Sherwoods new 915 shifter feedback???

[Joeaksa]

Has anyone gotten their hands on Sherwood's modified shifter for the 915 tranny and if so how does it work?

Really looked nice and hope he sells lots of them! Will do almost anything (except pay $300 for a new shifter) to get my 915 working better.

Joe

[widebody911]

I bought one, but I won't be able to install it until next week.

[Joeaksa]

Thom,

How did it look? Knowing Sherwood the quality is excellent and I hope it improves shifting.

Pls get back to us with a report!

Joe

[pbs911]

For us California guys, there are 2 choices on Sherwoods site. I went to place an order but didn't know if there is a difference in the two. Anyone know. For the $150 price, I'd like to give it a shot.

[911pcars]

"....I went to place an order but didn't know if there is a difference in the two. Anyone know."

Hi Paul,
I know. You may have been confused (my fault) because there's an order link for CA sales tax and one without. In addition, I ask what type of shifter you currently use. There is only a minor difference in a tension spring I supply.

By way of some housing history:
The Gate Shift kit installs on all shift housings from '73-'86. The '72 shift housing is a modified 901 shifter that the factory upgraded to the current style. Owners of this year need to upgrade to a later shift housing to install the Gate Shift kit.

There are essentially two basic housings. I'll call the '73-84 version, Type I. The '85 version I'll call Type II. The Type II housing reduces the lever throw by about 10% over the Type I housing. In '77, the factory added a threaded pin on the housing to adjust the left/right play (less important with the Gate Shift kit). The factory short shift kit (#911.924.931.00) replaces all the moveable parts in either housing. It provides an overall 20-25% reduction in lever throw. BTW, if you have a Weltmeister short shift kit, the Type I/II Gate Shift kit should work fine. I've sold some kits to owners with this shifter and have not heard of any install issues.

I supply a different tension spring for housings upgraded to the factory short shifter (FSS) due to the different pivot geometry of the shift lever. The spring is the only difference.

So what if you don't know what the PO did to the shift housing? Remove the shift boot, then measure the distance from the bottom of the housing to the center line of the shift lever pivot pin. You can see the pivot pin through a cutout on the pass. side of the housing. Here are the approx. dimensions/visual cues:

Type I: 1.5" (38mm)
Type II: 1.75" (44mm), +6mm over Type I
FSS: 2.125" (54mm), +16mm over Type I
Weltmeister: Spacer added under the housing

Sorry, the short answer got longer
Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[GIBSON]

I wrote up an installation article a while back. Here's the link.
Installing Sherwood Lee's Gate Shifter Kit

Since the article, I've welded the shift gate lever to the shift arm,
I'll post photos of that tonight.

[pbs911]

Sherwood,
Thanks for clarifying that. I just ordered one from your site and I think I got the right one. Only two choices, right? But I didn't see any option for stating what type of shifter I have. Its a Weltmeister short shifter. Any questions drop me an email.

[GIBSON]

Welding the shift gate arm to the shift arm is necessary in my opinion. I tried the clamp and it's too hard to keep it in place.
Sherwood now has an arm that is radiused to match the shift arm so the clamp might work better but I'd still weld it in place.
Here's the gate arm clamped to the shift rod prior to welding:


And here's the finished product, painted, showing my lousy weld
job. At least it's covered by the boot.

[rfng]

I've seen it install on Sherwood's car and did play with the shifter at his house. I thought it was pretty trick. It definitely gives the transmission a precise pattern. Probably one of the best upgrades you can buy for your car.

[911pcars]

Rfng,
Okay, glowing testimonial for a hamburger. You've got it. How about putting one in your SC now or are you going to buy the GT2 right away?

Sherwood
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[rfng]

Actually I've been looking at a 96 TT at Pacific Porsche which allegedly has 13K miles on it, I'm told its a consignment car belonging to Charlie Sheen. As for my comments, I stand by them, it may be hamburger, but is was ground from filet mignon.