Porsche 915 Transmission 1978-1986

Anyone have a lead to a decent core? or one that is alredy in good order.

I picked up a few from Vertex in FL. Pretty good stuff and semi reasonable prices.

Check with Wolfgang. He has one.

Had 2 915's spares, but now I'm down to one, so can't help you out there (sorry).

angela

call me marty, there is a yard in mich, that only has vw stuff, that is old bettle stuff, he has acres. bill

Cory - Mine is a '72 914 901 series trans. It's tail shift and I have near all the linkage and shifter.

Good people to try are John Walker's Workshop in Seattle, LA Dismantlers (in Los Angeles), and poke around on the Pelican site.

angela

Subbie engine - then why not use the Subbie 5 spd trans? No adapters or special flywheels reqd. They should be cheap too.

http://www.subarugears.com/index_files/Page388.htm

Bill, what yard are you talking about?

Wolfgang, I am not so sure that this would be the case. The website you cite sells the basic parts to make the

The subie transaxles that are amendable to the flip are all pretty cheap ones. I wouldn't pay more than a couple of hundred dollars for one in the wrecking yard. Can't do the six speed STI with the flip, only the older 5 speeds.

For $1500 you can get a 5 speed subaru that you can drive home and have a whole bunch of spares. Hell we've got one sitting at the shop right now that we paid $800 for and I feel that was way, way, too much. But it did have brand new tires on 18' wheels and a full tank of gas, so I pussed out and paid $800 for the car.

The 915 makes a nice trans and will handle the STI engine power as long as you don't get too goofy with the tires or shift like a clown. If you do, you'll find repairing the 915 to be much, much more expensive than even several subie transmissions. A basic overhaul on a 915 is running 1500 to 2,000 right now if you handed over a basically sound transmission. Start busting stuff up, and you'll find yourself north of $5K in a big hurry.

angela

I agree with Wolfgang - a Subie tranny with a Subie engine makes sense. Unless Henry has some cost effective way to install a 901/915 into an IM body, it doesn't make sense to me to go the Porsche gearbox route over the Subie tranny.

My mistake. Sorry 'bout that.

Angela, Subie transaxles can be bought for different prices in a variety of conditions. You indicate that certain ones are more suited for the "flip" conversion. Could you elaborate?

My assessment of the total cost of conversion was based on spending $3,000 or more to modify whichever Subie transaxle you select. Older transaxles with excessive wear will certainly be cheaper but may require parts costs beyond that required for the

Angela, thanks for the info. Charles is right on. For now the 901/915 is proven and reliable albeit expensive. But, you know what you're getting.

Sorry I caused thread drift to Subbie trans --- ha, when I have a 901 trans I should probably be pushing! It just seems like there are lots of Subbie trans around that spent their short lives in now wrecked grocery getters - hence they are very cheap and abundant. Anything made by Porsche is $$$ - and old Porsche trans are getting rare and costly to rebuild. (Plus they are 30 year old vs 5-8 year old parts - and for sure the Porsche was not driven gently somewhere in those 30 years).

Subbie's popular TY transmission is used in turbocharged WRX and the basic Legacy. So it can handle any abuse sent its way. Only the 4WD can be converted for 5 forward gears albeit in 2WD. Rather than shift rod - it uses cables to shift which probably give far more positive feel.

Here's excellent articles (SAMBA and SHOPTalk) on conversion of a VWs to full Subbie power.

http://tinyurl.com/3du7pkg

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=129412

I'm sure Henry's guys can do the Porsche swap in their sleep where the Subbie trans would take some R&D/trial and error which runs up a bill and there is the uncertaintly of success and longevity of the result (which could tarnish his impeccable reputation). For a guy building his own dream car - I could see Subbie route. If I only had another 20 years to build mine (it crossed my mind briefly as I had the bits --- see picture below)! .... Now if I could just get Subbie alloy wheels to fit on a VW!

