I don't mean to restart an old argument (well, maybe a little), but I love the front corner of the 914, especially without the US side marker light wart. For me, some isolated design details are really what makes the car, like the curve of the rear side window on a 911.

That looks so right! When I had mine removed I found that the fender looked to have a curvature that wasn’t apparent with the wart in place.

I agree, the car looks much better to my eye without the warts.

Yep a 914 without warts takes on so much more beauty.....

Yes, I agree. On my first 2 914-6's I removed the warts, welded patches in and loved the look. I could not bring myself to have the warts removed on this 6.

That is one of the two things I wish I did, remove the marker lights and remove the antenna.

Would Teddy Roosevelt still be Teddy without the signature mustache? Would the Chrysler Building still be the same without its art-deco top? Of course not. Then why remove the signature elements of U.S.A.-imported 914s? The warts are part and parcel to the 914 story and testify to their 1970s heritage when safety regulations were in flux and on-the fly adaptions to meet them were being made by the auto manufacturers. I am not a fan of the 75-76 big rubber bumpers, but if I owned one of those model years I would not remove them- its part of the story. I own a '74 with rear tits, another safety adaptation some people don't like, but I will not remove them, as it makes the '74 unique and readily identifiable.

Ansbacher

Here's ten bucks Now go downtown and have a rat chew that off your face

Guess this is one of those elective surgery things. It does not need to be done, maybe it shouldn't be done as it is part of the personality, but you're sure glad you did it afterwards.

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I was just voicing my own opinion. I will assume your comment was said in jest...?

Ansbacher

I’m really surprised no one in the community has developed a low profile side marker light… seems like something spoke and 914 rubber should collaborate on!

Just a uncle buck quote

I agree. Something that is frenched.

give it a few more years and wart cars will be rare = desirable?
isn't that how it works with car collectors?

30 years ago i used to look at the warts and tits on my 74 and sideways at a flat chested euro 73 a mate of mine owned and think surgically.
these days i am with @Ansbacher .
i get a kick out of being one of the last ugly americans in australia.
but i got nothing against plastic surgery.

I’m just saying guys: flush mount lens and housing from 914 rubber and a thin LED board from spokeworks…

thats the 924 (944?) genes you once owned coming out?
but.......you are right. the flush mount on the 924 usa markers is pretty good.
no side markers on aussie 924s!

warts or not. i was out for a run this arvo and its pretty cold down here right now.
had the top off.
heater on full.
smile from ear to ear.
pulled into servo to top up the gas.
had some old guy about my age in a subaru forester in front of me at the pumps.
he was all over the car.
almost beside himself at seeing one.
the warts did not seem to bother him.
i tell you these cars, whether surgically enhanced or not are coming into their own.



--------FINALLY. (my taste 30 years ago cannot now be questioned )

That looks great, really wished I had done that before I painted mine!

Something like the old dodge side light.

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https://fpautoparts.com/Exterior-Body/1968-...ecaAsaWEALw_wcB

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How low? I went stealth. Easy to do too.

Looks great @bbrock but I was talking about a flush fit in the OEM location, no body work required.

Seems our producers aren’t following this thread though…

personally, I've evolved over the years to liking the warts now


.

can a 924 front flush wart fit into the hole in the 914 guard.
don't see any US spec 924s down here to compare wart size to know.
but is that a possibility to simply fit a 924 unit.

down here the 924 had the side indicator unit mounted behind front wheel arch in guard.
haven't seen a 924 for ages here. almost rarer than a 914, so few are there left around.

I just looked them up. Hard to tell without measuring or throwing down the cash to see. But you are right on with the design cue. That would be perfect for a 914. US OE looks but a more streamlined appearance from oblique angles.

Prefer the look with them removed, but wouldn't remove side markers from any 914 of significant originality. I removed them on my six conversion, but the whole 914 had already been messed with.

Also understand being able to see the marker from the side, but the front lenses seem to pop out enough they are easy to see at dusk/night from the side, even from a blind spot you can see the. Side markers, while required, seemed a bit redundant.

