after 16 years of storage its back up and running.
had this for 31 years.
picked it up in chicago when i lived there back in late 80s/early 90s.
off the first owner.
brought it back to aus with me.
its largely original. 40k miles.
where its not original is i had to convert it to rhd. did that back in 92-93.
thats another story if anyone is interested.
rest of it is showroom stock and untouched.
just finished doing a clay bar deep clean on the phoenix red.
got to the end of today and i was back in 1974.
got inspired by 50th hoo hah. been at it since october last year.
co-vid lockdown got me some extra "vacation" time on the project.
keep on 914-ing all of you.
don't know if this image will work but giving it a try.
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Full Version: recommissioned.
WOW.. ah the days gone by nose up stance....looks right off the lot new..
Nice looking car. If you have pics and info on the RHD conversion it would be great to see how you did it.
@sixnotfour . yes, its sitting up too high at front. replaced all shocks. no more boges so its running on biltsteins. boges are in the box with everything else that has ever come off the car. you can still read the 1974 date stamps on the strut towers. we set it up level but have been running it around the block and its resettling so it will all get reset up.
@Bpic . i will see what i can find. when the conversion was done it was a world pre digital cameras and iphones so not much in archive. but i can verbal it. the conversion was done painstakingly and using an original crayfords car as a model (there were two and still are two in australia). the crayfords car belonged to a good mate who has since passed away. bless his soul, he was the original 914 man of aus. but i have some pics showing the firewall which we uncovered again from recent work since we have rebuilt the entire fuel system. plastic fuel lines were well past expiry date. let me just say converting a 914 to rhd drive is just about the most crazy thing you can do (but i was young then and determined), but its better than driving in the gutter, which i did for a while on special permits. these days you do not have to do it in aus if the car is on historic plates. but its no fun on a narrow country road gutter driving. in a funny sort of way i am glad i did it. i will expand later on why a lhd drive vw or porsche is ultimately always better than a rhd vw or porsche, factory or not. its all to do with the stretch to the clutch pedal. and i have driven vws all my life. rhd drive and lhd drive.
@Bpic . i will see what i can find. when the conversion was done it was a world pre digital cameras and iphones so not much in archive. but i can verbal it. the conversion was done painstakingly and using an original crayfords car as a model (there were two and still are two in australia). the crayfords car belonged to a good mate who has since passed away. bless his soul, he was the original 914 man of aus. but i have some pics showing the firewall which we uncovered again from recent work since we have rebuilt the entire fuel system. plastic fuel lines were well past expiry date. let me just say converting a 914 to rhd drive is just about the most crazy thing you can do (but i was young then and determined), but its better than driving in the gutter, which i did for a while on special permits. these days you do not have to do it in aus if the car is on historic plates. but its no fun on a narrow country road gutter driving. in a funny sort of way i am glad i did it. i will expand later on why a lhd drive vw or porsche is ultimately always better than a rhd vw or porsche, factory or not. its all to do with the stretch to the clutch pedal. and i have driven vws all my life. rhd drive and lhd drive.
What is "driving in the gutter"? There was another chap in Ireland that converted his to RHD 2-3 years ago. He detailed most of that build here.
QUOTE(76-914 @ May 6 2020, 06:45 AM) 
What is "driving in the gutter"? There was another chap in Ireland that converted his to RHD 2-3 years ago. He detailed most of that build here.
Haha, it's where you are driving on the road next to the gutter vs sitting next to the dividing lines of the road. I have to do this sometimes when in Suriname (borrowing a car) which is tough as its also confusing when turning or driving thru a roundabout.
Great work.
thanks for explaining what i meant Bleyseng.
had a laugh when realised unintended meaning.
yes it can also be dangerous to be lhd in a rhd country.
particularly in a 914 - the targa bar is a big blind spot when you arrive at an intersection or a roundabout and you are turning left giving way to traffic coming from the right. particularly if the car is slightly angled at the intersection as you often are.