Almost forgot this URL I posted way back on anything into a VW:

http://frost.bbboy.net/vwengineconversions

michael, its call barnum. and near frankenmuth. bill

I wish I could chime in with a more technical detail description of the SAS setup using Subaru engines and transmissions. Perhaps it's the mid-engine design, maybe it's the flipping of gears but whatever SAS does, it works. I can understand the aura of having original Porsche parts in a replica as I can only say the hood handle and script are the only authentic Porsche goodies on my 356. Oh, however, my windshield is inscribed "Made in Austria", so there is a little Teutonic heritage in the Silver Spirit tubaru.

Something else to consider, Porsche 915 transaxles, starting in 1976 have no provisions for a mechanical speedometer. If you purchase a 915 produced from 1976 on, you'll need an electronic speedo and the sender unit

Here are a couple if you're intent on a 915

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/594913-915-fs.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/601633-want-wake-up-your-sc-carrera-915-sale.html

Nolan,
Your car is mid engined, and uses the subie in the standard direction. To make it rear engined, you've got to modify the subie or go 915, or build a VW to some pretty rigorous specs (and that of course, will be a 4 speed).

For the rear engined configuration, I've really been waffling back and forth. I've got the 915 sitting there. It's a pretty good transmission, 3rd gear synchro is a little dodgy. As long as that's all that's wrong with it, I can probably have JW overhaul it for about 2K. That will be a nice overhaul. Not a bad deal as I own the trans already and it doesn't have any 'stories'. Tempting. Real tempting and real easy.

The problem is, I have two cars to build. Hmmm.... I've pencilled a few things out. $1500 for the conversion, plus labor to do it, plus the cost of a good used transaxle. I could be into this for $4 to 5K. But I would not need an adaptor plate and the off-the-shelf factory clutch would work. Also, have to squirrel around a little for the axles/CVs as I plan on Porsche 944 at the other end. Hmmm...

Lots of thinking, lots of figuring. If money were not an object, I would be pretty tempted myself to go with NEW subie in both cars. But dang, I've only got ONE 915 - and money is an object. Nuts. For YOUR car that Henry is building? Really sounds like a decent 915 is the easiest path.

angela

Nolan - Since yours is mid-engine no need to worry about changing R&P to get the 5 speeds forward. Other than losing the useless back seat your is best of all solutions ---- especially with resulting perfect weight distribution!

Can you actually put a suit case or two in the rear "engine compartment?" I'm sure your front one is taken up with radiator.

Wolfgang: The radiators are located in the rear along with all the A/C, battery, and other electronic controls. The only thing in the front trunk is brake fluid reservoir, windshield washer reservoir, fuel tank and my 16" spare tire. not a lot of extra space left there except for our laundry bag when we're on the road. The rear trunk is roomy enough for two duffel type carry-on luggage(photo), umbrellas, and my wife's hair curler kit.

Wolfgang,

Adding to Nolan's comment - the latest version of the SAS car that I am getting has even more front storage. This came about as a result of their adaptation of a 16 gallon racing safety fuel cell positioned lower and surrounded by the massive structural frame members.

This relocation and change also precipitated the addition of the power assist 4 wheel disc brakes and the use of the Subaru anti-lock brake system

Oh I am soooo diggin' those brakes!

angela

Clint, would you make it a point to park your car next to the Hoopty one time at Carlisle, so I can compare notes?
I'm pretty sure I don't have any of those features. It will be a study in contrast for me, and I want to get some photos.

Heck, Cory, even us early SAS Subie 356A owners are getting a complex. The 'Blubayou' (Scott Teele) and 'White Lightning' (Clint) are so advanced that we can only watch in awe. What these cars do not have that I am not telling Clint about is the Tennessee moonshine tank suggested by Robert Mitchum and endorsed by Lane Anderson to transport the commodity distilled in the nearby TN hills. That must remain a secret. BTW, do they still have revenuers?

Marty, take a note from Peter Choy and have IM double check for those A/C and gas smell issues.