Hello everyone, have a question on originality, could a person get a 74’ 2.0 car with out factory sway bars? The car does not have a center counsel, but my understanding is the counsels were optional. The sway bars in particular, Have me perplexed....

Yes on the no sway bar.
Consoles were part of the appearance group package

'73 2.0 was loaded up. '74 options were more ala carte

Going to disagree a little here. 73 2.0 originally included the Appearance Group package in the base price so most of the early to mid-73 2 liters had it (included console, sway bars, Fuchs, fogs, vinyl sails, chrome bumpers, and probably something I'm forgetting). Sometime mid-73 the Appearance Group became an extra cost option. There was a "Sport" or "Performance" package offered that included center console, Fuchs, sway bars, but none of the other appearance group stuff. They had black bumpers and black rear roll bar trim.. My car has an April 73 birth date and is a Sport package car so some time before that is probably when the Appearance package became an extra cost option.

This ^^^^^^

Its not a simple answer. Check out the WS (window stickers) found here for the reality.

https://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/WindowStickers.htm

Fuchs were not part of the AG, but they may have been included N/C for some vehicles.

I believe dual horns were in there as well as part of the appearance group?

You also have to remember that the 914 came with 5 Fuchs from the factory. But the dealers would take the spare out of 4 cars and swap them for the steel wheels on one car so they could sell it for more money.

Wes Hildreth talked about that all the time. Give the shop porter a jack, a torque wrench and 30 minutes, and you can mark the car up with the price of the Fuchs.

My 74 is an early 74. It was a 2.0 and it had the appearance group on it, so everything for appearance (center console, fuchs (actually got all 5), chrome bumpers, fogs, dual horns, but no sway bars.

Fuchs and chrome bumpers were not part of the AG for 1974, they were separate options at extra cost.

This explains a lot to me.


I had 2 914s with 4spoke Fuchs. One (purchased in Chicago) had a steel spare. the other, which I purchased in Thousand Oaks CA from a private seller had 5 4spokes.

I came home one day to my car on milk crates (open garage - Hermosa Beach) and it's 4 spokes missing. In case you ever wondered where that Beetle got those Fuchs? Now you know. I then went and had to buy 3 replacement, which i remember being very weird at the time. ('79)

Never understood why I had 5 with one car and 4 in the other......now we know!!

Thank you,
CTC911CTC