1974 Carrera Coupe - RHD, UK car

[KS]

How about me? I backdated a 1974 Carrera and gave it an 'outlaw' make-over...

[Highfield]

Some good news then on the dash as I was waiting for the punch line of 'so we had to find another'.

Ian

[Ferry Man]

I like the idea of fitting front fog lights to my car.
Some 1974 Carreras were supplied with them (Option Code: M429).
I came to realise I admired them and cars like the one pictured below only helped to strengthen my resolve. They do look good.

[Ferry Man]

The impact bumper on the front of the G-series cars is bulkier than the rather more elegant version fitted to the longhoods.
The bumper also sits a little higher and fog lamps below can help visually pull your eyes down and make it appear lower and more balanced.
Well, I think they work well and I’d like a pair, just like on this orange car.

[Ferry Man]

I think they work well

But you can over do it. Restraint is always wise.

[Ferry Man]

Some 1974 Carreras were supplied with them (Option Code: M429).

They look great with Lime Green (pictured here in the Porsche brochure for 1974).

[Ferry Man]

I like the idea of fitting front fog lights to my car.

Sadly finding the right lamps is not easy to do.
The problem is that the new impact bumper cars used different lamps to the early 911’s.
The chrome lamps for the early seventies cars were of a different shape (more rounded).

The newer lamps were a nice rectangular shape and were made by Bosch.
For 1974 they were chromed.
For the 1975 model year and subsequent years they were black.
The change was some time during late ’74.
Thanks Porsche.

So, I was left looking for a one year only type of lamp.
Probably less than one year.
And tracking down the correct lamps would prove to be difficult....

[Ferry Man]

The newer lamps were a nice rectangular shape and were made by Bosch.
For 1974 they were chromed.

This is the correct shape of lamp. It was used for many years. But they were black.
For a '74 Carrera they should be chrome.

I’ve heard it said that the lamps simply had a chrome trim ring but that’s not the case, the whole lamp body should be chrome.
Bosch did produce lamps for other brands with only the trim ring in chrome (and the body in black) but for the 1974 Porsche – exclusively it seems – it should be all chrome.
It’s a rare lamp.

[Ferry Man]

Bosch supplied their lamps housings to several manufacturers including Mercedes and Volvo, in fact much of the European car industry.
To fit the various applications they offered different mountings.
On the Mercedes the fitting is on top of the lamp, some other applications saw the brackets at the bottom of the lamp but on the Porsche it emerges from the centre of the back.

[Ferry Man]

Bosch supplied their lamps housings to several manufacturers including Mercedes.

This is the same Bosch lamp with with fixings on the top face (for fitting under a grille). No good for a Porsche.

[Ferry Man]

Again, this is the correct lamp body (and all chrome) but the fixings are incorrect for a Carrera application.
The fastener (and cable) don't emerge from the back.

[Ferry Man]

The fixing bolt should exit the lamp in the middle of the back as per this lamp.
But this lamp casing is black and therefore wrong in that regard.

[Ferry Man]

Here's the real deal. This is a rarity.
They are not mine but this is what I was looking for.

[DustyM]

You could of course get a set of later lamps chromed!

Prefer without fogs myself, although the integrated lights on the 3.2s aren't bad.

[Ferry Man]

Here's that lovely magenta car again.
It looks superb.
But those lamps are wrong.

It has later, black bodied fog lights fitted.
Those are easy to source brand new and pretty cheap too.