HELP! Original 916 Transmission
12-22-2002, 04:07 AM
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Track Day
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Long Beach, CA
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HELP! Original 916 Transmission
916 Oil Pump Gears and Tail Housing Gear Cover w/External Oil Cooler Fittings
Unfortunately for me, I fell victim to someone I loaned my original 916 transmission. Once upon a time, in 1987, as a favor (I received no compensation or benefit), I loaned my original 916 transmission to a shop for "demonstration purposes only"(Huh?). It turned out to be that the owner was interested in reproducing some of the unique components of the 916. These parts were going to be packaged as a “kit” to later be made available to others. I did not have a problem with that. The months past, and after numerous telephone calls to the shop, many requests to pick up my 916, countless days of aggravation, and threatening calls to take legal action (as last resort), I was then finally granted the “right” and was allowed to come by and pick up my 916 transmission.
That episode should have been the first clue that something was wrong, very wrong! When I did get my 916 transmission back, I then made my second mistake (a terrible mistake!) as I failed to re-inspect my 916 to insure that all the rare racing components were still there. At that time, I did not know any better. I was a “naïve” Porsche owner who had “no reason” to suspect a shop owner which appeared honest and advertised in your regular national Porsche publications (that’s where I found him in the first place!). I was your typical Porsche owner and not your frequent "POC weekend racing warrior".
After finally being able to pick up my 916 from “that” shop and taking it home, relieved, I stored it away until I could continue with my life-long dream, my "914-6 GT project". The years went by, a new business, a wife and 3 kids later, and now it was time to pick up the GT project again. Recently (this week), I decided to take my 916 transmission out of “moth-*****” to have it inspected for gearing changes, condition, etc., by a trustworthy and very knowledgeable and respected friend in the industry, Carl Thompson.
Before taking the transmission for inspection to Carl, I decided to take off the “oil pump cover” located at the “tail housing” of the 916. It was then that I discovered the results of my “2nd mistake”, as both small “oil pump gears” were missing from the tail housing! HERE WE GO AGAIN! #@!?S...! Until something like this happens to you, no one can put into words and really explain how it feels to have been violated in such a way. It did not take me very long to figure out what had happened as the week before I picked up the transmission from the “that” shop, the owner and I removed the “oil pump gear cover” and “there they were”, we both stood there and saw the two “oil pump gears” installed in the tail housing of the 916. Maybe some say, “are you sure you had the gears installed?” Believe me, if you buy a 916 and you have the money to pay, you KNOW what these gears do and if you have them installed or not!
Well, I am not “David Copperfield”, so I immediately ruled out the strong possibility that I was the one responsible for making these gears disappear. Also, knowing that the 916 transmission went directly from “that” shop to my “protective custody” (my home), the possibility of it being someone else who was responsible, was ruled out as well.
The shop owner WON! Not only did he talk me into trading him (at no cost to him or benefit to me) my rare “916 Tail-housing oil pump cover” with the built-in “external oil cooler fittings” (a nice racing piece to have, no longer available, which allows you to run the external transmission oil cooler), but before allowing me to pick up my 916, he also helped himself to my oil pump gears as well. There you have it! I now own a very nice 916 transmission with no internal forced lubrication! I may not even have the internal "spray-bar" and will not know for sure until I take the transmission further apart. The shop owner calculated that with my level of expertise, I was not going to take the transmission apart and check, if I did, unless I took it to someone that really knew and was familiar with the 916s, no one would ever notice. How many Porsche mechanics do you know that have seen an original 916 transmission? Not many. He was fortunate enough that it happened that way. It would have been nice if he had asked for my permission to have the gears reproduced using my originals, but just simply helping himself to my gears was just too hard to resist and the easiest way!
For those of you who don’t know, the 916 transmissions are very rare racing transmissions as I was told less than 30 of these units were made (I can not verify the validity of this statement, but I know they are rare). As quoted by Bruce Anderson, “The type 916 transmission became the replacement for the racing transmissions in 1969 because of the added demands placed on the transmission by the 3.0-liter 908 engines” (Porsche 911 Performance Handbook, Chapter 7, pg 226). I can understand why someone armed with “this knowledge” would want to take a shot at the opportunity to take advantage of someone like me. To explore the possibilities of just how many pieces can be taken off of my 916 without the owner consent, or noticing. Sad, but true… Can anyone relate to this so far or am I the only “idiot” out there that this has happened to?
