Porsche 914 Rear Reflector Panels
Not a Factory Accessory
No Porsche 914 or Porsche 914/6 vehicles left their respective factories with a rear reflector. Remember, the 914 was marketed as a "VW Porsche" everywhere except in North America (where it was simply a "Porsche"), so putting a big reflector on the back with the PORSCHE script emblazoned across it would have been contrary to the intent of the manufacturers. This, however, has not prevented 914 owners from adorning the rear of their cars with such reflectors, either through (sometimes illegal) aftermarket products or modification of 911 reflectors. Results vary.
Current eBay
listings for Porsche 914 rear reflectors (if any are listed, compare
them with items on this
page to ensure suitability - most are cut-down 911 reflectors):
Porsche
914 Rear Reflector Panels on eBAY
Aftermarket Items
The rear reflector was a popular option on the
911, so there were rear reflectors illegally manufactured for the 914
for a period of time prior to Porsche successfully suing for trademark
infringement. These mid-seventies after-market reflectors, installed
both by dealers and individuals, are fairly difficult to find in good,
undamaged or unmolested condition. They are uniformly-colored red
reflectors with black "PORSCHE" script and a full black border. They
are the same dimension top-to-bottom as the tail light lens and
are backed by polyurethane spacers to protrude to the level of the tail
lights for a smooth look. Installation requires drilling (usually) four
holes in
the back of the car and installation of a remote trunk lid release
(solenoid or cable
or both), although some have chosen to drill a big hole in the
reflector itself to access the factory trunk release button (not
recommended).
D.I.Y.
The other, more common reflector found on the Porsche 914 is a Porsche 911 rear reflector that has been cut down on both sides to fit between the 914 tail lights. While we expect that the quality of the factory reflector (made by Bosch) is superior to the after-market 914 items, the 911 reflectors are slightly narrower top-to-bottom than the 914 tail lights, and the spacing in the back is not adequate to raise the reflector to the level of the tail light lenses, so the overall appearance is not smooth. Also, the resulting cut-down reflector will include portions of an insert on each side creating a rather unfinished appearance (as does poor measuring and unevenly cut edges). Mounting a cut-down 911 reflector on a 914 requires drilling six holes and installing a remote trunk lid release.