(think right hand turn in america, but imagine yourself in a rhd drive car doing it).
road safety issues were the reason australia did not allow left hand drive cars to be road registered in most states until relatively recently. now they can be registered on restricted historic plates as a member of a club for the purpose of anachronistic recreation.
i'll try take some reasonable interior shots of rhd configuration today and post.
there are a few rhd 914s get around in australia. originally there were approx 4 in total here in the 1970s. two were imported via the australian distributor as assessment cars and ultimately converted in their workshops. both were 6s. another two were brought in via private import and were converted to rhd first in the uk by crayfords.
a good number came in during the late 80s to the late 90s. for the most part converted here. and now you seen a few lhd 914s getting around on historic plates.
had a laugh when realised unintended meaning.
yes it can also be dangerous to be lhd in a rhd country.
particularly in a 914 - the targa bar is a big blind spot when you arrive at an intersection or a roundabout and you are turning left giving way to traffic coming from the right. particularly if the car is slightly angled at the intersection as you often are.
(think right hand turn in america, but imagine yourself in a rhd drive car doing it).
road safety issues were the reason australia did not allow left hand drive cars to be road registered in most states until relatively recently. now they can be registered on restricted historic plates as a member of a club for the purpose of anachronistic recreation.
i'll try take some reasonable interior shots of rhd configuration today and post.
there are a few rhd 914s get around in australia. originally there were approx 4 in total here in the 1970s. two were imported via the australian distributor as assessment cars and ultimately converted in their workshops. both were 6s. another two were brought in via private import and were converted to rhd first in the uk by crayfords.
a good number came in during the late 80s to the late 90s. for the most part converted here. and now you seen a few lhd 914s getting around on historic plates.
Very cool and I had heard a former ravenna 73 of mine ended up in Australia but never any real trace. There can't be all that many LHD or converted 914s there in total I figure.
I had heard a former ravenna 73 of mine ended up in Australia but never any real trace. There can't be all that many LHD or converted 914s there in total I figure.
Great to see another 914 back on the road here, well done!
Bought mine from Ca. in ‘88 and converted it to rhd and a six as soon as I got it. Didn’t think the rhd conversion was all that difficult at the time but wouldn’t bother now given the changes in rego rules.
Bought mine from Ca. in ‘88 and converted it to rhd and a six as soon as I got it. Didn’t think the rhd conversion was all that difficult at the time but wouldn’t bother now given the changes in rego rules.
Great looking car.
Always liked this RHD 
@ sixnotfour - i like that one too. 917s were rhd too.
1989 & 2020
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1989 & 2020
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ext 1989 & 2020. same paint. factory. cleaned up ok.
@ phillsteck, might see you around, but i haven't been to sydney for 20 years and probably won't get there ever again. i do like sydney kind of. glad you had it easy on the conversion. i found it a little difficult and it was interesting confronting it again.
replacing the fuel lines got us fair and square in conflict with the handbrake guide tubes which were perfectly mirrored 30 years ago, right in the way of what i had to bend up to get to the fuel pump. which had to be replaced and caused yet another piping headache.
(might try and get the original rebuilt but i think its eternally kaput.
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@ phillsteck, might see you around, but i haven't been to sydney for 20 years and probably won't get there ever again. i do like sydney kind of. glad you had it easy on the conversion. i found it a little difficult and it was interesting confronting it again.
replacing the fuel lines got us fair and square in conflict with the handbrake guide tubes which were perfectly mirrored 30 years ago, right in the way of what i had to bend up to get to the fuel pump. which had to be replaced and caused yet another piping headache.
(might try and get the original rebuilt but i think its eternally kaput.
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discovered this along the way in the recommission installing new shocks.
hidden under the undercoating overspray.
date stamped 22/01/1974 (or in a america-lish - 01/22/1974. struts date stamped 4 days before car was produced on 26/01/1974.
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hidden under the undercoating overspray.
date stamped 22/01/1974 (or in a america-lish - 01/22/1974. struts date stamped 4 days before car was produced on 26/01/1974.
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Nice. I have a silver '72 here in W.A. Only 914 I've ever seen is my own. Didn't bother converting to RHD but considered it, have now adapted okay but it does feel a bit weird at times.
Is that dash a cut up original then re-joined and then covered with vinyl? Or what method did you use?
The main problem I have here is that there are not enough corners and they keep "improving" the roads by making them straighter.
Is that dash a cut up original then re-joined and then covered with vinyl? Or what method did you use?
