915 rebuild.... starting to hate this car

[johnman001]

The only way I could afford these cars for so much of my life is that I learned how to work on them when I started driving them way back in the 80s when you could still get printed copies of factory manuals. Along the way, I purchased most of the specialty tools and learned how to use them as well. I've done engines and transmissions that last at least as long as they did when they were new, but I'm not a real machinist, so I've never personally repaired loose bearing races in trans cases or intermediate cases. 901 gearboxes used to be able to be fixed with a billet intermediate plate to fix loose bearing races. 915 boxes tend to require some machine work. I know WEVO at least used to offer a solution to the loose bearing races. I do like the WEVO single piece bearing retainer plate. I hope you are able to either find a used 915 or repair your existing transaxle for a reasonable sum.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

But, if you don’t love the car to start with, it’s all meaningless and a waste of cash and time

This is why he should sell.
Too much negativity from the start.

The car is not an old friend.
It's a new enemy.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

This is why he should sell.
Too much negativity from the start.

The car is not an old friend.
It's a new enemy.

Agree 100%, well said!

[Geronimo]

With prices where they are selling now would be nearly a 50% loss I think. I was watching videos of old SC's last night and if the car drives well with the new trans I can see falling in love with it again.

It might be better, as the trans was nackered from the get go, so driving the car was never really fun. With this new trans I will never take it past 70% throttle, and just try to enjoy the car for its nostalgia.

[ramonesfreak]

FYI I put a rennshift in mine this year and wow do I love shifting my 915 now. Huge improvement for $600. Assuming your 915 is working properly in the first place

[Geronimo]

Yea, I have that shifter going in as well as all the bushings and coupler

[Nditiz1]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

With prices where they are selling now would be nearly a 50% loss I think. I was watching videos of old SC's last night and if the car drives well with the new trans I can see falling in love with it again.

It might be better, as the trans was nackered from the get go, so driving the car was never really fun. With this new trans I will never take it past 70% throttle, and just try to enjoy the car for its nostalgia.

You don't need to put a limit on the throttle. Enjoy the experience every aspect. All you need to know is to not powershift it. The car is elegant so treat it that way. If you want to speed shift through gears for the thrill then get a honda civic and thrash away. Don't be afraid to drive your car just be conscience that you may need to pause before the next gear. I don't drive my other better transmission cars, .:R32, differently than I drive the 911.

[ramonesfreak]

Good.

I’m not sure why I keep going back and reading this thread because truthfully it aggravates me. But, I feel bad for you not because I know you, but rather because I love these cars and I know how much joy it gives me and I hope the same for you and anyone else

I remember when I first got mine and I let my brother drive it and he said “I though Porsche’s are suppose to be fast”.

I tried to explain to him that it’s not about going corvette fast down the highway, it’s about the entire visceral feeling....zipping around curves in 2nd or 3rd, feeling the road and responsiveness of the engine and the sound and the smell and the look and a thousand other little things

Commenters on BAT and everywhere else always say the same about the 70s and 80s ferrari 308 and many other sports cars of the era...these people just don’t understand the attraction to not wanting an 8 speed double clutch paddle shifter 500hp modern car

These cars offer so much more than a Miata or corvette or viper.....if that’s what you want from a car.

If you keep this car, I think you would benefit greatly by joining your regions PCA in an effort to make contact with others that have knowledge of how to DIY them in your general area. That’s how my PO had the trans rebuilt expertly and at a fair price. I’m not a member, but, like I said above I am more than willing to let the car sit for as long as it takes until I can afford to do a repair. I’m simply not interested in or willing to screw up a transmission or engine rebuild so I have no interest in making such connections. But you do seem to have the interest. Just a suggestion and good luck with it. Sorry about your frustrations

Originally Posted by Geronimo

Yea, I have that shifter going in as well as all the bushings and coupler

[Geronimo]

We'll see, I just don't trust that 915, I would never speed shift it.

Wondering how has the R32(I assume GTR) been for you. I almost went that route, but on my list of lust the 911 is first

[Geronimo]

I get the nuance that you are talking about, the subtle character of an old classic car. The click of the door handle, the smells, and perfection in the imperfections all becoming part of the totality of the car.

