deputydog95

I recently picked up a 914-6. It came with a Fabcar shifter. Raced it for the first time at Watkins Glen a couple months ago. Just awful. The shift effort was off the charts. So much so, I sprained my rotator cuff on the 4th day...

Fast forward to yesterday. I'm racing at Hutchinson's Island in Savannah. My shop adjusted the leverage on the shifter to reduce the effort, which resulted in unbeknownst to me, a narrowing of the gate. And when I say narrow, I mean around 3-4mm. Which subsequently resulted in me mis-selecting the proper gear. Twice.

Not good...

Needless to say, I'm really starting to hate this car. More so the shifter. The handling and braking are superb. The engine is great. However, if you can't shift it, what's the point?

With these cars being 40 years old, I have to believe someone has found a way to make this work and work well.

Looking forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

Matt Romanowski

I assume you still have a 901 transmission? No matter what, they take some skill to shift. You can't shift it fast like a new car. I don't know what you've driven before, but you have to love the 901 to shift it.

I've head the Fabcar shifters are hard to shift and end up with a very narrow gate. You're other options are a Rennshifter, Hargett Precision, or there is a guy in Colorado that does his own thing (don't know much else about him). I have the Rennshifter and it's better than a stock shifter. You might also want to talk to the 901 Shop as they have lots of experience with 901 transmissions and old race cars.

Also make sure you're linkage is very good. Any play in the linkage is amplified in the shifter. Tangerine Racing makes some nice bushings and a whole new linkage that can help.

deputydog95

Thanks for the reply. I'm coming out of a 997 GT3.

And yes, I have the 901 transmission. All the bushings have been gone through and upgraded where applicable.

I don't love the 901 so I'm not sure how this relationship is going to play out.... However, I've never driven one with a stock shifter. And it sucks with the FabCar.

Problem wtih the FabCar, is you can't shift it slow. If you slow down the shift, it won't go into gear smoothly. So you have to pull it and pull it with determination. With the gate so tight, it's a recipe for disaster. Which I've already experienced to some degree now. I drove it 6 days straight at the Glen without a single missed shift. However, the effort was awful. Now that they've reduced the effort, the gate takes way too much precision and as I mentioned before, I missed not one but 2 shifts.

Would it be best to go back to stock and go from there?

Matt Romanowski

You're in for a learning curve coming from a 997 which is a cable shift car.

You have a lot of options. I wouldn't go to a stock setup, but that would be the cheapest. I would go to a Rennshifter. That is better than a stock shifter and tighter. You can try to sell the Fabcar and probably end up even on the cost.

What motor do you have? Some people that don't like the 901 to a 915, but that is not cheap. You can get a Wevo kit for it and those are supposed to shift pretty good. It takes time to get them right though.

People have done custom cable shifters, but that takes time and money.

Thinking, Wevo might make a shifter that would work too. Easiest thing might be a call to the 901 Shop since you're not that far from them. They do first class work.

deputydog95

I have a 2 liter car.

It's being maintained by Zotz Racing. They're an experienced crew nad know what they're doing, but I think they have little experience with this particular shifter in a 914 and actually prefer the stock shifter combined with a lock out mechanism.

I ran this morning. Did a bunch of short shifts with no issues, but it wasn't fun. The 4 to 5 shift is still brutal as far as effort and leaves you with very little confidence you're in the right gear when you let the clutch out.

Since then they've done some "tweaking". We found another 914 here with a FabCar and are trying to mimic some of the tricks they've implemented to get it right. I have another practice at 2p and then a race at 4p.

We'll see how it goes....

NaroEscape

I race with a Rennshift and love it. GT3 perfect? No...but really easy to shift, and if its adjusted correctly (very easy) when you miss a shift it's your fault, not the shifter's. I can shift fairly quickly, even my wife loves it. and honestly...I would go with stock before Fabcar...

I honestly can't say enough good things about the Rennshift. Have them in both of our cars. Everyone that's driven either of them swear that I must have a cable shift or something more exotic. Nope...Rennshift to all stock everything else...

skl

Have the Rennshift in both my 914's and recommend it. Also have a .2 GT3 and I wouldn't even try to compare the shifting between the two. You're comparing something designed in the 60's to a 997?? Not fair!!

racerbvd

Have you thought about a Wevo shifter???
http://wevo.com/Products/ShifterProd...ter-915All.htm
Let me know if you want to get rid of the Fab Car shifter, I may be interested.

Nextep

I have a FabCar shifter with a Vellios side-shift conversion on a 915 transmission. The overall mechanism stinks. There is no way that I will take the car to the track in its current condition. Shift effort is heavy, but I can live with it. However, the 2-3 shift is a nightmare. Sometimes, it simply will not engage.

I plan to start at the rear-most end of the linkage to remove some of the slop introduced by the stock bushing arrangement on the tranny itself.

By the way, the FabCar shifter is a thing of beauty. I would hate to loose it.

deputydog95

So my shop is continuing to wrestle with this dumb Fabcar shifter. I raced at Sebring last month, and it was ok at best.

However, it got stiffer as the weekend wore on. No idea what that is about. I did have to race in the rain (on hoosier R6, that was fun) towards the end of the weekend so maybe some water got into something...

So far, I still hate it. But it's tolerable in its current condition.

I'm debating on putting it back to stock, but I've never driven it like that so it would be learning all over again. Sometimes the devil you know.... Not sure what my next move is.

deputydog95

This is the rennshift you guys are referring to right?

http://www.jwesteng.com/shop/index.p...roller=product

Nextep

After reading your thread, I will disconnect the shifter from the linkage to see if it moves acceptably with no load. Thanks for the idea.

NaroEscape

Joe/Nextep,
Tell me about the Vellios on the 915: what is the shift pattern? is it normal 915, or is it 901? Reason I ask...I have a 915 with Vellios side shift conversion sitting on the floor waiting to go in the car, but I don't know if the Rennshift I have will work, or do I need to change the shifter? and if I do...to what?

TIA

Andrew - Yes, that's the one. Make sure you get the one for your transmission (side or tail shift)

Nextep

Unfortunately, I store my 914 elsewhere, so I cannot provide pictures right away. This is my first 914, so I am learning as I go. My car uses the Vellios setup on the transmission. Vellios uses the stock setup to translate transmission actuation to the linkage rod, as in the attached picture from another car. From there, a single rod goes through the firewall and all the way to the base of the FabCar shifter. The firewall uses a large rubber boot to isolate the engine compartment from the interior, but there is no intermediate bushing to support the linkage rod.

Shifting is very tight but not a burden. My biggest problem is the 2-3 upshift. Sometimes, it simply will not engage. Until I read your post, I planned to replace the rear shift mechaism with something custom like a spherical bearing to provide more accuracy. Now, I'll start with rebuilding the shifter just to be sure.

TREMPER

The problem many times is the rear white plastic bushing. I have found a solution to that problem. Go to your local hardware store and buy a short 1/2 inch pipe nipple ( one that is all threads) and two thin 1/2 inch nuts. Hack saw 1/2 of the nipple away on both ends. Install in place of the white bushing and anchor with the thin 1/2 inch nuts. Make sure the fifth gear does not hit the inside nut..if so file away the some of the nut so there is clearance. Have used this "trick" for years with great success. Makes shifting a "dream" for a 901..
My two cents...