The main problem I have here is that there are not enough corners and they keep "improving" the roads by making them straighter.
g'day midway.
i lived in WA for two years 93 to 94. worked at UWA in perth when first back from usa. i liked perth, it felt remote from the rest of aus. the indian ocean is beautiful.
my 914 was with me. there was one other 914 in perth at the time. belonged to a mechanic at a VW workshop called Arnoldi's.
re dashboard. i believe it actually comes via WA (along the way), the dash is a complete fibreglass unit. the mould was available to guys around melbourne converting the cars in the late 80s/early 90s. reputedly the mould was a crayfords unit sent out to australia (to perth according to story or myth) for a licensee to convert 914s for the australian market when the cars were new.
where it differs from crayfords original finished dashboard of the 1970s is the ash tray has been incorporated (bit of work if i remember right) and its not hand glued and hand stitched leather covering as they did. we did a full vinyl vacuum wrap. its not two piece like a factory dash where the top padded section is fitted down on to the top of lower metal dash (which has its own section of padded vinyl competing the section to the windscreen. the lower dash knee padding and air vents are re-used. the chrome trim strip removed and refixed from left to right. the heater blower controls cannot be repositioned precisely as per a factory mirror because the firewall swings in and restricts space so it ends up slightly closer to steering wheel than original. barely noticeable.
the guage panel moves across and is reused intact. strangely crayfords and some aus conversions go to the trouble of mirroring the instrument pod by swapping speedo for aux instruments. i didn't. i did what the factory does for 911 rhd cars. instrument guage layout is same for lhd or rhd - its never mirrored, just on left or on right.
the sapphire radio could not go back in, would not fit, upper fire wall too close. still have it in a box. and the glovebox is just big enough for a pair of giant jackie onassis sunglasses if you need to store such a thing, but not much else can fit in there. fuse board was left in original position and wiring extended across to switches and guages.
crayfords and some other converters moved the fuses. its much of muchness whether you do or you don't. if you look at a lot of european cars sold in australia in genuine rhd factory state the fusebox is always on the left still. especially french cars.
i have seen cars here that were converted by sectioning and welding the dash. that can work for the metal pressing that is the backbone for the dash. is a lot of work. i have also seen sectioned upper padded elements that were then re-skinned. but the join and glue lines are often evident and visible in side light.
the pedals are an area where people did do different things. most conversions i have seen along the way seem to use a rhd 911 pedal cluster. all good except the 911 is a narrower car in terms of its interior with the drivers seat closer to the centre line of the car. we reworked the original pedal cluster in exactly the same way crayfords did. copied a crayfords cars that was here i had access to.
you are correct, doubt anyone would do a right drive 914 in australia ever again since club rego made it possible to be lhd.
i lived in WA for two years 93 to 94. worked at UWA in perth when first back from usa. i liked perth, it felt remote from the rest of aus. the indian ocean is beautiful.
my 914 was with me. there was one other 914 in perth at the time. belonged to a mechanic at a VW workshop called Arnoldi's.
re dashboard. i believe it actually comes via WA (along the way), the dash is a complete fibreglass unit. the mould was available to guys around melbourne converting the cars in the late 80s/early 90s. reputedly the mould was a crayfords unit sent out to australia (to perth according to story or myth) for a licensee to convert 914s for the australian market when the cars were new.
where it differs from crayfords original finished dashboard of the 1970s is the ash tray has been incorporated (bit of work if i remember right) and its not hand glued and hand stitched leather covering as they did. we did a full vinyl vacuum wrap. its not two piece like a factory dash where the top padded section is fitted down on to the top of lower metal dash (which has its own section of padded vinyl competing the section to the windscreen. the lower dash knee padding and air vents are re-used. the chrome trim strip removed and refixed from left to right. the heater blower controls cannot be repositioned precisely as per a factory mirror because the firewall swings in and restricts space so it ends up slightly closer to steering wheel than original. barely noticeable.
the guage panel moves across and is reused intact. strangely crayfords and some aus conversions go to the trouble of mirroring the instrument pod by swapping speedo for aux instruments. i didn't. i did what the factory does for 911 rhd cars. instrument guage layout is same for lhd or rhd - its never mirrored, just on left or on right.
the sapphire radio could not go back in, would not fit, upper fire wall too close. still have it in a box. and the glovebox is just big enough for a pair of giant jackie onassis sunglasses if you need to store such a thing, but not much else can fit in there. fuse board was left in original position and wiring extended across to switches and guages.
crayfords and some other converters moved the fuses. its much of muchness whether you do or you don't. if you look at a lot of european cars sold in australia in genuine rhd factory state the fusebox is always on the left still. especially french cars.
i have seen cars here that were converted by sectioning and welding the dash. that can work for the metal pressing that is the backbone for the dash. is a lot of work. i have also seen sectioned upper padded elements that were then re-skinned. but the join and glue lines are often evident and visible in side light.
