Here is the front sway bar found on our 1970 914-6. Someone saw the screws in an unrelated post and commented they weren't correct. Does anyone recognize this installation? I poked around several threads and am not seeing one like this. It is possible this a total hack given what I found in the rear. I'm wondering if I should remove it or just leave it alone.

I'm not doing a full restoration on the car, but have been putting anything I touch back as original as possible. The gas tank and front suspension are off the car at the moment.

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Not sure about the large screws, but the rest is factory. Have the same one on my -6.
(old picture prior to cleaning it up and repainting).
914Rubber has new inserts for the link rods.

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It looks like the stock bits, looking at the pic from fixer34’s post. So if you’re going for stock I’d leave it. The screws have made the holes you’ll need to bolt it back on once you’ve cleaned it up.

Stock bits but ghetto installation. I guess you can say that it held so far, without the screws enlarging the holes. Maybe the PO also glued the plates to the inner fender wall so they would not shift under load.

If you want factory installed you need to weld in the backing plates and get the proper bolts.

But if this held up then no need to mess with it.

If you where able to take the first picture, my guess is you already removed the gas tank and have access to the area, I would replace the bolts just for peace of mind, but as they previously said, it worked fine for some time now…
And to install it properly you will need the back plate… and new rubber, it looks a bit gone…

That's a novel approach for sure.
I can't believe it's held up ... not loosened.
Replace the sheet metal screws with machine screws and a nut plate or fender
washers on the back and you'll be good to go.

someone's less than stellar attempt to install a factory sway bar on a non sway bar equipped 914. AT LEAST install the reinforcement plates and the correct bolts. I would also make sure that the rear bar is installed slightly larger than what ever the front is for optimal four cylinder handling

Just because it held up this long…

Fix it.

Double post.

Got the bar and brackets out today. No glue. No reinforcement. I couldn't find any marks on the bar, but it was 15mm diameter.

Does the bottom hole serve any purpose in non-factory installs? It leads to a cavity in the frunk. In the videos I've watched, it doesn't seem to have anything on the inside to secure it.

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was 3-4 years ago i had mine apart. or at least as far apart to do the drop link bushings.
don't think we had it apart any further than that.
74 factory install sway bars from new.
i wasn't there the whole time my mechanic had the front end apart.
but every time i was there the stab bar was still in place in the fuel tank cavity.

the reinforcement plate is on the outside. (i'm pretty sure that is how it goes).
i have photos inside my fuel tank area from when i had it all apart but they are dark and blurry down in the area where the sway bar is. but i don't believe it was welded in on the inside of the tank recess going off memory).
welded in at factory. its got threaded holes.
the bolts don't have nuts from memory.
the holes in the reinforcement plate are threaded.
the bottom bolt just goes into the cavity.

don't think they ever changed it from start to finish of cars.

you can see the reinforcement plate in the photo despite undercoating.
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the guys who sell post factory install kits seem to do all this by welding in a nut on the bottom hole of the external plate and use a half reinforcement plate on the inside with two bolts and a nut for the top two fittings. sort of like factory but not quite.
i think they end up with more reinforcing in the modern kits.

ian karr has a video on you tube. look it up. how to make use of the bottom hole as the modern install kits do.

if it was me - while you have it all apart i would just grab a modern kit and get it all in there properly. doesn't look like your car had the reinforcement plate installed.
which i feel is well worth putting it!!!

parts manual makes it clearer.
it can be done the factory way.
i seem to remember a mate of mine did it to his 6 about 25 years ago.
i wasn't there to see how he did it but i recall he got his body work mate around to weld in the plates and it was an original factory kit he got hold of from the distributor down here in north antarctica.

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Here is aftermarket parts to install sway bar on a car that did not come with them, it make things easy.

https://914ltd.com/product/porsche-914-fron...-mount-bracket/

I think it would be better than what you had.

john

At least in later cars, the mounting nuts are all welded to the inner fender. If you're not going to do that, it's preferable (IMHO) to cut the top of the reinforcement tubing so you can get the full triangle with three weld-nuts into place inside the fender. If you think that might compromise the chassis, then weld material from the top of the reinforcement to the nut plate.

--DD

thats interesting that only later cars got the reinforcement.
looking closely at PET guess thats what it is saying too.
only lists 1.7s, 1.8s and 2.0s.

i found this image on an old thread here on a search.
matches with my memory of what was down there in my 74 when i had the tank out few years back. reinforcement was spot welded in ( to outer side of wheel well and the threaded sections (more like treaded tube than nuts came through drilled holes as did the centre hole for the bar). least that is what i sort of half remember.

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going by what you are saying dave, early cars including 6s did not get this reinforcement piece?

No, I'm only relating my experience on my car. I haven't torn down an early car that far to know.

--DD

There is no reinforcement in the early cars. Our 70 914-6 doesn't have it, and I can see the reason they added it in the later cars. Rusty put a front bar on the car, and the hole on the left side is torn out, so the bar is disconnected and only in there to fill the hole.

When we get the paint and body work done, it will be repaired and a stiffener added to make sure it doesn't happen again.

seems likely then @DennisV 's 6 has got an install the way you did them back in the early cars!

i noticed in the old thread i found the images of reinforcement plate in that there were other photos of cars that had a kind of tar patch over the spot and under that were the three small holes and larger central hole. but no reinforcement plate. i guess if you didn't tick sway bars on a later car you didn't get the plate either - you just got drilled holes and a "waterproof" seal. r p got welded in very early at bodyshell stage according to the build sheet for a car?

Difficult for OP to go with this as it not original and requires a fair amount of work to sort and he seems keen to keep it original as it's a real six,my cars a conversion and a lot of my upgrades make it a mongrel but certainly stuff you don't do with an original car if I ever had one .

The shelves in the tank well gets notched, the plate with nuts gets welded in and the outer plate sandwiches the well wheel. That’s the way Al Blose did it.

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Guess this brings up the debate about what is 'original'. I have this same front sway bar on my '70 -6, it was there when I bought the car in July 1977. Never had the triangle mounting bracket off, nor do I rememeber looking to see how it is attached in the tank area last time I had it out (10 years ago??). Maybe one of these days I'll pull the tank and take some pictures...

Would help folks if "early cars" was defined. 70-72?
I recall 73 is when the 2.0L was release & included bars.

My '73 was originally a 1.7 from the factory. No front or rear sway bars.

Gotta say... I don't remember doing that. Correction in Aubergine above.

Sorry dude... I thought it was you.