914 gear box fitting - a different way

[VeeDee]

I have a 67 on an IRS pan, and for german Autobahn and speed circuit use, I'm in the need for a better-than-stock and more reliable gearbox.

After cracking some genuine VW boxes in my former cars on hard acceleration or cornering I decided to start with a low-mile 914/4 gearbox and had it modified for minimum changes on the cars body and pan.

I dont like everyone to know whether a "Porsche"-gearbox sits in my car, so the modifications should look like a genuine VW solution. As you know, the 914-gearbox have no Porsche ensigns cast to the case, only VW-logos, and identification is only possible versus the embossed part number and gearbox design.

I wanted to eliminate the normally used Porsche front mount with its cross member, and there should never be an open hole in the tunnel for the shift rod. So, the nose cone I use is a modified "bug-at-5speed"-part fitted with a bugpack front mount usually made for fitting a 73+-gearbox into a 72- chassis. The metal mount on the chassis was cut and the tunnel opened, the mount was welded back about 4cm/1.5inch to the front, the tunnel closed with a plate from a wrecked chassis. The shift rod now goes unsightly through the mount into the tunnel, where a genuine VW shifter coupler does its work.

The clutch fork on Porsche-gearboxes normally requires a lot of cutting and some welding on the left outrigger of the frame fork, what seems to be a "no-go" for me. So I decided to turn the clutch fork into the VW-position, about 90 degrees upward. This was done with a 5mm-aluminum plate as fork member and a simple cut-out in the clutch housing. I also welded the clutch fork himself, for using a VW clutch adjuster, but in this case the "bug-at-5speed"-parts will work. The plate brings the throw-out-bearing and its gusset 5mm rearwards, so a genuine VW clutch and flywheel will work.

The only cutting on the frame fork is in the front of the right outrigger, where one of the nose cone screws may collide.

The so modified gear box mounts exactly in the same position as a genuine VW, and only small dimpling on the pre-67-bodies is necessary, the later will fit.

I completed the conversation with the "901"-position of the breather, an aluminum rear crossmember, 108mm-flanges for the axles and a Wavetrac-differential.

So, take a look at the pictures.

Horizontal mounted and free 108mm-flanges

Rubber on clutch cable

Genuine VW shifter coupling

Front mount moved forward

Seen from the underside

Tight fit

Slight cutting necessary

Clutch fork on special plate

Appearance

Engine position: aligned and horizontal

You may e-mail me for further informations.


Always Aircooled

VeeDee

[DeathBySnuSnu]

Well that looks great!

That clutch fork worked out nice.

I have had some of those thoughts before. But have never done one.

One reason was the lack of knowledge on flipping the ring gear in a 914 trans.

I have my eye on one for a mid engine project.right now.
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[67rustavenger]

Beautiful installation.

Please post more pics of the mods to the clutch fork. If you have them.

Thanks for posting this.
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[Wreck]

Very nice , good to see alternate ways of modifying parts to fit , especially at such a high standard .

[H2OSB]

Wow, nicely done! I wasn't certain I understood correctly...is the nose cone solid mount? Or is there some isolation? Perhaps your description made it sound less complicated, but to my understanding, it didn't sound like a difficult install.

If you have a more detailed description of the installation, I would be very interested.

Oh, what shifter was used?

H2OSB
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[67rustavenger]

[H2OSB]

Heh, yeah I went right to that site after reading his description. Still, I think he did a few things differently than Bug @ 5 speed.

Edit: ohh, you're referring to my question about the shifter. Thanks

H2OSB
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[VeeDee]

Shure, the bug-at-5speed - shifter will work, too.

Mine is a modified Hurst-/Empi-shifter. Sorry, there are no pictures of the modifications available at this time, but I may complain it in a few words.

The shift rod of the Porsche is in the lower portion of the tunnel, so normally no VW shifter will work. I welded a special mounting plate on the frontside of the box-like part of the shifter assy and the mount for the shift rod bushing is welded to the bottom. In this case it was possible for the genuine VW shift rod and coupler to do the job, no expensive Porsche parts necessary. You can see the box is completely hidden in the tunnel.

The front mount is of black urethane, modified slightly for better access to the mounting nuts. It also houses the bushing and sealing for the inner shift rod.

Rear mounts are genuine VW, in this case the reinforced parts from the thing/181. They need a recess in the middle due to the different form of the bell housing. The cradle is made of aluminum.

Rear fasteners are fine stainless parts from Airkewld

The reverse switch is a modified one from the VW gearbox. I don't like the round connectors Porsche uses, and the Porsche prizes too.