the pedals are an area where people did do different things. most conversions i have seen along the way seem to use a rhd 911 pedal cluster. all good except the 911 is a narrower car in terms of its interior with the drivers seat closer to the centre line of the car. we reworked the original pedal cluster in exactly the same way crayfords did. copied a crayfords cars that was here i had access to.
you are correct, doubt anyone would do a right drive 914 in australia ever again since club rego made it possible to be lhd.
some images of firewall area. tank out for remaking fuel lines recently.
some surface rust starting was found down in the v joint below the fuel tank due to condensation maybe. on top metal surface of the cavity not bottom (underside -road surface). we went back over all the welds from when i converted it and gave seams etc some love/attention 30 years on. tight fit to bring the fuel lines through to the bottom of the tank.
you lose tank connections access port (or its severely reduced in size with conversion), so back then an access hole cut in the front truck firewall hidden behind the truck carpet to assist getting fuel lines on to the tank. the tank loses about half of its lower bulb and has reduced capacity.
some images from last few months. in one of them you can see mods to lower firewall from cabin side. evident where we have been attending to seams and welds. on lh side the original firewall and floor piece for the pedal mounting gets removed and moved across to right as part of the new drivers footwell. a replacement panel is folded and welded in.
another bit of useless information, but all this stuff is sheet steel and welded on my car. would not have thought to have done it any other way, neither would anyone else in the 80s and 90s. i've seen a crayfords car up close and they were pop rivetted panels with mastic sealant!!!!! some of the panels were sheet steel but one of the firewall panels was a fibreglass moulding. no welding! the 1970s!?
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
some surface rust starting was found down in the v joint below the fuel tank due to condensation maybe. on top metal surface of the cavity not bottom (underside -road surface). we went back over all the welds from when i converted it and gave seams etc some love/attention 30 years on. tight fit to bring the fuel lines through to the bottom of the tank.
you lose tank connections access port (or its severely reduced in size with conversion), so back then an access hole cut in the front truck firewall hidden behind the truck carpet to assist getting fuel lines on to the tank. the tank loses about half of its lower bulb and has reduced capacity.
some images from last few months. in one of them you can see mods to lower firewall from cabin side. evident where we have been attending to seams and welds. on lh side the original firewall and floor piece for the pedal mounting gets removed and moved across to right as part of the new drivers footwell. a replacement panel is folded and welded in.
another bit of useless information, but all this stuff is sheet steel and welded on my car. would not have thought to have done it any other way, neither would anyone else in the 80s and 90s. i've seen a crayfords car up close and they were pop rivetted panels with mastic sealant!!!!! some of the panels were sheet steel but one of the firewall panels was a fibreglass moulding. no welding! the 1970s!?
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
QUOTE(wonkipop @ May 8 2020, 08:48 AM)
some images of firewall area. tank out for remaking fuel lines recently.
some surface rust starting was found down in the v joint below the fuel tank due to condensation maybe. on top metal surface of the cavity not bottom (underside -road surface). we went back over all the welds from when i converted it and gave seams etc some love/attention 30 years on. tight fit to bring the fuel lines through to the bottom of the tank.
you lose tank connections access port (or its severely reduced in size with conversion), so back then an access hole cut in the front truck firewall hidden behind the truck carpet to assist getting fuel lines on to the tank. the tank loses about half of its lower bulb and has reduced capacity.
some images from last few months. in one of them you can see mods to lower firewall from cabin side. evident where we have been attending to seams and welds. on lh side the original firewall and floor piece for the pedal mounting gets removed and moved across to right as part of the new drivers footwell. a replacement panel is folded and welded in.
another bit of useless information, but all this stuff is sheet steel and welded on my car. would not have thought to have done it any other way, neither would anyone else in the 80s and 90s. i've seen a crayfords car up close and they were pop rivetted panels with mastic sealant!!!!! some of the panels were sheet steel but one of the firewall panels was a fibreglass moulding. no welding! the 1970s!?
Looks like you’re in Melbourne, going by your pics. Great city with arguably the best coffee in the world.
Cut my dash up into 6 pieces, welded it back up and then vacuum vinyled it. Biggest issue for me was the tank/firewall modification. Ended up with rust issues in the tank that caused untold problems with carb jets even with 3 fuel filters in line. Solved it by fabricating a new tank in aluminium.
