1976 Porsche 912 build with 993 motor swap by freedomperiod

8 minute(s) of a 253 minute read

The 915 is the perfect gearbox for this application because it's about 100 lbs lighter than the G50. Unfortunately the 915 can be a bit of a pig. It can be made to feel more G50-like with one of these^^. A nice shift kit can eliminate all that free play in the stock 915 shifter unit. 

The one at the very top is a "tall" version of their 915 shifter. The "classic" version looks like the factory unit. 

Alot of people like the RennShift ^^. The ones above are Wevo, and as you can see, you don't need to sacrifice the vintage look to get the precision.

Maybe it'd be cooler to leave it alone. The experience of driving the car with a sloppy gearbox would really give it an interesting "feel".

It can be equally annoying if the gear throws are too short. The mechanism can fell notchy. To me, it's actually fun "row" the gears on old cars.

....however, my daily driving style is to match the revs practically every single time, unless of course I'm using the clutch as a brake. I do like the gear to be right there when I call upon it.

The tactile experience is a very important component of this project. This car is all about "feel". In that sense, it is a purpose-built car.

....which is why I'm going with a set of corduroy seats

2/7/2012

Had to take 'em down. Wifey no like, but she's my copilot!  She's also affectionately named the car "Tangie" because the fan blades look like a tangerine to her.

Anything else I write at this point, is pure fluff. ..You know it all now. 

How the car came to be.. its psychotic life..

..and even a little about my life. 

I have alot of other things to handle. Thanks to everyone for watching.

This is the end of part one, but we'll be back! Me, Tangie, and mabe even wifey.

This is the hard part of the transformation. The waiting. ..the trust you must put in me to DIR.

Count backwards from 99 and breathe deeply.

..I leave you with the Black Keys.

Why? Because of the sheer tonnage of music coming from just 2 musicians. ...Because sometimes less (as in narrow body, lightwt) is more! 

Keep breathing!

....see you on the other side. 

http://youtu.be/KcjyWiGg2Lc

2/22/2012

Came in to say hello  and to let you guys know that our little intermission is almost over. Part 2 is almost ready to begin. I'm still gathering material, making phone calls, sourcing parts, and cracking the whip.

Another week or two and I'll have much to share with you. Part 2 will include pre and post-op pics of the final surgery (flares welded on), the final assembly, and road testing. 

Having been a customer at ProtoSport for the past 12 years has afforded me a few privilages. For instance, nobody questions me when I poke around the shop. Fortunately, I always have my trusty Blackberry at hand, so I thought I'd put up a few more pics of the cool projects they have going on over there.

Here's a classic beauty in the famous Arena Red ^^ visiting the shop for some nice tweaks.

There are a few different types of customers at ProtoSport. Some are street car guys, others are track car guys, and some fall somewhere between. There's a forced induction crowd and a normally aspirated crowd. There's an air-cooled crowd and a water cooled crowd. These ^^^ are the guys you don't mess with at the track. They'll tear you up if you come up short on skill. These guys are very serious about suspension and chassis mods. Unless you want a shot at the title, you'd better move over when these guys come up on your tail at the track. 

ProtoSport's claim to fame is their Motronic Twin Turbo system(s), developed by Tod Knighton of Protomotive. They can safely and reliably extract 800+ hp from the air-cooled cars, and over 1000 hp from the later 911's. If you're into superchargers, they'll take care of you too.

The sky's the limit at ProtoSport. Paul and John have the skill to build almost anything the customer can dream of. This one guy wanted to have a piece of his Cayman chopped so that the engine is visible from outside the car....

NA, forced induction, street, track, resto, resto-mod, resto-rod, even retro-mod rod!! Whatever you want out of your 911, they can build. Having the power to build whatever their customers dream is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, sometmes that power falls into the wrong hands....

^^^I really wish this thing would f'n XPLOD

Interiors, stereo, ICE, fabrics... whatever you want. ProtSport's got your back... even if you're really tacky and want your 911 to be obnoxious as hell.

Anyways, thanks again for being patient. Thanks for tuning in.

Part 2 is on the way! Hey look... what's that thing peeking out of the engine room?

The Wevo and RennShift upgrades are nice. I just got a RennShift for my 901 box, I know the guy from the 914 boards and he's VERY helpful and easy to work with. I have yet to install mine though.

I like the Rennshift because you can adjust it to as little as a minimum of 20% reduction in gear throw. I don't like it to be too notchy feeling on a street car. On Pellican Parts, people seem to really like the Wevo better, though. We'll see...

See you soon...