GTS 5-spd manual transmission swap
#46
Former Vendor
I was hoping that Michael had pictures of the "before"....I never seem to be able to think about before and after photos.
....."Marketing" has just never been a priority for me.
However, this is out "new" restoration service. We've been changing hardware and installing black oxide stub axles, all along, but as the cases get worse and worse, we've been working on making them look nice, also.
Cleaned, vapor blasted, tumbled, cleaned, CeraCoat treated. (There's another GT transmission, in the rear of the picture.)
Fins repaired. Much better.
Underside. Full restoration service.
The Tiptronic transmissions I do, for Singer, are exceptionally difficult to make look nice. (And exceptionally difficult to get pieces for and to rebuild.)
The "center section" (the actual transmission part) is made by ZF. All of the pieces to adapt the transmission to the 964 chassis are made by Porsche.
Completely different castings and aluminum quality. Getting the ZF "section" to look good has been a real challenge.
Our most recent attempt, at making them look original, is the best (by far).
....."Marketing" has just never been a priority for me.
However, this is out "new" restoration service. We've been changing hardware and installing black oxide stub axles, all along, but as the cases get worse and worse, we've been working on making them look nice, also.
Cleaned, vapor blasted, tumbled, cleaned, CeraCoat treated. (There's another GT transmission, in the rear of the picture.)
Fins repaired. Much better.
Underside. Full restoration service.
The Tiptronic transmissions I do, for Singer, are exceptionally difficult to make look nice. (And exceptionally difficult to get pieces for and to rebuild.)
The "center section" (the actual transmission part) is made by ZF. All of the pieces to adapt the transmission to the 964 chassis are made by Porsche.
Completely different castings and aluminum quality. Getting the ZF "section" to look good has been a real challenge.
Our most recent attempt, at making them look original, is the best (by far).
Last edited by GregBBRD; 06-20-2022 at 02:54 PM.
#47
Archive Gatekeeper
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Bzzt. Too nice.
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Speedtoys (06-20-2022)
#48
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
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Darklands (06-21-2022)
#50
Rennlist Member
I was hoping that Michael had pictures of the "before"....I never seem to be able to think about before and after photos.
....."Marketing" has just never been a priority for me.
However, this is out "new" restoration service. We've been changing hardware and installing black oxide stub axles, all along, but as the cases get worse and worse, we've been working on making them look nice, also.
Cleaned, vapor blasted, tumbled, cleaned, CeraCoat treated. (There's another GT transmission, in the rear of the picture.)
Fins repaired. Much better.
Underside. Full restoration service.
The Tiptronic transmissions I do, for Singer, are exceptionally difficult to make look nice. (And exceptionally difficult to get pieces for and to rebuild.)
The "center section" (the actual transmission part) is made by ZF. All of the pieces to adapt the transmission to the 964 chassis are made by Porsche.
Completely different castings and aluminum quality. Getting the ZF "section" to look good has been a real challenge.
Our most recent attempt, at making them look original, is the best (by far).
....."Marketing" has just never been a priority for me.
However, this is out "new" restoration service. We've been changing hardware and installing black oxide stub axles, all along, but as the cases get worse and worse, we've been working on making them look nice, also.
Cleaned, vapor blasted, tumbled, cleaned, CeraCoat treated. (There's another GT transmission, in the rear of the picture.)
Fins repaired. Much better.
Underside. Full restoration service.
The Tiptronic transmissions I do, for Singer, are exceptionally difficult to make look nice. (And exceptionally difficult to get pieces for and to rebuild.)
The "center section" (the actual transmission part) is made by ZF. All of the pieces to adapt the transmission to the 964 chassis are made by Porsche.
Completely different castings and aluminum quality. Getting the ZF "section" to look good has been a real challenge.
Our most recent attempt, at making them look original, is the best (by far).
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Snowglobe (08-13-2022)
#51
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Open questions before work starts
With the 5-speed rebuild nearing completion, the swap event is coming up soon. I am trying to work through all the possible steps in the process I need to go through. I have a few question I am hoping to lean on the forum for guidance.
Transmission cooler system
Since the car is currently equipped with the in radiator trans cooler and the external cooler above the AC condenser. My plan is to run the 5-speed cooler lines through both the same cooler sequence since the plumbing is already there, unless there is a good reason not to do this. I am curious to understand the best way to flush the ATF out of the system. I am thinking let it drain, flush with air, then flush with gear oil and then drain. Does this sound appropriate? Or is a more though cleaning required?
Heat Reflection Suggestion
It's been recommend that I take the opportunity with the TT out to add some material to boots heat reflection. @Speedtoys suggested adding a someplace in the TT tunnel. My question is about the implementation technique. Is it recommended that this blanket be mounted to the body in the tunnel above the TT, or should this be installed below the TT between the body and the heat shields above the cats. I can see benefits of preventing the heat from getting up into the tunnel in the first place.
.
Shifter Opening
My understanding is that I will need to cut out the mounting plate fore the automatic transmission shifter to provide the necessary clearance. I am curious which tools work best for this, please share your thoughts and experiences.
Also, are there alternatives to cutting the plate out completely? Can I get away with trimming excess material but still preserve the mounting holes (in case a future owner wants to convert the car back). Anyone been down this road before?