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@ phillstek
coffees just as good in sydney from what i hear.
and was last time i was there two decades ago.
love sydney's harbour and clear pacific sky. its beautiful.
i hear its a traffic nightmare these days. so is melbourne. though i enjoy driving in the lockdown. its a sunday in the late 1970s.
you can get real bad coffee in melbourne don't worry, from joints that look the look, walk the walk, but don't do the talk. its a myth. a myth from the 60s and 70s when only melbourne had real coffee.
best coffee i've had was in brisbane about 10 years ago. they try very hard to get it right.
we had to treat inside the fuel tank when he had it out for this work.
can see potential for issues as you say.
have a second filter installed after the fuel pump, only customization of the stock 1.8 engine bay. i'm looking after the injectors having managed to get a set of unopened boschs from a guy in colorado. one of the fun jobs this time around was to exactly duplicate mad tangle of vacuum hose lines etc that greets eyeballs when you flp the lid on the L jetronic. a six looks like a work of majestic mechanical art in contrast.
but i love the proto electro tech of the L jetronic. its why i went after the 1.8 back in the day. everyone thought i was mad not wanting a six or wanting to convert it to a six.
still get it said to me. "you should put a six in that". or "you know what would be good - a leyland p76 v8".
i'm a geek. i like the 1.8 for the same reason i love the lunar module. its a piece of industrial archeology. numero uno of all modern fuel injection. it makes me smile whenever i look at the part number stamped on the air flow meter. bosch xyz uvw (whatever) 001. and catch a glimpse of the computer. its probably got about as much ram as a toaster or a.i. as a head temp. sensor in a modern car.
coffees just as good in sydney from what i hear.
and was last time i was there two decades ago.
love sydney's harbour and clear pacific sky. its beautiful.
i hear its a traffic nightmare these days. so is melbourne. though i enjoy driving in the lockdown. its a sunday in the late 1970s.
you can get real bad coffee in melbourne don't worry, from joints that look the look, walk the walk, but don't do the talk. its a myth. a myth from the 60s and 70s when only melbourne had real coffee.
best coffee i've had was in brisbane about 10 years ago. they try very hard to get it right.
we had to treat inside the fuel tank when he had it out for this work.
can see potential for issues as you say.
have a second filter installed after the fuel pump, only customization of the stock 1.8 engine bay. i'm looking after the injectors having managed to get a set of unopened boschs from a guy in colorado. one of the fun jobs this time around was to exactly duplicate mad tangle of vacuum hose lines etc that greets eyeballs when you flp the lid on the L jetronic. a six looks like a work of majestic mechanical art in contrast.
but i love the proto electro tech of the L jetronic. its why i went after the 1.8 back in the day. everyone thought i was mad not wanting a six or wanting to convert it to a six.
still get it said to me. "you should put a six in that". or "you know what would be good - a leyland p76 v8".
i'm a geek. i like the 1.8 for the same reason i love the lunar module. its a piece of industrial archeology. numero uno of all modern fuel injection. it makes me smile whenever i look at the part number stamped on the air flow meter. bosch xyz uvw (whatever) 001. and catch a glimpse of the computer. its probably got about as much ram as a toaster or a.i. as a head temp. sensor in a modern car.
gone geek on the tyres too philstek.
wanted the feel back. got another car i regular drive for thrills (rs clio 172).
914 had rock hard sp57s on it when i bought it back in 89. suspect they could have been originals. didn't think to keep them, could have flogged them to concourse crowd for ornamental spares?! have put some xas-es on. they feel great but are still a little waxy. the steering is feather light and wriggly. they feel pretty soft, as were i am told fresh new SP57s back in the day. my tyre man, an old guy, told me the SP57s were the first great tyre to come out of the japanese tyre plants. a really good rally tyre. must have been why so many north american porsches had them fitted at that time.
some 911 boys i know who like to drive hard with purist equipment say the xas are still a good tyre - sticky. mind you i think they run 185s and i have put 165s on. i shall see how it goes.
1/2 a century of michelins. they have come a long way.
Click to view attachment
wanted the feel back. got another car i regular drive for thrills (rs clio 172).
914 had rock hard sp57s on it when i bought it back in 89. suspect they could have been originals. didn't think to keep them, could have flogged them to concourse crowd for ornamental spares?! have put some xas-es on. they feel great but are still a little waxy. the steering is feather light and wriggly. they feel pretty soft, as were i am told fresh new SP57s back in the day. my tyre man, an old guy, told me the SP57s were the first great tyre to come out of the japanese tyre plants. a really good rally tyre. must have been why so many north american porsches had them fitted at that time.
some 911 boys i know who like to drive hard with purist equipment say the xas are still a good tyre - sticky. mind you i think they run 185s and i have put 165s on. i shall see how it goes.
