Shift rod / transmission height question

[wjdunham]

Just finished installing a 3.2 with a 1976 mag case 915 in my 1969E project. I had a bit of trouble aligning the two transmission mount bolts. Loosening up all the bolts holding the cross member to the transmission and the mounts at the ends of the cross member let me get the bolts started without any resistance, but the mount seemed to be sitting just less than 1/8" to the rear of the car. I could not get the engine/transmission assembly to move forward any farther.

I went inside to adjust the shift coupler, and I see that the shift rod is quite close to the bottom of the opening, very similar to this photo - this picture is not from my car, but mine is about the same. The shift coupler went on just fine and there doesn't appear to be an extreme angle with the long shift coupling rod, no binding etc...

Should I be concerned at all? The car is otherwise straight, it just looks like the transmission is sitting a bit low just from the shift rod alignment view.

[porschyard]

You can raise the transmission a few mm to get a better correlation with the shift rod opening by using a factory spacer plate like this one or make one yourself if you are handy. The part # is 911 375 311 00 and we’re used on some but not all 74-77 915 and also some 930 mounts to adjust the transmission nose height due to inconsistent build tolerances. Richard

[john walker's workshop]

Did you clearance the tunnel over the nose of the trans with a big hammer?

[wjdunham]

Hi John, that was my first thought. When I test fit the transmission without the engine attached I found one point of interference with an "ear" on trans the driver's side for one of the bolts to secure the front cover which was hitting right below the seat belt mounting hole. I ground the ear down on the tans. a little bit and did massage the tunnel with a hammer, but maybe not quite enough. I did check that point after the install, and I can slide a piece of thin cardboard in there, so it's tight but doesn't appear to be the root cause.

I was a bit surprised how much clearance I had otherwise, was expecting to have to more "massaging". The mounts are definitely snug up against the chassis/cross member so I don't believe clearance with the tunnel is causing the issue. I'll double check to be sure...

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

Did you clearance the tunnel over the nose of the trans with a big hammer?

[gled49]

In original operation Mag trans got one spacer, later Alu trans got no spacer. In my 12-69 production 70S I had to use 2 spacers to center the shift rod in the tunnel with an Alu trans. I fit what I needed to make it work.

[wjdunham]

Thanks guys! Looks like some variation in that area is expected, I'll see if I can find some of the spacers to raise it up a bit.

Bill

[inastrangeland]

Did you keep the mechanical speedo and clutch setup?

[gled49]

Another thing I found out about putting a 915 in my 70 car, was the use of the original 911/901 bell crank instead of the 915 bell crank. The position of the ball & socket lined up much better with the tunnel opening for the throttle rod than the 915 bell crank.

[wjdunham]

My 915 is a very early 1976 box which has an electronic speedo. I've already ditched the mechanical speedo and cable and wired up the electronic version.

I swapped the shifter, shift rod and clutch cable for 915 versions, but I kept the original 1969 pedal cluster.

I used the 915 bell crank (the one which looks to be pushed out farther from the transmission in the above pics) but I don't see any big alignment issues. I do need to find an extra 1/2" of length on the throttle rod though, currently it's a bit short.

[gled49]

Is your isolator in place.

[wjdunham]

Yep, it's there.

Originally Posted by gled49

Is your isolator in place.