As a 'compleat perfectionist' (sic), this gradually began to irritate me and finally pushed me to attempt to make the fit smoother. I had an opportunity to do so when I reinstalled the driving lights and fitted dual Hella 'Hi-Tone' horns, and removed the front (F-glass) bumper. That was a real challenge, in that the four-bolt hardware used (with the rubber dogbones) to fit the front bumper assembly had some corrosion and posed a bit of difficulty removing them (as you all likely know, this requires loosening the driving light mounting bolts so as to be able to give yourself enough 'wrench-room' to hold the anterior bolt head or nut in place), whilst removing the bolt from the front fender-well with a racheting wrench (that in itself is a pain, when there's corrosion on the bolts). At any rate, after a battle royale to remove those four rusted bolts, I installed the new horns, readjusted the driving lights and replaced the F-glass bumper.
It's hard to imagine my frustration when I noticed that the fit of that F-glass bumper was STILL not perfectly aligned, but not eager to repeat that whole exhaustive procedure, I left the situation as it was (slightly less than satisfactory) until a future, as-yet-undetermined opportunity presented itself.
This morning, after several weeks of absolutely terrible weather here in Suckatomato (the Capitol of CA), it dawned clear, sunny and perfectly still (no strong winds, which is often part of our life here and the bane of hard-core bicyclistas), so I first took the pup down to our local coffeehouse (a local one, NOT a STARBUCKS, I assure you!) and had the barista pull me a perfect Espresso Dopio, that required a brief respite on their terrace, leisurely drinking in the perfect (flying) weather, while the pup gobbled her obligatory croissant.
Then, I took Jezibel out for our usual weekly 'fresh-up' drive on the nearby Intestate. It was a perfect morning for a perfect drive, not much traffic at 0930 hours and I returned to the home stable invigorated, energised and just tickled-pink with how perfectly zippy my Jezibel was behaving. Such moments peg the needle on my 'Fun-Meter' at MAX, so I switched off the ignition, unlimbered my tool chest and prepared to once again try to 'correct' that slight front bumper fitment annoyance with all the ZEN confidence of an ‘All-Martial Arts’ contestant.
After a final tweak of the ratchet (on new SS bolt hardware), work completed, the bumper fitment was better but still not completely perfect that way a stock metal front bumper would be on a virginal, un-messed-with 914 (which would have no side-gaps, no matter how slight). The top alignment of the bumper with the car's hood was perfect but the left and right side-gaps were still not to my liking, alas alack!
Thereupon a brief period of contemplation ensued, from which I concluded that Realised Fact #1) there is no such thing as any "perfect" after-market replacement part for our beloved 914 cars. No matter what all the recognised and reputable 914 parts suppliers say about their 'custom' parts, a significant amount of 'reworking/fitting' will be required to make everything fit your car perfectly.
I know what you're thinking (to use Thomas Selleck's favorite MAGNUM P.I. sotto voce aside): That this should be instantly obvious to all but the least mentally astute individuals. Well, I clearly belong to that last category of the population, since in my sophomoric enthusiasms, I have always assumed that after-market parts suppliers are as fully and reliably honest as George Washington was after hacking down his cherry tree (as apocryphal as that historic event obviously is), when they say 'a perfect replacement fit'.
Friends, I now share with you the observation that there is no 'after-market' part made by ANYONE that is a perfect fit without some adjustment/modification required. Get used to it!
Since so many P-car parts suppliers provide a similar "916-type" fiberglass bumper replacement part for the 914, it makes me wonder if they ALL have such ‘some adjustment required’ characteristics...or if it possible that SOMEONE makes a fiberglass part that IS indeed a perfect fit (with no work required except to bolt it on).
At any rate, I twiddled, tweaked and 'modified' a few edges and such and I am finally ALMOST satisfied with the result, but Apparent Fact #2): Don't ever count on a completely perfect fit, fresh from the box!
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By the way, unrelated thought here: Do you wear special driving shoes in your 914? I do, since the foot-pedal space is fairly constrained and a smaller shoe (on a smaller foot) is definitely an asset. I have a fairly narrow foot (unlike most American men, apparently, who take a ‘regular width’ shoe) and since I want something slightly more authoritative on my feet than a moccasin, I was pleased to find a great pair of narrow, driving shoes on the un-line TEMU website. For $12 (which made me initially wonder how good they could possibly be), I ordered a pair and PRESTO, I now drive my fairly expensive P-car wearing US$12 PRC shoes! Surely the irony of that is worthy of a brief chuckle?
And that is a snippet from my JEZIBEL JOURNAL to share with you fellow 914 fans on this 'almost perfect day.'
- 914_Jezibel_front_fiberglass_bumper_900res.jpg (110.02 KiB) Viewed 5575 times
- Fun_at_MAX_sticker_small.jpg (33.7 KiB) Viewed 5575 times