1/2 a century of michelins. they have come a long way.
Click to view attachment
QUOTE(wonkipop @ May 8 2020, 06:16 AM)
g'day midway.
i lived in WA for two years 93 to 94. worked at UWA in perth when first back from usa. i liked perth, it felt remote from the rest of aus. the indian ocean is beautiful.
my 914 was with me. there was one other 914 in perth at the time. belonged to a mechanic at a VW workshop called Arnoldi's.
you are correct, doubt anyone would do a right drive 914 in australia ever again since club rego made it possible to be lhd.
Thanks for the comprehensive reply regarding the dash.
I met the Arnoldi man a couple of years ago, gave me his card. Not sure if he was the owner or the mechanic you mentioned.
My car is on normal rego.
Silver is also a good colour for a German car!
boy, thats a sweet looking car midway.
silver suits.
pedrini wheels are my favourite of the alloys.
in the 80s and 90s everyone seemed to want the fuchs on their cars in the usa, but back then those were my favourites. along with the mahles. suited the cars.
nice photo setting.
where is that in WA?
down south west somewhere?
hows the rego work in wa. probably works the same way here. only lhd 914s i've seen have been on historic plates. but that could just be because the owners want the cars on the plates for the deal on rego costs. i drove mine early on for about 18 months from time to time on temp. permits. you had to nominate a destination and the purpose had to be to seek quotations for engineering and mechanical work towards conversion. had to have a sign on the back of the car "LEFT HAND DRIVE" in letters six inches high and had to carry a passenger (presumably to look right for me). pain in the arse.
i'm guessing if you can be on normal rego lhd in WA you might be able to do that here as well, though i seem to recall that there has always been some provision for LHD cars in WA as i used to see them a bit from time to time. usually american cars from 60s and 70s. maybe off loaded by visiting us military staff at the bases up north in WA before they went back stateside.
the guy who owned a 914 in perth all those years ago was a mechanic who worked for arnoldi. from memory arnoldi himself had a karmann ghia (or two). the mechanics car was bought as a roughy imported in from cali and the guy had put a bit of time into it getting it looking clean and straight. he had done the conversion himself. i seem to remember it was over carbed and the engine was modified, he spent a bit of time trying to get it to run cleanly. but it was good seeing it around on the streets every now and then. once we drove past each other going opposite ways. probably the only time two 914s were seen on the same road at the same time in the history of WA.
silver suits.
pedrini wheels are my favourite of the alloys.
in the 80s and 90s everyone seemed to want the fuchs on their cars in the usa, but back then those were my favourites. along with the mahles. suited the cars.
nice photo setting.
where is that in WA?
down south west somewhere?
hows the rego work in wa. probably works the same way here. only lhd 914s i've seen have been on historic plates. but that could just be because the owners want the cars on the plates for the deal on rego costs. i drove mine early on for about 18 months from time to time on temp. permits. you had to nominate a destination and the purpose had to be to seek quotations for engineering and mechanical work towards conversion. had to have a sign on the back of the car "LEFT HAND DRIVE" in letters six inches high and had to carry a passenger (presumably to look right for me). pain in the arse.
i'm guessing if you can be on normal rego lhd in WA you might be able to do that here as well, though i seem to recall that there has always been some provision for LHD cars in WA as i used to see them a bit from time to time. usually american cars from 60s and 70s. maybe off loaded by visiting us military staff at the bases up north in WA before they went back stateside.
the guy who owned a 914 in perth all those years ago was a mechanic who worked for arnoldi. from memory arnoldi himself had a karmann ghia (or two). the mechanics car was bought as a roughy imported in from cali and the guy had put a bit of time into it getting it looking clean and straight. he had done the conversion himself. i seem to remember it was over carbed and the engine was modified, he spent a bit of time trying to get it to run cleanly. but it was good seeing it around on the streets every now and then. once we drove past each other going opposite ways. probably the only time two 914s were seen on the same road at the same time in the history of WA.
ps midway,
pleased to see you running the us spec front lenses.
i went to a lot of trouble to keep the all amber lenses.
had to build the parking lights into the pop up headlights with an old school (even then) sealed beam unit with the little porthole.