I want to apologize for the lengthy thread. Maybe I am doing this to take some of my frustration out in the open. However, I also think it was important to share my story with you and to let others know what happened in my situation. Many years have past, but these memories still haunt me. No, I will not disclose who did this to me, as I don’t think it would be the correct thing to do. I am not that way and I can’t prove now he did it! Too many years have passed and the “statue of limitations” is now "poof" just like my gears! One day, somehow, his deeds will catch up to him. Maybe those of us with similar situations can be a little more “cautious” and “careful” than I was. Hopefully, you will not suffer a similar misfortune. I know I am by far not the first, nor will I be the last for that matter.
To those who took the time to read my story, and are able to help, I will be forever grateful. If you have these parts and they are available for sale, please contact me regarding the “oil pump gears” and the “racing oil pump gear cover” with the incorporated “external oil cooler fittings”. If you have these original parts, could you assist me in having them reproduced, at my expense, of course! At this time I don’t have the Porsche part numbers but hopefully I will be able to obtain them soon. I’ll post an update.
I can be contacted by email at ajserrano@msn.com
Thank you all again! <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />
PS: I recently contacted and spoke with Walt Adriance who in the late 70s purchased two 916 transmissions from Allan Johnson Racing, San Diego. I purchased one of his two 916 transmissions in 1984. Since Walt rebuilt and knows my 916 very well, I may have Walt Adriance inspect my 916 to determine if anything else may have been tampered with, removed, missing or swapped (Internal Spray-bar, main-shaft, gears, etc.), I hope this is not going to be the case…
Unfortunately for me, I fell victim to someone I loaned my original 916 transmission. Once upon a time, in 1987, as a favor (I received no compensation or benefit), I loaned my original 916 transmission to a shop for "demonstration purposes only"(Huh?). It turned out to be that the owner was interested in reproducing some of the unique components of the 916. These parts were going to be packaged as a “kit” to later be made available to others. I did not have a problem with that. The months past, and after numerous telephone calls to the shop, many requests to pick up my 916, countless days of aggravation, and threatening calls to take legal action (as last resort), I was then finally granted the “right” and was allowed to come by and pick up my 916 transmission.
That episode should have been the first clue that something was wrong, very wrong! When I did get my 916 transmission back, I then made my second mistake (a terrible mistake!) as I failed to re-inspect my 916 to insure that all the rare racing components were still there. At that time, I did not know any better. I was a “naïve” Porsche owner who had “no reason” to suspect a shop owner which appeared honest and advertised in your regular national Porsche publications (that’s where I found him in the first place!). I was your typical Porsche owner and not your frequent "POC weekend racing warrior".
After finally being able to pick up my 916 from “that” shop and taking it home, relieved, I stored it away until I could continue with my life-long dream, my "914-6 GT project". The years went by, a new business, a wife and 3 kids later, and now it was time to pick up the GT project again. Recently (this week), I decided to take my 916 transmission out of “moth-*****” to have it inspected for gearing changes, condition, etc., by a trustworthy and very knowledgeable and respected friend in the industry, Carl Thompson.
Before taking the transmission for inspection to Carl, I decided to take off the “oil pump cover” located at the “tail housing” of the 916. It was then that I discovered the results of my “2nd mistake”, as both small “oil pump gears” were missing from the tail housing! HERE WE GO AGAIN! #@!?S...! Until something like this happens to you, no one can put into words and really explain how it feels to have been violated in such a way. It did not take me very long to figure out what had happened as the week before I picked up the transmission from the “that” shop, the owner and I removed the “oil pump gear cover” and “there they were”, we both stood there and saw the two “oil pump gears” installed in the tail housing of the 916. Maybe some say, “are you sure you had the gears installed?” Believe me, if you buy a 916 and you have the money to pay, you KNOW what these gears do and if you have them installed or not!
