colour and like Green so chose Zambesi.
There are Porsche Greens that I prefer but they weren't 914 colours or correct for the model year so I stuck with Zambesi.
I actually changed my mind the day after ordering the paint and was going to go for Irish green but my paint guy had already mixed the paint so it was a done deal.

are you the guy in the shorty shorts?

My car was originally silver, then red, then black when I got it ( Earl Shieb?) so after looking at the bad paint I decided to tear it down and start over....with SO
After being neglected for 9 years it's finally getting put back together!Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

NO I HAVEN'T!!!! just had too many tech calls coming in! (not that I mind them keep the calls coming!)


I certainly agree that it is the owners right to change the color to what ever one he likes and we cannot chastise him about it unless asked for an opinion, but as previously stated, color changing is incredibly hard to do, very very few ever do it properly, and it horribly devalues the car, and is twice as hard to change it back.

My neighbor shipped his Testarossa back to Ferrari to have it changed from red to yellow. Go figure. I wonder what that cost.

My car is original black with a respray in the 80s. It looks terrible now. I live in the Vegas desert. I will not be painting it black when the time comes. With the engine swap I am free to pick any color, but I am looking to keep it in the family

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My 74' 914 was originally painted L96M- Marathon Blue. It was owned by a woman in California, and was stolen in the mid 90's. It was recovered without any mechanical or physical damage. However, the woman, as in a house burglary, felt the car was 'dirty', and would not drive it until it was completely stripped and repainted. She chose a blue champagne color, not a Porsche color. I have received many compliments about the color, even though I would have preferred the original factory color. Here is the car today:Click to view attachment

Ok so if my car was in great shape and has original paint, matching numbers, etc. I would have gone a different route. But none of the above was true with it.

72 originally Silver, then Orange, then Black and back to silver. The amount of money I have invested I will never get back IF I ever considered selling it but this car will never be sold and will be given to my son at some point. So I guess he's stuck with the color or choice to change it back.

It's a color from a GT4 I love it and am very happy with it. There is not a spec of the old colors since it was completely stripped to bare metal.

Does it reduce the value having done this? To me - NO. To potential buyer most likely.

But it's not for sale so who cares.

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