there was a lot of sweaty handed negotiation with the certifying engineer and reg authorities over whether it conformed because the headlights were pop ups. but he convinced them.
i remember some archane clause was found which granted exemption from conforming, rather than them being deemed to conform. strangely the engineer was really sympathetic to the car and convinced the "rules" man at the rego board. i think he thought it was great little car, kept referring to me as the man with the funny german car.
could not keep the us rear lenses. rear indicators had to be amber period.
most others here from that time that i have seen run euro lens set up with parking lights in the bottom half of the lens.
nearly all those cars owners also shaved the side markers off too since 100% of them were repainting the cars doing a resto as well as a conversion. the cars went from us spec to euro spec. there was a bit of taste involved as well.
i was sentimentally attached to the us spec stock look and was (am still) trying to preserve the car.
pleased to see you running the us spec front lenses.
i went to a lot of trouble to keep the all amber lenses.
had to build the parking lights into the pop up headlights with an old school (even then) sealed beam unit with the little porthole.
there was a lot of sweaty handed negotiation with the certifying engineer and reg authorities over whether it conformed because the headlights were pop ups. but he convinced them.
i remember some archane clause was found which granted exemption from conforming, rather than them being deemed to conform. strangely the engineer was really sympathetic to the car and convinced the "rules" man at the rego board. i think he thought it was great little car, kept referring to me as the man with the funny german car.
could not keep the us rear lenses. rear indicators had to be amber period.
most others here from that time that i have seen run euro lens set up with parking lights in the bottom half of the lens.
nearly all those cars owners also shaved the side markers off too since 100% of them were repainting the cars doing a resto as well as a conversion. the cars went from us spec to euro spec. there was a bit of taste involved as well.
i was sentimentally attached to the us spec stock look and was (am still) trying to preserve the car.
Just saw this on Gumtree- you might be interested?
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/drummoyne/o...wner/1247285824
I'm in Albany, nice place.
Up until a few years ago the big LHD label had to be on the car here also. For full registration purposes, basically just Euro taillights and the correct headlights are the only changes I had to perform from memory. New brake hoses and seatbelts plus a bit of fiddling around getting the reversing lights going and a couple of other minor things and she went through straight away.
Car is standard and has not given any problems. I have a factory anti-roll bar to put on the front and hope to find one for the rear also. Then Koni shocks all round is the current plan.
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/drummoyne/o...wner/1247285824
I'm in Albany, nice place.
Up until a few years ago the big LHD label had to be on the car here also. For full registration purposes, basically just Euro taillights and the correct headlights are the only changes I had to perform from memory. New brake hoses and seatbelts plus a bit of fiddling around getting the reversing lights going and a couple of other minor things and she went through straight away.
Car is standard and has not given any problems. I have a factory anti-roll bar to put on the front and hope to find one for the rear also. Then Koni shocks all round is the current plan.
thanks for thinking midway.
got one of those - very handy.
got a full set of factory manuals too that i have had for years.
they are super handy.
my 914 had sway bars front and rear out of the box.
makes them a lot better. about 25 years ago i drove one without them.
for some reason i don't really know (but the real history nerds on this site would) just about all the 1.8s from 74 i ever looked at back when i found this one seemed to be fully speced (apart from the engine) in the suspension department and even in terms of the external appearance package.
i've been in the hands of a fantastic mechanic this time around and get to use the workshop and work in there as well. its run/owned by a mate of mine. the mechanic in his early 40s loved working on the car. he redid the entire suspension for me. bushes, the lot. have installed softer bilsteins. konis could be real good because you can adjust. all worth doing. these cars come alive when the suspension is right. they are just fantastic. german lotus.
got one of those - very handy.
got a full set of factory manuals too that i have had for years.
they are super handy.
my 914 had sway bars front and rear out of the box.
makes them a lot better. about 25 years ago i drove one without them.
for some reason i don't really know (but the real history nerds on this site would) just about all the 1.8s from 74 i ever looked at back when i found this one seemed to be fully speced (apart from the engine) in the suspension department and even in terms of the external appearance package.
i've been in the hands of a fantastic mechanic this time around and get to use the workshop and work in there as well. its run/owned by a mate of mine. the mechanic in his early 40s loved working on the car. he redid the entire suspension for me. bushes, the lot. have installed softer bilsteins. konis could be real good because you can adjust. all worth doing. these cars come alive when the suspension is right. they are just fantastic. german lotus.
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