Then within the last 10 years or so, companies like Restoration Design, 914 Rubber, PMB Performance and bellwether Automobile Atlanta really stepped up with better quality, more offerings and excellent component rebuilding services. Parts that I could have only dreamed of on my 914 and 912 restorations became readily available and have made it so much easier to save cars that would have been cut up for parts only a few years
earlier. The one area that has been disappointing is the availability of obsolete D-Jetronic and L-Jetronic fuel injection components. The particular L-Jetronic system my 914 used was only found in 1974 and 1975 1.8 models, with several critical one-year-only components and used in less than 1 out of 5 of the total 914s produced. Frustration with my 914 sitting for months broken down while I was searching for L-Jetronic parts or waiting for component rebuilds led me to the decision to box it up and store it away in favor of Weber 40 IDF carburetors.
Seizing on all the renewed interest, the big aftermarket parts producers like URO and Jorg have really embraced the 914 market recently by offering a huge selection of 914-only parts at Volkswagen parts prices. I make that distinction after watching prices for 911, 912 and 356 parts rising at about the same rate as the values of the cars over the last few years. Porsche is also getting involved again in producing more 914 parts though their Porsche Classic program. I was lucky enough to find a full set of 4 new CV-joints on the Pelican Parts website that were new production by Porsche Classic after being listed as NLA for decades. The good thing was I didn’t have to swap out the complete original rear drive axles for some proprietary aftermarket ones. The bad thing is each Porsche CV-joint was $172 whereas stock aftermarket OEM Meyle ones for a SWB 901 transaxle are only $38 each. While nearly 5 times more expensive, still much more economical than the complete Porsche Classic 914 rear axles at $892 each! When you buy parts for a car nearing 50 years old, you need to expect the unexpected and hunt for proven German or US manufacturers like Sachs or Sebo for clutch and flywheel parts, FAG or SKF for bearings and ATE or Zimmerman for brakes while they still make them. One company that’s really been interesting to watch is AA Performance Products and the quality of their Chinese-manufactured parts improving over time. Talking to Jack Morris about my VW type-4 2.0 engine build, he now considers AA pistons and cylinder sets better quality than Mahle because of Mahle outsourcing their production to China. The bottom line is Chinesemade parts are only as good as the quality control of the manufacturer outsourcing their production. It is incumbent on the manufacturer to confirm Rockwell hardness and conformance to dimensional tolerances with constant random sampling from each and every batch received from China. As Jack Morris lamented recently, the skills of the mechanic used to be the weakest link in restoring drivetrain components not the parts.
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GOING PL ACES
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