Love it
 

Our '87 turbo cab had a G50/50 installed when I bought it 10 years ago. Works wonderful, I would highly suggest

Unfortunately I have a 5spd 930 trans in my 77 930. Not a big priority however I always wondered. Someday I will put it up on the hoist next to the stock 77 930 with a 4 spd and see what they did to make it fit as it is obviously a bit longer.

Anthony,
I shouldn’t say it won’t work, but the amount of work needed for the early models is a bit more.

Ruf R30 5-speed
 

Photos of a Ruf R30 5-speed installed in a (former) Ruf conversion car in our workshop right now.
Yes, the bell housing is a short type like the 1976-77 Turbo 4-speed. When installed in a 1978-88 Turbo chassis, this shifts the transmission aft allowing the longer nose cone to clear.
The axle angle is reduced and becomes more straight.
The transmission mount is unchanged.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595365169.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595365169.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595365169.JPG

We've had the last several Ruf 5-speeds rebuilt. Some observations:
* gearing is remarkably similar to the 3.2 Carrera's G50 5-speed -- so very quick acceleration 1-2-3-4
* many parts are oddballs, with part numbers from 917s, 931s, etc. We have a parts catalog from Ruf and more than half the items has a handwritten "NML" next to it -- Nicht Mehr Lieferbar = No Longer Available
* the release mechanism is a combination of factory 915 & 930 parts
* the release cable is unique Ruf

They're long out of production, and the cost of one makes a SBH G50 conversion look inexpensive.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e6aec6d515.jpg
Ruf box below 79 long bell housing top. Recent upgraded Sachs pressure plate from Chris at TK. The clutch cable is unique other than that it fits like a glove, and I don’t mean one of those OJ Simpson “try-on” type of gloves either. [emoji869]

I have a real rebuilt RUF BTR 5-speed box. shorter ratios.
but Im not parting with it for below 15k.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595620969.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595620969.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1595620969.jpg

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Do all the 5 speeds have a shorter 1st gear? I find the stock 1st gear to be just fine for my engine. My Motec data shows a hair less than a second from onset of boost to redline in 1st. The gap to second is too big tho. The Albins gears at less than $1k each are tempting for a 2, 3, 4 change.

I'm happy with the Andial 8:39 r&p and stock gearing in my '79. I find the 911 5 speed with the 8:31 in my bus with similar h.p. too short.

Wevo did both transaxles. I think he calculated the top speed to be about the same, 140mph+.

I agree that a stock 930 1st gear is fine. I re-geared my 930 box (used to be non-stock 2nd-4th close ratio) using stock 1st and 4th gears and 2nd gear closer to 1st and 3rd gear spaced between 2nd and 4th. I did this to eliminate a big gap between 1st and 2nd (stock gearing). It's nice not having to rev out as far in 1st gear when shifting to 2nd. As always there's a trade off between close ratio (great for being able to be in a correct gear but top gearing is too low for highway cruising) and wide ratio gearing (great for highway with stock 4th gear but sometimes wishing for close ratio).

So you just changed 2nd and 3rd? Is 3rd lower than stock?

I really like 1-3 but the stock gap between 3-4 is big.

Yes...I changed 2nd & 3rd. 3rd gear is lower than stock. 2nd gear ratio is 1.444 and 3rd gear ratio is .928. Here's a snap shot of my gearing thrust (based on my rwhp dyno chart). The top is with stock gearing (note a big drop in thrust between 1st and 2nd) and the middle chart has lower 2nd & 3rd gearing (note less drop between 1st and 2nd) and the bottom chart is with previous short gearing (I loved it except for lack of gearing for highway cruising).

Stock gearing

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596285611.JPG


Re-geared 2nd & 3rd

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596285611.JPG


Short 2nd-4th gearing

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596286338.JPG


I'm surprised you like a big gap between 1-2...I suppose your engine is able to handle that gap.

