915 shifter floor plate a bolt in ??/

[mpetry]

I have a cracked shift floor plate and I have heard that the '74 and later floor plate (for the 915 trans) will bolt in (to my '68 912 with 901 trans) and give some improved shifting feel - it is gated -and the factory short shifter kit is available for this shifter, unlike the 901 factory short shift which is NLA.

I do not want to bend up my trans with the Weltmeister 901 short shift kit - and I have to buy one or the other floor plates.

Anybody out there have experience with a mod like this - and know if this is truly a bolt in and if so will it work well? Any experience or thoughts on this mod ? Would like to order parts and get it done this week.

Thanks

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA

[911pcars]

Mark,
Excuse me for answering your post at this late date as I don't usually browse in this forum. The shift detents on both 915 and 901 gearboxes are inside the gearbox housing; the shift housing merely provides a lever and pivot to change gears. That said, we all know the factory shift housings, especially the 901, are fairly vague. This is due to the distance from the gearbox and accumulated wear in the various linkage pivot points.

For a definite improvement, you can substitute a 915 shift housing in place of the 901 shifter - same geometry. However, the spring-loaded feature for 5th/Rev. in the 915 helps define 4th/5th in a 901. A product I manufacture, the Gate Shift kit, provides that same spring-loaded effect for the left side gears; 1/2 in a 915. When the Gate Shift kit/915 shift housing combo is used with a 901 gearbox, R/1 becomes spring-loaded.

This results in 2nd/3rd as the default shift plane from which the driver must counteract spring pressure to shift to the other gears. You have to overcome spring tension to shift out of 2nd/3rd, thus reducing the chance of selecting the wrong gear.

As an added bonus, using a 915 shift housing allows using a short shift kit (factory or any aftermarket) to shorten the throws.

Hope the above wasn't too confusing.

Regards,
Sherwood
www.seinesystems.com