I love all of that, trouble is I want some POWER (clarkson voice) too. LOL, although I may not have the income to support my wants. Although many here have done so on a non-doctors income.

I will learn the car and love the car, I will bring my skills up to the cars needs and my wants in the hope that at the intersection lies what I am searching for. I have to learn patience as my wife often tells me.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

We'll see, I just don't trust that 915, I would never speed shift it.

Those are two different things. A 915 can't be speed shifted. Your distrust of the gearbox has nothing to do with that. You keep acting like it's some delicate flower you are going to crush. A long long list of motorsports accomplishments disagree with your irrational fears.

[ramonesfreak]

If you had an F40 or a Miura or a Countach or a Lusso or a Testarossa you wouldn’t speed shift any of those either and you wouldn’t want to see the repair bills for any of those either

[Geronimo]

Yea mean the race prepped trans that's rebuilt before every race? I'm simply suggesting that spirited driving a 915 seems to run the chance of destroying it, not unlike many other transmissions. Perhaps the 915's reputation is exaggerated, but I don't think it is completely unearned.

But unlike a T5 trans I can't replace it for a grand I'd rather not be back replacing a trans 8 years from now... if it means taking it very easy on the trans so be it. As it has been said these are not acceleration cars, but momentum cars, not so unlike a miata

Spirited acceleration isn't where a Porsche is supposed to shine right? It's about carrying that speed I thought.

[ramonesfreak]

I’m someone who respects Harry Metcalfe’s opinion about cars. Jeremy Clarkson not so much. In fact I can’t stand him....probably because of his anti-911 rants. One thing I like about jay leno, he very much appreciates old and new and understands the beauty to be found in either

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I get the nuance that you are talking about, the subtle character of an old classic car. The click of the door handle, the smells, and perfection in the imperfections all becoming part of the totality of the car.

I love all of that, trouble is I want some POWER (clarkson voice) too. LOL, although I may not have the income to support my wants. Although many here have done so on a non-doctors income.

I will learn the car and love the car, I will bring my skills up to the cars needs and my wants in the hope that at the intersection lies what I am searching for. I have to learn patience as my wife often tells me.

[stormin48061]

Geronimino... I spent the time to go thru this post. I didn't realize that till i read the post, you bought the car on BAT. I said "oh oh" I am like Boom Boom.,,long on the tooth in age. I'll will share my experience which I hope is an inspiration to help sooth over where you are at now. My 911 was my childhood dream stemming from the R&T pic of the green 73 RS on the cover. In a nutshell almost bought a 68 vette (wife nixed what she called a penis car, but should've would've could've didn't) , bought a 240Z instead, sold the 240 after upteen body work rebuilds (POS), couldn't find an affordable 73RS in 1986, so i searched for 2 yrs for a blk 911, but ended up buying a one owner 74 911, had it PPI out in La La land etc. So here's the part that sucked for me (and the only way I can say, is "if I only knew back then what I know now".. that's what experience buys you, but you can't turn the clock back to save my a whack of dough back then). I am mechanically inclined, but 911s are a different beast. Forums and internet back then was nowhere near what it is today to share info and experience. True to form the 2.7L died, two years after I got it. I read about the 3.0L being more bullet proof, so that's the way I went instead of rebuilding the 2.7 to the tune of $15k back then. What I didn't know till later in life was how easy it was to pull the engine (lots of pics and instructions here!). If I known that I would have pulled the 2.7L and dropped in the 3.0 L myself, but it cost me $12k for a shop to do that, a shop that certified 911 for tracking, a very good German mech. In short my wife was not a happy camper... $12k more for the toy. So I went thru the same grinding you did back then. From that, I learned how easy it was to pull the motor and tranny out of these cars. My original tranny was acting up so I bought a spare off PP as a backup and about 5 yrs ago, I swapped out the tranny for the backup. As I read your posts, I said to myself, "this is what he could have done" and saved a boatload of dough. Unfortunately, timing and knowledge is what it's all about. A 911 enthusiast runs in the blood like being a dem or rep. If you like the 911 for all those wrong reasons, fix it, add it to the debt, pay it off over the next 25 yrs and when you kid gets to driving age, you'll see that what you are grinding at now was a blimp on the radar. I am sure your 911 will blow out in pricing when you are 25 years older than now... look at what they are paying for mustangs, novas, camaros road runners these days? i've owned those and driven those and I personally wouldn't spend a dime on those cars as you are comparing apples to oranges on the quality of the machine compared to the 911. Make yourself feel better, look at a ferrari bill just for an oil change and basic maintenance. That was my other choice a 308 till i saw those bills.... crazy. Good luck!

