After a good amount of info from all sorts of people in response to this thread, I went back and skimmed what I could wrap my head around. Here's what I've come up with (slowly adding links to pics as I have time):

Items in green are the most-recently added. Items in red have been recently updated/changed due to new information.

Cowl-to-Fender Seam: absent (metal-filled) or empty for very early 70 (up to #49), rubber seam thereafter.
Ignition Switch: on dash, left of column for 70 & 71, on right side of column for 72
Interior Mirror: small version for 70 and 71, larger for 72
Dash Top: wide opening for glovebox for 70 & 71, narrower for 72 (to accommodate dash vents)
Dash Vents: Absent for 70 & 71, present for 72
Door Panels: smooth vinyl for 70 & 71, basketweave for 72
Glove Box: wide for 70 & 71, narrow for 72 (to accommodate dash vents)
Main Wiring Harness: hybrid /4-/6 harness for 72 cars
Passenger Foot Rest ("dogbone"): present in 70 & 71, replaced with foam pad on bulkhead for 72 cars
Passenger Seat: fixed for 70 & 71, moveable for 72
Rear Bumper: squared off for 70 and early 71, rounded for later 71 and 72
Seat Inserts: smooth vinyl for 71, basketweave for 70 & 72
Seatbelts: non-retractable for all years 70 & 71, retractable for 72
Steering Column: /4 steering column for 72 cars

If you know of further differences, please post to this thread and I'll include them in this list. Please include a picture if you can and I'll link to it from here.

And thanks to everyone who's contributed!

Reid

I know a couple simple ones like, 69-70 no pass movable seat. 71-72 pass seat was like the drivers.

I think it was 72 they also added retractble seat belts and dash vents. There are probably a dozen others.

Did you check Jeff Bowlsby's site? It seems to be down right now...

70-71 has the 911 style ignition switch. 72 has an ignition switch on the column.

1969 i could be wrong but i dont think they made any tell 70

Well, yes and no. Some have build dates of 69 though they still call them 70.

Early cars had a finished cowl to fender seam, no black rubber filler strip.

Early meaning 69?

Maybe a picture would help.I have no idea what your trying to point out

The seam is the line on either side, running from the front hood corner to the door/window pillar base.

Ok i`m with ya now ....mines a 70 and it has that black rubber thingy there

This is great info guys ~ keep it coming and I will try to summarize everything and hopefully we'll end up with a nice list when all's said and done.

I have never seen one that was not done by the owner! I didn't know they did that on factory cars.

There's some misinformation here. Check your facts before posting.
70-71 had non-retractable seatbelts.
70-71 had non moveable passenger seat.
70-71 had 911 style ignition switch.
All 914's had the seam at the fender/cowl.
72 914/6 was pretty much a /4 with a 6/ motor & suspension on it.
70-71 had a different rear bumper. The lic plate area edges have sharp corners.

Sorry, in my earlier post I failed to include the link to Jeff Bowlby's site:

http://members.rennlist.com/914_collectibles/

Take a look at the factory optional accessories page. It lists these by model year.

That's what I thought but only from my experience with the 6s that I have seen and owned!

Thanks Mark. Once I get a list together (a-la SirAndy's approach in this thread) I'm sure it will be necessary to ferret out misinformation. I'd appreciate help in doing so, too...


Thanks Erik, I will.

apparently, you didn't look very hard ...


it's an ongoing thread and it's currently on top of the page in the Originality and History" forum.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=74301

Andy

..

Its all about the fours that does us no good because we want to know about the sixs ..but thanks anyway

i don't think that's true for any of the production cars. i have seen that on some of the prototypes, but never on a production car ...
Andy

Oops! Sorry - but the "Marketing Brochures" section includes both /4s and /6s.

Eric

Andy, take a look at the post above yours. I linked to that thread.

That's a /4 vs. /6 list....is it not?

it sure is, it's got info on all the things different between a /4 and /6, which in turn gives you an idea of what to look for in differences between early and late /6 cars ...


the /6 cars were much less prone to production changes over their 3 year lifespan than the /4 cars.
Andy

It doesn't read that way to me...at least, not in a very straightforward fashion. I think that I could glean some good information from that thread to add to a list of differences between the /6s from year to year, but I feel like a thread dedicated to that topic would be useful on its own. It seems you disagree...that's cool.

nope ... just trying to give you some pointers.

It seems you like to lean back and let others do the work ...
Andy

George is correct. Quoting from the factory bulletin: effective from 4702900444 and 9140430052 fender beadings are inserted between the fender and cowl
So this is not a difference between 914/4 and 914/6, only an early vs late instance.

1. I spent time searching for what I was looking for, but didn't find it
2. I explored the Originality forum and found your thread, it wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I posted there asking if there was an existing list somewhere.
3. I posted the same question (this thread) in the garage because I know there's a lot more traffic here. My question?

How do you perceive that as me leaning back and having others do the work?

Did I manage to piss you off somehow? By pointing out that I had already linked to your thread, or...? I'm pretty new to these cars, but I contribute in any way I can when I feel I have something useful to contribute. Otherwise, like a lot of people here, I ask for assistance. I thought that was what this place was all about ~ helping others out.

I still feel a thread addressing the differences in the Sixes from year to year would be helpful. Maybe even a table or something similar. If you feel that folks contributing to that task (myself included, where I can) is me leaning back and letting other people do the work...well, well hell I just don't know what to say to that.

Thanks for putting togther that thread in the Originality forum. I thought it was a good one, which is why I linked to it.