I've finally started my transmission project so of course I have to consult Pelican :)

I was originally planning to change 2nd, 3rd and 4th to 1.444, .963, and .667

This would put my speed at 7,000 rpm in each gear at: 56, 88, 132, 190 vs stock of 56, 97, 142, 202 (of course the car won't go 202 or even 190)

But now I'm leaning toward changing the R&P to 4.625 (8:37) and changing first gear to a 1.833
This would put speed at 7,000 rpm at 63, 89, 130, 185. So quite a bit taller 1st but right now I rev through 1st so fast that a bit taller should help and then a much tighter gap to 2nd so it should still be well into the boost after the 1-2 shift.

RPM at 75 mph would increase from 2,590 to 2,835 but that seems bearable.

Thoughts?

I didn't know the car was geared that tall. I'm sure there were final drive ratio options, but my car did redline near 60 mph, so it sounds about what you listed there. I like your idea, 185 is fast enough for an old car. :D

Hi Mike,

Thanks for all of the info. I am looking now at either a 1.444 (Albins) or 1.471 (Guard) 2nd and a .963 (Albins) 3rd. Just wondering how you picked the 1.444 2nd and .928 3rd and whether your are happy with them or have any regrets. Did you go with Guard, Albins, or other? Do you find the new gears any louder than OEM? Sorry if you've discussed elsewhere; I looked but couldn't find your comments on these items.

Best,

Josh

My transmission is at CMS now so I can't give any real experience yet. They did say the aftermarket gears tend to be louder than stock vs the aftermarket R&P which tends to be quiet. This is why I chose to change to a lower R&P and then raise the 1st gear so it's not too short. Thinking is I don't spend much time in 1st gear so noise won't really matter.

As far as Albins or Guard, it seems like that decision is more based on what's available.

Hi Josh,
At the time when I decided to re-gear my gearbox I looked for all of the available used gears that were for sale. I could have went with stock gearing but I wanted 2nd gear to be closer to 1st and 3rd gear evenly spaced between 2nd and 4th. I never had stock gearing except the 1st gear. The previous owner changed 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears (Guard). It was noisy especially on the highway. My car now has stock 4th gear so it's much quieter. I have no regrets...although there are times when I wish I retained close 2-4th gearing except when traveling on the highway for hours.

What is your reason to change your gearing if it's stock? I'd leave it stock if your car can handle the big gap between 1st & 2nd. My car (far from stock) does not have max torque at 3000-3500 rpm...it's at higher rpm...so bringing 2nd gear closer to 1st helps.

Thanks David and Mike for the feedback.

The reason I am considering changing 2nd and 3rd is that I really dislike the 1-2 shift, just too stiff and slow for my tastes. I had it rebuilt only about 2,500 miles ago and it’s fine except for that 1-2 shift (and putting it into reverse, but that’s another story). I’ve read and heard that the 1-2 shift could be improved by switching to a different 2nd gear, and once you do that, it makes sense to change 3rd to balance it out. I would most likely go with Albins 1.444 2nd and .963 3rd as the rpm drop would end up fairly close across shifts and I’ve read that Albins are pretty quiet. I’d still have OEM for 1 and 4 so it seems like a nice setup, but as long as 1-2 is better I’ll be happy.

Changing the gear ratio will not have any affect to the way the gearbox shift. There are a number of reasons for stiff/balky shift. I would check for proper position of the shift rod so that it shifts into 1st gear and reverse evenly in the garage with the engine off but with clutch depressed. The other issue could be mis-located shift fork for 1-2 gears.

These gearbox does not shift gears like a more modern gearbox...it's still relatively balky and slow.

I’m pretty confident that it’s set up correctly. The other couple of 930s with stock gearing that I’ve been in feel pretty much the same, so maybe it’s just my pet peeve. Shortening 2nd will reduce the RPM gap between 1-2 so the synchro has less work to do and should make the shift a bit smoother. How much, not sure, but I think it would be noticeable.

I've had a 1987 930 lookalike since 2009, got all the 930 stuff + a G50, all in good condition. Blows 1 bar, shiny black and available. I have tried to sell, but no bites as she is not a real 930, but has all the good stuff.

Hate to part her our, but make me a deal I can't refuse

I've been trying to enhance the shifting characteristics of my 930 transaxle and then I throwed the towel and did a G50 conversion and so glad I did so. It was expensive but when I finished it and drove it for the 1st time it was worth every penny.