[Geronimo]

Yea, I appreciate the tale, I try to look at things as will I really regret this when I am 75, answer is usually to just buy the car, take the trip spend the money and enjoy the memories.

I plan to outfit my garage to make working on the car as easy as I can, and to educate myself on how to so that I can do.

[ClickClickBoom]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I love all of that, trouble is I want some POWER (clarkson voice) too.

Get a 'vette.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

Yea mean the race prepped trans that's rebuilt before every race? I'm simply suggesting that spirited driving a 915 seems to run the chance of destroying it, not unlike many other transmissions. Perhaps the 915's reputation is exaggerated, but I don't think it is completely unearned.

There's not a whole lot of difference between a street 915 and a race one other than a cooler and spraybar. A 330 HP RSR puts more wear and tear on a 915 gearbox in 24 hours at Daytona or LeMans than you will in 100k of backcountry roads.

The single largest contributor to the 915's reputation is a long history of cheapskate owners who couldn't afford the cost of maintenance of these cars. What that led to was about 20 years in the 90s and 2000s where rebuilds were half arse and incomplete. Something broke or wore out, and instead of properly servicing the whole gearbox, just a few parts were thrown at it to put it back on the road. Then 25k later when a new different worn out part gives up the ghost, the owner starts whinging about this stupid unreliable gearbox that keeps breaking. It was his own damn fault. And you bought one of those cars and are now paying the price of the sins of the previous owner.

[ramonesfreak]

Spirited acceleration surely is somewhere that it shines. Winning drag races against muscle cars or modern lamborghinis is not where it shines

My trans has been rebuilt once since 1983 and the engine has never been opened

Accelerating hard out of second gear coming out of a right corner into third is done often in my car and is very thrilling

As has been said on this board a million times over the years, a well sorted 915 that is shifted properly can be and is, a great transmission

One things these are not are a 70s/80s triumph, mg or corvette or fiat x1/9 or other such toy crap. The 911 is an extraordinary sports car, a true sports car and can and should be, driven as such.

I find nothing at all fragile about my SC. The thing is a tank but, I would never abuse it and I don’t try to speed shift it. It’s not designed to speed shift. No car back then was.

Originally Posted by Geronimo

Yea mean the race prepped trans that's rebuilt before every race? I'm simply suggesting that spirited driving a 915 seems to run the chance of destroying it, not unlike many other transmissions. Perhaps the 915's reputation is exaggerated, but I don't think it is completely unearned.

But unlike a T5 trans I can't replace it for a grand I'd rather not be back replacing a trans 8 years from now... if it means taking it very easy on the trans so be it. As it has been said these are not acceleration cars, but momentum cars, not so unlike a miata

Spirited acceleration isn't where a Porsche is supposed to shine right? It's about carrying that speed I thought.

[Trackrash]

We are so spoiled with these cars. The last time I took my car to the track, it was weird. I'm out there in my 47 year old car on the track with all these new cars. Camaros, Audis, and a Demon Challanger.

What other 45+ year old car could you drive to the track. Run laps all day long, then drive home?

My first transmission, which I rebuilt in 1985, a 901/911 btw, had 90K miles, hundreds of autocross runs, and dozens of track days. Still was fine when I sold it a couple of years ago.

Now I have a fresh 915, which I rebuilt myself as well. It shifts great. OK, so no speed shifting from 1st to 2nd, but otherwise when on the track it shifts like I would expect a street based trans to shift. I imagine it will outlive me.

Trust me, we would not be having this conversation if we were talking about anything British, Japanese or Italian made.