Those are the questions swimming in my head today, I am sure there will be more as the project picks up steam.
Transmission cooler system
Since the car is currently equipped with the in radiator trans cooler and the external cooler above the AC condenser. My plan is to run the 5-speed cooler lines through both the same cooler sequence since the plumbing is already there, unless there is a good reason not to do this. I am curious to understand the best way to flush the ATF out of the system. I am thinking let it drain, flush with air, then flush with gear oil and then drain. Does this sound appropriate? Or is a more though cleaning required?
Heat Reflection Suggestion
It's been recommend that I take the opportunity with the TT out to add some material to boots heat reflection. @Speedtoys suggested adding a someplace in the TT tunnel. My question is about the implementation technique. Is it recommended that this blanket be mounted to the body in the tunnel above the TT, or should this be installed below the TT between the body and the heat shields above the cats. I can see benefits of preventing the heat from getting up into the tunnel in the first place.
.
Shifter Opening
My understanding is that I will need to cut out the mounting plate fore the automatic transmission shifter to provide the necessary clearance. I am curious which tools work best for this, please share your thoughts and experiences.
Also, are there alternatives to cutting the plate out completely? Can I get away with trimming excess material but still preserve the mounting holes (in case a future owner wants to convert the car back). Anyone been down this road before?
Those are the questions swimming in my head today, I am sure there will be more as the project picks up steam.
Last edited by Michael Benno; 07-01-2022 at 05:13 PM.
#52
Rennlist Member
install this insulation above the TT, on the chassis surface itself. It is out of the undercar draft, and will stay secure/intact.
if I were to add more above the cats, use something like this that would be a good first layer from the cats themselves...but the mat I used will sound and head insulate the tunnel itself, directly...and take care of the draft the OE foam wont fully deal with. This wont come apart in such direct drafts either.
if I were to add more above the cats, use something like this that would be a good first layer from the cats themselves...but the mat I used will sound and head insulate the tunnel itself, directly...and take care of the draft the OE foam wont fully deal with. This wont come apart in such direct drafts either.
#53
Archive Gatekeeper
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
My knee jerk is that all the metal needs to come out of the shifter area. But before any cutting I think I'd assemble your trans and torque tube with the shifter linkage and your 5-speed surround foam (or however you're going to modify the automatic foam you have), mount it up in the transmission tunnel, and see what sort of X-Y distances the lever needs to travel to engage all gears. That sheet metal may be low enough relative to the 'swing' of the shift lever that you don't need to cut them, but I will bet you do need to.
#54
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
install this insulation above the TT, on the chassis surface itself. It is out of the undercar draft, and will stay secure/intact. if I were to add more above the cats, use something like this that would be a good first layer from the cats themselves...but the mat I used will sound and head insulate the tunnel itself, directly...and take care of the draft the OE foam wont fully deal with. This wont come apart in such direct drafts either. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Engineering-050502-Tunnel-Shield/dp/B000CEM3O0/ref=sr_1_32? crid=2Z46T02B64G8M&keywords=design+engineering+902470&qid=1656545845&spr efix=design+engineering+902470%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-32
My knee jerk is that all the metal needs to come out of the shifter area. But before any cutting I think I'd assemble your trans and torque tube with the shifter linkage and your 5-speed surround foam (or however you're going to modify the automatic foam you have), mount it up in the transmission tunnel, and see what sort of X-Y distances the lever needs to travel to engage all gears. That sheet metal may be low enough relative to the 'swing' of the shift lever that you don't need to cut them, but I will bet you do need to.
Any thoughts on a cutting tool? That metal looks a little thick for a Niblber, I am thinking a small reciprocating saw or maybe an oscillating tool
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Bigfoot928 (06-30-2022)
#56
From memory, when I converted the Coke 928 to a 5-speed, I had to cut out all the metal from the tunnel opening, really no other way to do it and have the needed clearance.
Used a large cutting disc to remove most of the sheet metal in the opening, then followed it up with a smaller rotary grinding tool to get into the corners.
The Sawzall blade was not stiff enough and a bit hard to control in that tight space to make the precision cuts I wanted.
HTH.
Used a large cutting disc to remove most of the sheet metal in the opening, then followed it up with a smaller rotary grinding tool to get into the corners.
The Sawzall blade was not stiff enough and a bit hard to control in that tight space to make the precision cuts I wanted.
HTH.
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Michael Benno (06-30-2022)
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Michael Benno (06-30-2022)
#58
Nordschleife Master
The last auto to manual I converted I left all the original material and fabricated a shifter pivot that bolted to it. If staying stock this doesn't work. But it did work well for me.
#59
Former Vendor
All fore and aft movement is pure hell on the shifting pieces, inside the transmission. The forks wear, the sliders wear, and with enough fore and aft movement, the angles on the engaging teeth wear....leading to the transmission popping put of gear....which requires cubic dollars to repair.
VW bugs suffered from this (in a huge way) 60 years ago (and still going on) by bolting the shifter to the chassis. (Same basic design shifting pieces, internally.)
#60
Rennlist Member
For what it's worth, the fiberglass cutting wheels for a Dremel are quite effective at cutting sheet metal pretty quickly. I have a corded tool available, with the discs, if you need it.
Cheers
Cheers
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Michael Benno (06-30-2022)