It quickly became obvious that the Gearbox would need a full rebuild. The synchros were shot as were the slider gears, the gear ratios didn't look too bad but there was wear to the Pinion gears and diff. I was happy for them to rebuild it and they gave me a 2 week schedule...perfect ! Then I got a call saying that it would be better to get a new case rather than machining, some of the pressed races were worn and had play in them.
So I started to look for a case and then came across a complete 911/01 box for sale.....I should have listened to the warning voice in my head but I pulled the trigger and bought it sight unseen. I collected my old Gearbox and associated parts from German Transaxle and said I would be in touch. The "new" Gearbox finally arrived.....but as soon as I opened the box I noticed a big crack around the starter motor housing !!
Speaking with the seller he put it down to sloppy FedEx shipping! Around this time I got in touch with Jeff Gamroth of Rothsport racing, I had met him in passing at the Emory campout afew months earlier and he had come out with us on one of the Sunday morning drives. The work that Jeff and his team do is amazing and the shop isn't too far away from work:
http://www.rothsport.com
I took the two gearboxes to Jeff and immediately he told me the "new" Gearbox was junk..."the only way that can crack is from a rear end impact"...Jeff is a straight talker, but said he would be able to build something out of the parts I had:
"How much" I asked ?
"Well you need a Gearbox" he said and we left it at that...he did like the Vanagon though
Jeff called afew weeks later and said the Gearbox was ready...He had used another case and upgraded a lot of internals with stronger parts, installed a new diff, and replaced the synchros and sliders. All in all the Gearbox should now out last the car ! And the price ? Not as bad as I was expecting...especially as on collection it was sitting on a bench next to a 908, two 2.7RS , a Speedster and the two safari 964's :wink:
So all back together and went for a drive around the block...
Gearbox feels super tight and direct (as direct as a 911/01 can be) and just little blip of the throttle tells us that the carb work made a massive difference
BTW...The seller of the other Gearbox admitted that the "goods were defected"...I sent it back and he gave me a full refund. There is a moral there somewhere.
Onwards!
Chris