Clutch adjuster is made of high-strength aluminum. I have these done here in Germany. These are a perfect replacement for the dull genuine VW parts and can be ordered with 6 and 7 mm threads.
Clutch cable, sleeve and mount are genuine beetle, the gaiter is T2.

Last but not least the differential is a LSD from Wavetrac.

[Chickensoup]

YES YES YES!!!!!! i saw your photos in the gallery yesterday and wondered if you were gonna post them up. but the real question is: Is it stronger to mount the 914/901 transaxles that way opposed to using the standard cross-member?
either way, great work and nice instal

[Brian Anthony]

Great looking install. Thanks for sharing.

Do you have the details on what you did to modify the VW reverse switch to work in the 901 box?
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[Albertoprop17]

Cool conversion!! Looks like a factory fitment. How did you flip the diff? Do you need to take the gearbox completely apart to do it?

Hoping to get more advances of the build soon
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[VeeDee]

My intention was to keep it as close to a possible factory development.

As not many people know, in 1972 VW FIA-homologated the 914 gearbox as an option for the 1303S, bringing the Porsche Salzburg rally activities to the next level. This was also a TUV-legal modification.

The Prototypes used a modified 911 crossmember and a special cast shift housing, leaving the clutch lever in Porsche-position and the tunnel open.
Also homologated were a wide number of gear sets and a limited slip differential.

For the 1973 model year VW planned a special homologation model, with wider tires, less weight, dual carbs and this gearbox. One of the protos was fitted with a hydraulic clutch and a type4-engine (rumor says 120+ HP) and a center mount in the front of the 914 box.

The essence of all the costly and time-consuming development resulted in the "rally-bug" or in german "gelb-schwarzer Renner", which is technical fairly stock.

My intense is showing what chances VW let loose in these years, building my 67 as an OEM++ with all the fine parts available in the 60ies and the beginning 70ies, and making it work and look like a factory option.

[VeeDee]

For the reverse switch: the mod is not a big miracle.

Porsche uses a shorter switch than Volkswagen, and needs a push rod for actuating it.

There are different switches for the VW gearboxes. I found one with a nail-type steel insert, took the nail out and pressed a longer rod into as an exchange for the Porsche-rod. That's it.

[VeeDee]

Flipping the diff is as easy as doing it on a VW-diff. The case is almost identical to the 901/902-case.

It was not really necessary, due to the very low mileage of this gearbox, but I completely disassembled it for checking for wear and damage, switching the breather and the clutch actuator (milling job, intense cleaning affordable), blasting the case with dry-ice and painting it, completing with new gaskets and torquing it right.

The Wavetrac diff was measured in with the help of Frank Bufe (gearbox-performance.de), but there were no remarkable issues.

[ALB]

Well done, VeeDee! It looks like the tubing going up from the trans cradle mount meets with tubing from the torsion tube? Is this for a kafer style bar? Could you show pics? I would love to see your solution to tying the shock towers together. Much appreciated and thank you in advance. Al

PS- one more thing- can you tell me what 1 of the stainless Allen head cradle mount bolts weighs? Thanks again

And I really like your front mount!
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[VeeDee]

Look here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=733447

[rainbowhawaii]

I also use the 901 transmission for the bus. However, there is no sense of stability because the clutch arm is processed and the VW thrust bearing is used. As far as I can see in your picture, you're using Porsche thrust bearings, right? Is the clutch pressure plate used for 200mmVW?
I searched various sites for how to install the 901 transmission, but there was no mention of the pressure plate.
I would appreciate it if you could tell me.

[jbbugs]

I love the T/O bearing, arm mod. I would like to see more on that. I have the entire Bug@5 kit in my racecar, and the T/O arm has caused me trouble a few times now. Also, the shifter snapped of at the base in one race. We managed to get the broken piece out of the base, found out it was the same thread pitch as a shock absorber bolt. We welded a wrench to a bolt and reinstalled it.
The race director gave us an award for "The Heroic Fix".
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[rainbowhawaii]

I use Porsche 901 for the gearbox.
The clutch fork is processed by a mechanic with a late type after Porsche 71 and is welded to the VW fork.
He was not good at welding and it was not strong, so I broke it when I used the Kennedy Stage 1 pressure plate.
So I wanted to use the Porsche 914 clutch fork with the Bug 5 speed parts.
However, the Porsche 914 throw-out bearing and VW200mm pressure plate have less contact surface, so there is a concern when using it.
Is it okay to use it in your setup?
I would appreciate any advice.
I will send you a photo about the current specifications.