Well, I am not “David Copperfield”, so I immediately ruled out the strong possibility that I was the one responsible for making these gears disappear. Also, knowing that the 916 transmission went directly from “that” shop to my “protective custody” (my home), the possibility of it being someone else who was responsible, was ruled out as well.
The shop owner WON! Not only did he talk me into trading him (at no cost to him or benefit to me) my rare “916 Tail-housing oil pump cover” with the built-in “external oil cooler fittings” (a nice racing piece to have, no longer available, which allows you to run the external transmission oil cooler), but before allowing me to pick up my 916, he also helped himself to my oil pump gears as well. There you have it! I now own a very nice 916 transmission with no internal forced lubrication! I may not even have the internal "spray-bar" and will not know for sure until I take the transmission further apart. The shop owner calculated that with my level of expertise, I was not going to take the transmission apart and check, if I did, unless I took it to someone that really knew and was familiar with the 916s, no one would ever notice. How many Porsche mechanics do you know that have seen an original 916 transmission? Not many. He was fortunate enough that it happened that way. It would have been nice if he had asked for my permission to have the gears reproduced using my originals, but just simply helping himself to my gears was just too hard to resist and the easiest way!
For those of you who don’t know, the 916 transmissions are very rare racing transmissions as I was told less than 30 of these units were made (I can not verify the validity of this statement, but I know they are rare). As quoted by Bruce Anderson, “The type 916 transmission became the replacement for the racing transmissions in 1969 because of the added demands placed on the transmission by the 3.0-liter 908 engines” (Porsche 911 Performance Handbook, Chapter 7, pg 226). I can understand why someone armed with “this knowledge” would want to take a shot at the opportunity to take advantage of someone like me. To explore the possibilities of just how many pieces can be taken off of my 916 without the owner consent, or noticing. Sad, but true… Can anyone relate to this so far or am I the only “idiot” out there that this has happened to?
I want to apologize for the lengthy thread. Maybe I am doing this to take some of my frustration out in the open. However, I also think it was important to share my story with you and to let others know what happened in my situation. Many years have past, but these memories still haunt me. No, I will not disclose who did this to me, as I don’t think it would be the correct thing to do. I am not that way and I can’t prove now he did it! Too many years have passed and the “statue of limitations” is now "poof" just like my gears! One day, somehow, his deeds will catch up to him. Maybe those of us with similar situations can be a little more “cautious” and “careful” than I was. Hopefully, you will not suffer a similar misfortune. I know I am by far not the first, nor will I be the last for that matter.
To those who took the time to read my story, and are able to help, I will be forever grateful. If you have these parts and they are available for sale, please contact me regarding the “oil pump gears” and the “racing oil pump gear cover” with the incorporated “external oil cooler fittings”. If you have these original parts, could you assist me in having them reproduced, at my expense, of course! At this time I don’t have the Porsche part numbers but hopefully I will be able to obtain them soon. I’ll post an update.
I can be contacted by email at ajserrano@msn.com
Thank you all again! <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" />
PS: I recently contacted and spoke with Walt Adriance who in the late 70s purchased two 916 transmissions from Allan Johnson Racing, San Diego. I purchased one of his two 916 transmissions in 1984. Since Walt rebuilt and knows my 916 very well, I may have Walt Adriance inspect my 916 to determine if anything else may have been tampered with, removed, missing or swapped (Internal Spray-bar, main-shaft, gears, etc.), I hope this is not going to be the case…
12-23-2002, 07:50 PM
#2
once you get it itemized, i would certainly confront the perp, if for nothing else than to see him studder out a denial. then tell him you will expose him on the internet, even if you won't.
12-28-2002, 08:07 PM
#3
Instructor
That sucks!!!! You owe it fellow Porsche owners in your area to expose this thief. I have heard stories with a similar ring to yours but none compare with the level of violation you have experienced. I can only imagine how you must feel. To take advantage of your generosity and remove parts from such a rare and valuable transmission is truely a crime of the highest order. I hope this guy is crushed by the rock he slithers under in the light of day.
