1971 914-4 Clearance Height?, Noticed my 914 is leaning ... should I be worried? Options

[unclemoki]

My recently "partially restored" 914-4 seems to have a noticeable lean. I checked the distance from the ground to the wheel-well all around and this is what I got:

Front Passenger/Right: 26"
Rear Passenger/Right: 23.5"

Front Driver's Side/Left: 25"
Rear Driver's Side/Left: 22.5"

I don't know what's "normal" for 914's but I'm wondering if I should be worried? I want to do more work to the car (electrical, shifting) but I feel like this needs to get sorted out first. I checked some pics from 2024 to compare and it looks like it might have been like this for a while so not sure why it seems much more noticeable now.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions?


Quick History:
My late dad was the original owner. It was his daily driver for many years and then garaged for many years after he retired. At some point he passed it along to me. I'm not aware of any major body damage. I've heard stories of it being involved in an accident in the early 70's but I don't have any details.

I like to tinker but I'm no mechanic and I don't know much about 914's. In early 2020's I started a restoration project with a local shop - body (remove rust and dents), fresh paint, rebuilt engine, new exhaust, refresh interior ... spent more than I should have but got it looking pretty and back on the road. Brought it home summer of 2024. I've driven it maybe 100 miles in 2 years.

Aug 2026 .... sorry about the orientation



Aug 2024 ... for comparison

[bdstone914]

1 inch lean is significant. First thing i would check is if a rear suspension console is cracked or any issue with the trailing arm. May be difficult to see without a lift.
I would measure the ride height from the bottom of the rocker panels to the ground, front and rear.

Did you just notice the lean ?
What kind of rear shocks and springs? Could be a rear spring sagging. But they usually gag equally.
Maybe a local experienced member can help you check it out.

[Shivers]

I've been into old cars most of my adult life. After many years of driving, especially if it was a large person driving the car everyday, most I went to see the suspension saged on the drivers side. When you had this work done did they do any suspension work?




@unclemoki

[Front yard mechanic]

Just get a fat girlfriend

[mepstein]

Old suspension. Worn out springs, worn out bushings, worn out inserts. It’s really common on these cars. Just like replacing the soft brake lines. If you don’t know the last time it was done, it’s probably time to do it.

There’s probably a 914world member near by to you who could take a look and give you an opinion.

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[Superhawk996]

Just get a fat girlfriend

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) the easy button

The front height is easily adjustable with the torsion bar adjusters.

When you bring the driver side up or the passenger side down (or combination of both) you will simultaneously get cross car weight jacking effects that will help even things out.

Whether you can get it perfect will depend on the state of the rest of the suspension and integrity of the body as others have mentioned.

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[Ninja]

Nice looking car!
Welcome to the menagerie!

I've got a silver 75 myself.

The rear springs are terrible about sagging. They were SOFT from the factory and prone to sagging early.

They are easy to change. Normal upgrade 100lb springs are what you want.

The front torsion bars don't sag nearly as much and are easily adjustable.

Only problem is they need to be visually inspected for surface damage.

You get to take those puppies out.

Aged front bushings can allow the torsion bars to contact metal, create stress risers in the OD of the bar, and in a worst-case scenario the bar can snap.
If it does this when stopped -no big deal.
If it does this at 80mph- BIG DEAL.

So, as long as you have good mounting points (rust is the enemy) I'd buy new rear springs and new front control arm bushings.
If the torsion bars have wear on the OD replace them as well.

If the partial restoration did not include suspension and brake work you have more "restoration" type work left to do.

[unclemoki]

I appreciate all of the feedback, THANKS!

My worry was that I might be discovering some kind of warp in the unibody. When I looked at the 2024 pictures, I noticed that the driver's side tail light is closer to the bumper than the passenger's side which is what got me wondering. If that WAS the case, I was thinking I should halt any more work until that gets worked out. But if this is just a "suspension" issue, that's a relief and something I can deal with. And maybe that difference in gap between the tail light and the bumper between the right and left side is nothing to worry about.

Yeah, I'm a big-ish guy ... 250+. I typically drive solo although my wife (she's definitely lighter than me) has threatened to steal the keys a few times.

Looking at the numbers I posted earlier, and ignoring the lean, the difference in height between the front and back is consistently 3". Is that typical?

As for the entire length of Driver's side being 1" lower than the entire length of the Passenger's side - I'll put it up on the QuickJacks to see what I can find ... not exactly sure what I'm looking for but maybe something will be obvious.

@bdstone914 ; @Shivers
The shop I've been using specializes in classic Porsche and the owner has a couple of really nice 914's and 911's. He reassured me that his bodywork sub was top notch. They took care of the rust on the "hell hole", added a new battery tray, and said they gave the body a full once over and that there was a little rust but not much and it was all taken care of. Not sure about "wear" though. I'll have to re-check the receipts to see what else was done (if itemized). I know all "soft" stuff was replaced so I would assume any rubber bushings. Not sure why I'm just noticing this lean. My wife said she recalls thinking it leaned a little bit when I brought it home but reassures me that it now seems much more noticeable. Not sure about the specs on the springs or shocks but I'll try to document what I see when I get under it, for ref.


@Ninja - Thanks! it has been a labor/effort of love/nostalgia. I was hoping to have it done before my dad passed so I could take him out for a ride, but the restoration opportunity came too late. Still, I felt the need to finish what I started, if only as a nod to my dad's work ethic. Although he was from the depression era and probably would have told me to keep the money and sell the car ... lol!

[mepstein]

Seeing that it’s a family car, the idea that it took a really big hit and bent the chassis is about a 1000-1 compared to the chance that the typical wear points on the suspension are wearing out. Every 914 I’ve purchased , probably 20+, had worn out rear springs and worn out shocks and inserts. Granted, I’m not buying restored cars but those items are the go-to for replacement on a 914. The good thing for you is they are a minor cost in the overall scheme of things and easy to do either at home or by any mechanic.
Check over your restoration receipts and see if the suspension was touched. You can’t just assume the bushings have been replaced. They don’t just drop in so it’s not a general maintenance item like say brake pads.

[930cabman]

Old suspension. Worn out springs, worn out bushings, worn out inserts. It’s really common on these cars. Just like replacing the soft brake lines. If you don’t know the last time it was done, it’s probably time to do it.

There’s probably a 914world member near by to you who could take a look and give you an opinion.

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(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) , probably a combination of the above

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[unclemoki]

Oh, and thank you all for the warm welcome! I'll check the member directory to see if I locate members local to me.

@mepstein - Thanks, I'll check that out when I have the car up.

[rjames]

It was mentioned already, but I would start with the passenger suspension console.
Springs sag over time, but I think weight in the driver’s seat would lessen the load on the right rear spring, so I doubt that’s the issue.

After making sure there’s nothing structurally wrong, when you do get to the point of setting the right height on all four corners, make sure you are parked on fully level ground. Don’t just adjust it on the street. And I’m betting that many (most?) residential garage floors aren’t truly level.
Mine looked level but I found that there was a 1/2” change in height from the front left corner to the right rear corner.

[JeffBowlsby]

I would start by measuring to the chassis not the fenderwells. Flat/level garage floor to the corner doughnuts on the floor pan. Factory correct should be uniformly ~6 in.

[Superhawk996]

I keep seeing mention of bushings and inserts (ie dampers / shock absorbers) but let’s be clear here. The only thing that sets ride height is rear springs & front torsion bars.