Shift pattern of 4 speed turbo transmission?
 

Is it:

R 2 4
|--|--
1 3

According to the previous owner my car has a tranmission out of a 'mid 1980s porsche turbo' - the car shifts like crap and I am afraid I am skipping gears, the best way I can describe the shifting in this car is 'like an older volkswagon beetle', I am used to driving BMW's (recently sold my M3), is this normal shifting?

It's

R 1 - 3
...2 - 4

My friend says his 80 930 shifts good but don't expect it to be like a newer jap/european car

reverse is definitly up & to the left, but it seems like 1st is directly below it?

the 930 4spd definitely has 1st gear next to reverse.

Sounds like you have a 901 4spd tranny. What year is your car?

From driving the car twice (it's a second car I am working on) it seems like:

R..2..4
|-|-
1..3

The car is a modified 1966 912.

Also - it definitly only has 4 gears, I thought the 901 was a 5spd?

Maybe the shifting is so bad I am not sure where the gear is? Is there a porsche 4spd with 1st under R?

Az911 is correct. The shift pattern for the 930 4-speed is:

R 1 - 3
...2 - 4

Are you certain the car has a 930 gearbox?

That's what I was told, is there a easily visible stamp on the tranny I can look for?

It is possible I am starting it in 2nd and shifting up to 3rd, although it feels like a truck if I try to start in the gear next to R, which on a 930 would be 1st?

The gears don't seem to be as defined as on other cars.

I would venture the guess that you have a 901 gearbox. I don't think they were all 5 speed, and considering you could get an early S in 4 speed I bet 912's were. Why would a 912 have a turbo gearbox? There would need to be a lot of modification, I believe, like flywheel and bellhousing, to make such a conversion.

I think the 930 gearbox will have a number stamped on it starting with 930, maybe along the lines of 930/XX. I think 915's are numbered that way, maybe 901's too?

901's come in both 4 and 5 speeds - sounds like you have a 901 4 speed

R 2 4

1 3

i've driven 901 5 speeds and they need a lot of work to get them shifting half decent - very vague as to where gears are

Take a look beneath the gearbox, near the drain plug. The 930 gearboxes have their part number & serial number stamped there as shown in the picture below.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1091149799.jpg

A 930 gearbox will have a 930/6* part number followed by its serial number.

it is not a 930 box from a logical standpoint. Most likely it is just a 902 4speed offered in those years