After welding the shifter block up (very neatly but forgot to take pics) i took my time cleaning,adjusting and greasing all the contact parts so it was tight but not giving any resistance. The PO told me this was a Short Shift kit which it appears to be but i'm not sure if its factory or aftermarket. It was quite simple to take apart and put back together, and once i put the assembly back in the car was time for a test drive. While i had driven other 911's in the past it was only for a short run and a long time ago, more recently i test drove 3 of the ones i looked at before buying this one. So it fair to say i'm no expert on how a 915 gearbox should feel, but i think my perseverance to try and improve my "Shifting Experience" indicates i knew mine could be better. Well it certainly was, no wobble in the gear lever at all, and the annoying rattle from the stick in 4th was gone, I reckon this was certainly due to the broken shifter block.
Out on the road the improvement was immediately noticeable, while it had not become as super slick as a modern car it felt like what you would expect from a sports car. There is a little balky feeling going into 1st and 2nd, while 3rd occasionally and a very slight.... not sure what to call it? Hmm.. if a crunch on the scale of 10 was a 10 then this would be a 1 and only sometimes .
I've read a lot about the the various techniques on how to shift a 915 gearbox and have tried most of them, i would have to say it does make a difference when you slightly pause in neutral from 1st to 2nd and 3rd to 4th. Also slightly lifting off and back on the clutch pedal in the neutral zone make for a smooth shift too. I think thats what they call "Double declutching". I did mean to re-check and adjust the shifter coupling now that everything related has been replaced or adjusted correctly. I now see how critical it is that all the related gear shift components are in good order and correctly adjusted. Very happy with the end result and very satisfying
So after all that work it was time to treat myself to an interior lighting improvement. Although this was one of the things on the to do list it was pretty far down as i wanted to spend my limited money and time making the car reliable and enjoyable to drive. The 1/2 candle power dash lights had been annoying me since i got the car, not that i drive at night a lot but when i do it would be nice to see the speedo.
I'm not going to go into too much detail here as pretty all there is to say about this subject has been said I reckon. So a few comments and some pics and hopefully you can make an informed decision.
Oh I should mention I got my LED's from a chap on here called Etarga huge thread (see below) on the subject including the LED's he sells and mostly positive!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/644374-ultimate-led-ba7s-bulbs-gauges-ala-etarga-pic-vid.html#post6424675
So this is the 1/2 candle power original bulbs (or Globes for our US friends).
Removing the steering wheel makes access really easy:
Once you get one gauge out the rest are easy to get out:
Fuel/oil guage with new LED next to Tacho with the candle and then Tacho with new LED next to Speedo with candle:
This one is with everything back together and the camera at the distance your head would be when sitting in the car, only side light (park Lights) on, at night with the garage lights out.
There are 10 LED's in the packet, 8 white, 1 blue for high beam indicator on the tacho and 1 green for the side/park light indicator on the speedo. These were not cheap compared to others you see around the web although they did seem to have mixed reviews, i suppose some of that depends on what their expectations were. Took about 30 min to fit but be prepared for a gauge or two that is a little stuck and don't force them.
In short i'm happy with them, not as bright as i expected but I suppose only time will tell if they are really value for money.
To be continued.....