That I absolutely believe! I'm sure it's the same way with many 'luxury' goods. Even at work I have to get my co-workers to slow down a bit and tell them: we can do it this good in an hour, but if we spend just a little more time we can do a MUCH better job.

 

The 944 GTP also used a different gearbox I think. Otherwise, the 944 GTP is basically a 924 GTR with a different engine.

If I had to guess, the reason for using the G31 was probably two-fold - likely the only transmission they had at the time for that fitment that could take the power (albeit with modified internals), and it allowed a significantly greater area for an endurance-volume fuel cell.

 

+1 on the the last couple of ideas. Having owned a bunch of 924/931 series cars, I can say that the snailshell was not the best unit. It looks like it was developed from leftover parts from earlier 911 transaxles. Do yourself a favor and don't retro-engineer your car to install an inferior unit like this. Get the proper unit. They're cheap. Especially for a 944S, one of the coolest cars in the 944 series. I had one of those too, and miss it (only Porsche I ever got a ticket in).

 

944S is the car it is going into and I'm looking forward to relieving the tranny from it for the snail.

 

with all the space opened up behind the 931 snail you are hereby compelled to install a rear-mount turbo...

 

I am doing a similar conversion. I am curious about where you obtained the bits and pieces for the altered shift mechanism?

 

I used the G31 trans in several race cars of my own - loved it! Also found it very reliable. It can be driven quite hard, but like any trans, doesn't like to be abused. The ONLY time I had issues was when I let a second driver in my car who was way too hard on it. I ran in the front, so don't get the idea that I babied it.

The NA G31 has a smaller input shaft and matching torque tube shaft. These are problematic once you go much over 200hp. The G31 turbo box has a larger input shaft (25mm) and matching torque tube shaft. It will handle most anything you can throw at it. I have some G31 parts left over if you need anything.

BTW, it was used in the 924D/P (small shaft), and the 924GTR's (large shaft) as mentioned. Don't let the naysayers dissuade you.

 

Hi Michael,

Thank you for the encouragement, the snail WILL be installed but the carb project precedes that. The manifold is working out nicely, thank you again for making that available! As for parts, I'll keep that in mind but won't know health of the snail until I run it.

Regarding parts for my shift linkage: I made all of them except for the universal coupling (which I happen to have a spare that I would like to find a home for) and the spherical ball joint at the bottom of the shift lever.