I'm of like mind. Seems clear the Porsche design team preferred the cars without them and the markers were a regulatory afterthought. Still, removing them was a hard decision since I wanted to keep my car original. It is the only "non reversible" alteration I made. I was resolved to keep the markers until I stripped off some old 70s era bodywork of swiss cheesing panels full of holes and laying on Bondo a half inch thick. The rot that left behind around the side marker holes made the decision for me. Much easier to patch with fresh sheet metal than to patch and then carefully redrill holes to add something ugly to the sides.

For me, it is an either/or thing. While changing to a low profile marker would improve the look, it still breaks the beautiful curve that is revealed with their absence. My decision to install stealth markers was purely a safety decision. After contemplating the side illumination of the front signals, I decided they were probably adequate, but side visibility is definitely improved with side markers. In the land of dark mountain roads and Montana-sized trucks, my little toy car needs all the help it can get. I really like the combo of the euro signals with LED bulbs and the stealth amber side markers. It makes for a good daytime running light combo increasing visibility from front and sides while keeping the headlights down. Sure, the illusion of originality is blown when those makers light up, and I don't like the disco bling look of them, but much prefer it to being side swiped.

yes - interesting thing about the USA side markers is that they are also passive reflectors.

i do like your stealth side markers. very very neat.

my old type 3 squareback i owned back in the 80s was a german manufacture import.
they sold both aus assembled type3s down here and german manufactured fully imported. the german ones were neat as they had little parking lights incorporated into the belt line chrome on the sides of the car. this was a split lens light with a red rear section and a white front section. when you parked the car on the side of the road at night in low vis situations you could flick the indicator switch up or down with the ignition off and the light would come on just on that side of the car to help make it visible.

i can't remember anymore if this was also how the original side marker USA lights worked as i rewired my 914 thirty years ago to get it to conform enough to aus standards.
do the side markers also come on just on one side with USA lights if you have ignition off and indicator stalk up or down?

In full agreement. They're only "original" once.

I would never remove my warts. I don’t disagree that it looks cleaner with out them, but it is part of the cars funky personality.

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Since almost every panel on my car was either straightened, patched, or replaced, I did not feel resistant to shave the warts. I probably would not do that on an "all original" car. But I still would think that the warts are ugly.

@bkrantz - yep your car looks great without them.
not like its a customization, just reduced it back to its pure european form. very nice.


in defence of warts. i think there is a kind of happy german functionalism to the way they did them thats dead on with the spirit of the era. at least with the narrow body cars.

however............they got into strife with the 914/6s with the flared guards from the factory. those warts ended up in a really bad spot visually? i'd be removing those if i had one. they just don't look happy.

Whatever floats your boat but I removed them on both of mine and have euro lenses and lights F & R thanks to Spoke. Just prefer the euro look even though I know they're not original to the USA. Not planning on entering a national PCA concours anytime soon. Did enough of that in the '70's and '80's and I've run out of Q-tips...

I also have always thought the compromize solution would be a low profile lens. The 924 light is an intriguing possibility.

Any 924 owners willing to take a few measurements?

This might be possible, went out a pulled a tape and it will cover everything. Large center hole on body would need to be enlarged to 2".


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Agree, I like the clean look, no warts.Click to view attachment

Was trying to find a picture of a flared 914 with side markers. They are slightly lower and more forward I think?

Anybody have a picture?

I've got a picture of Peter Gregg's 916 my BIL took at Daytona many years ago somewhere... yes, they are slightly lower and more forward because of the fender flares.
I think that car is now in GA, so George should be able to provide a newer picture...

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Ouch--that looks worse.

@bkrantz - no its not a good look at all is it.

Seems like low profile side markers would be pretty easy to fabricate. I'm in for a pair if they are ever produced.

When I did my P1800 (restomod) I eliminated the huge and hideous side marker lights with simple LEDs from eBay… that were inspired by modern side markers I’d seen on certain Ferraris. These are at the front, the rears completely gone.