Reid

Thanks Dave. For the record, when talking about Sixes what qualifies as "early" vs. "late"?

edit: Ha, I guess the real question is, which category do the '71s fall into?

i dis-agree. i think george referred to the few prototype cars that did not have the seam at all.

the early production cars came without the black rubber beading, but they still had the seam between the fender and the cowl area.
Andy

prototype 914.114 without the fender/cowl seam:

jeeze, stepped out of the bed on the wrong foot this morning ???

lighten up. you hit me on the head with the chair first. remember?

i was simply pointing you to a thread that i believe has some answers to your question. you responded that you didn't feel like extracting answers from that thread. fine with me.

i was just poking at what seemed like a "i'm too lazy to weed out info from that thread" attitude.

don't read anything into this that wasn't there ...
a Andy

Fair enough.

My intention was (is) to extract those answers from your thread, plus any that might make it into this one, and create a list similar to the one in your thread in the Originality forum. I stated that earlier, but I must not have been clear about it.

For what it's worth, wife's out of town so I'm doing the single daddy thing...and no, I didn't get enough sleep last night.

back atcha...

Reid

Almost all correct:
72 914/6 was pretty much a /4 with a 6/ motor & suspension on it.

This is not true as I seem to understand it 72 914 6s are no more than left over 71s that did not sale.
Thier is no motor mount under the longs for the bar that is used on the 4s the 6s where mounted to the firewall.
look for oil tank in the Driverside fender.
All 6s had 5 lugs. from the factory.
The hood badge you see on some 6s was added by the dealer more so than by the factory.

not quite. '72 /6s have the /4 steering column and the /4 main wire harness. there was an adapter to the /6 relay board on those cars.

and at least one of the 916s (which basically were '72 914/6) was build on a modified /4 chassis ...

Andy

In a pleasant break from my usual cantankerous responses to questions like this, I would say - why didn't you post this question on the originality forum? No expletives, I'm being calm here.

Seriously, the originaliy forum is there for a purpose. We want all the six info we can get. It IS NOT a forum for 914-4's.

A number of times, I've asked for more sixer info. Got some, but not enough - why?

If we're going to split this up into factions, we'll all lose.

You should have posted your questions there, not here.
Pat

Yeah, but more people see it here. I don't wander into the CW area very often and I know there are many others that do the same.

Boy, I was in a really shitty mood today. Bad headache, ear pain, the works. Then I started to read this thread. Makes me seem like I'm the nicest guy in the world today!!! Just reading about all the bitchin' seems to put me in a really good mood!

So Andy, what's up. Your responses lately seem to indicate you've had the crap beat out of you. We're your friends. Maybe to you, we're your slow-witted, idiot, in-bred friends, but we're still your friends. I, for one, tend to hi-jack threads, ask inappropriate questions and post in the wrong location sometimes. But knowing I'm your dim-witted friend, you have always tactfully led me back on the rightous path.

I'm not saying that Lavanaut is dim-witted, an idiot or the result of in-breeding, I'll let you make your own conclusions. But remember, we're all a bit newer to this forum than you are. Please continue to guide us along without using all of your heavy ammo.

Damn, now I feel so good I could just shit!!!

Jeez, you old timers need to lighten up. Reid asked a real question through a new thread, didn't bash anybody, starts getting feedback and you tell him to lean back and let others do the work. WTF? Nice way to welcome any other new guys here!

T.C.

I did Pat. I just didn't start a new thread....see? Instead I opted to post my question in the garage, because this is where the most eyeballs are (hell you didn't even see it over in the CW forum ). But hey! Feel free to move it to your forum if it makes you feel better! You may be right that that's where the topic ultimately belongs (and that's the first place I searched, by the way).

Anyone else out there wanna break my balls for starting this topic?

So if I'm not mistaken, the interior of the '70 Sixes were a flavor of basketweave (the door panels, seat inserts, etc.) and the '71s and '72s had the leather look, smooth finish. Is this correct?

I'll bust your balls

Well, not really. You could drive up here and kick my ass

You going to come up to the WCR?

Oh how I wish I could make it. Been planning a week-long trip to Montana with the family, the week before, for the past year. Can't do both.

almost correct

only the MY'71 cars had the very-similar-to-real-leather interior
the MY'72 had the - more or less - identically interior than the MY'70

Gustl

Ahhhh...nice Gustl, thanks. This should probably be your thread anyway!!

holy crap you guys just need to drop your pants and see who has the biggest DICK and then you will have a winner ...I have noticed just about every 914 i look at is differant in some way shape or form.Thats what makes them so unique too all the other run of the mill 250k+ built a year cars. the sixs where almost basterd cars put togather with whatever Porsche had on the shelf just to get them out the door .....1969 engines in72cars some 71suspentions in72cars . there just all differant and no ones really wrong about whats on there car they know what they have.So let up! just because you have leather and i dont doesnt make mine wrong and yours right.I have two outside mirrors you may not so is yours wrong no its just differant .I have no radio and not even a hole to put it in .do you ?.there all differant sometimes strange but thats why we love them so much.And with the people its the same way some get it right and some get it wrong but we are all learning that why we ask ?s......Be good and have a nice day

they put an "old" engine in the 914-6 just for the reason that the 914-6 shouldn't beat the new 911 model - if these 2 cars had the same engine, the 914-6 would have been faster than the 911T (well, it was even faster with the old 2.0 engine ) - and this was an absolute no from Porsche

So you're saying that the basket weave door panels on my '70 are actually correct?

Edit: in the next couple days I'll check all my interior upholstery and post whether it is smooth or basket weave.

Skip

no, I didn't say that
I was just talking about the material - not the surface structure

MY'70 - leatherette or geniune leather at additional cost
MY'71 - leatherette => this one is very similar to geniune leather
MY'72 - leatherette
MY'73 - leatherette
MY'74 - leatherette
MY'75 - leatherette

Gustl

MY08 - 3.6 engines

My MY70 - smooth finish on the door panels.



Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! You're a LOSER for starting such a topic. What the hell were you thinking?!?!?