DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

http://www.tangerineracing.com/shiftlinkage.htm

My 914 with 2.4 motor has a 901 side shifter box. Selecting any gear is a real hit and miss affair. Has anybody tried one of these upgrades please ?

Cheers,

Tony

I have heard they are very good but I haven't got one.

They are a bit pricey! Have you replaced all your bushings? I installed a tangerine firewall bearing and along with my rennshift it's pretty good now. When I did some money I might get the tangerine system to make it as good as it can be

I have not owned a 914 before so don't really know what to expect of the gear change. It's very sloppy and I have to feel each gear in carefully, there is no way that fast gear changes are possible. I though that I would change the complete linkage. My local indy thought it would be worth using the Tangeine kit.

I went for the J West set up with a rennshift. And changed the rear bar to a straight bar . Such a difference!

there's a useful article here:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticle ... mprove.htm

It shouldn't be anywhere as near as bad as you describe so it's definitely worth going through the whole system and making sure all the bushes are in good condition before forking out on the Tangerine system

The first thing I would do is to replace all of the bushes. Most are easy to replace, just the firewall one is a bit tricky. Although it won't shift anything like a modern day car the it can make a world of difference.

As everyone says - replace all the bushes but you might want to check something

On 914`s the Seat belt Eyelets wind into the side or the tunnel

On a number of 914`s in the past we have found that the Eye bolts used are too long and where they protrude into the side of the tunnel they have been bearing on the side of the Gear rod

Definitely worth looking at - costs you nothing

Thank you for all your helpful advice. I have already been the victim of the over-long bolt. The guys who fitted my roll cage and seat used a very long ring bolt. 4th and 5th gear were unobtainable until I discovered the problem ! I will replace all the bushes, and order a modified firewall bush from the USA. I am also going to splash out on a custom shift lever, so that I can lock out the reverse gear.

A Rennshift will make a big difference!

Hi Tony

I have the J West version of the link you posted like Stuart, and also a Rennshift. I also used a Patrick firewall bush (effectively a bearing) and made my own rods connected by universal joints. Think the conversion of the gearbox end to a rifle shot affair made the biggest difference, am actually finding it works really well with a standard shifter as I have misplaced my Rennshift momentarily!

As others have said, there are lots of silly things that can trip up a good change. A compromised linkage is not good, hence I carefully set the height of my engine to allow the straightest linkage possible. Mine is absolutely straight, with a slight kink at the firewall end so the UJ operates effectively. Semi solid mounts helped too.

To me, it is still not perfect, but a solid linkage of 2m length going around a 6 pot is never going to be the same as a 911!

If I were still racing it, I would probably experiment with the spare Boxster cable arrangement I have from a car I broke.

Good luck with it, and remember all the in car footage of US racers that are going up and down the box without a single crunch!

Cheers
Wayne