Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Steve Oct 4 2020, 08:56 PM

Some background:

1. 2012 I purchased Martin Botts 916 kit
Link to Members Vendors section http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=102988
2. I also bought a 1986 915 Trans. The 1986 915 trans is the only one with 108mm flanges.
3. First Mistake.. I brought my Trans and 916 kit to a reputable Porsche shop in Lake Forest. They had tons of experience with the 915 trans and just hired a guy from Wevo that was supposed to be familiar with there 915/914 tail shifter. $1k for the trans + around $3k for the kit, $1500 for the LSD, another $5k in parts and labor = around $10k at this point. Lesson learned if they have not seen this kit before, "run away".
4. 2015 After tons of rust repair and working part time on the car, i finally got it running.
5. Loved the trans, but shifting from 2nd to 3rd was an intermittent night mare.
To reliably shift from 2nd to 3rd 50-75% of the time, I would shift from 2nd to neutral, bang the shifter to the left, let the rennshift center and then go into 3rd. If it didn't work rinse and repeat a couple of times. Very frustrating...
6. Second mistake... After 4 years of driving the car like this, I took it to another reputable Porsche shop in Fullerton that also had an awesome Porsche reputation and very experienced with 915 transmissions. They also have never seen this kit before and thought the Vellios 916 kit was the same as the factory 916 transmission. They pulled the trans, took it apart, adjusted some stuff and still had the same problem. They then stumbled on a 1972 915 shifter and after several adjustments, the trans did shift better, but the problem was still there. Another $1800.00 gone in labor and $200.00 for the 1972 915 shifter.

September 2020, I noticed Patrick Motorsports was now selling and installing the Martin Bott Kit and also designed special shifting linkage for the kit. Wevo stopped making there 915/914 tail shifter, so they had to look at other options. I made an appointment and drove my car 6.5 hours over to PMS to take a look at it. I also used to live in Chandler AZ from 1995-2000 and used to frequently visit his shop and admire his work. I also told him to check out my whole car and let me know what else is wrong.

They ended up pulling the 3.2 motor and Trans. They went through the transmission and of course the adjustments on the inside were incorrect and the rails were way to close together causing the shifting problem. They also noticed my home made 1/2" shift rod was to wimpy and flexing. I also had wimpy apex joints, so they replaced my whole shifting linkage with there setup.

I now have there shift rod setup and using my original 915 rennshift. The car shifts 1000% better and feels like a stock car. In fact it shifts just as nice as my 91 year old Dads PT Cruiser 5 speed.

*Lessons Learned... I should of taken my 915 trans and Martin Bott 916 kit to Patrick Motorsports in the first place and saved over $5,000 in parts and labor from shops that were not familiar with this kit. Note: PMS also sells this kit.

I also had PMS go through the whole car. They replaced my shocks, resealed my very leaky cam chain covers and valve covers. Fixed my sway bar, fuel lines, wiring, etc. My engine compartment and the bottom of my engine and trans looks like one of there $100K+ builds. I need to put my car on a lift and take some pictures, but it looks like the build in the link below, except mine has Ben's heat exchangers instead of the B&B heat exchangers.
https://patrickmotorsports.com/collections/transmission-clutch/products/916-tail-shift-kit-for-914-to-915-transmission-conversions-tra914915916metspms

Check out my blog in my signature for information on my build and let me know if you have any questions.

Posted by: VegasRacer Oct 4 2020, 09:46 PM

Congratulations.

I like stories with happy endings.

Posted by: Steve Oct 4 2020, 09:51 PM

QUOTE(VegasRacer @ Oct 4 2020, 08:46 PM)

Congratulations.

I like stories with happy endings.

Posted by: Krieger Oct 4 2020, 10:53 PM

Enjoy your "new" car!

Posted by: Lucky9146 Oct 4 2020, 10:54 PM

Steve,
So happy to hear your positive results and I have been anxiously waiting. This very thorough (as usual) report you have provided should help us all. You know I have the same Martin Bott kit on my 915 Trans, just not installed as yet, and have been following your lead. Your experience is invaluable and much appreciated. If that offer to drive your car still stands, I'm in.

Posted by: Steve Oct 4 2020, 11:59 PM

QUOTE(Lucky9146 @ Oct 4 2020, 09:54 PM)

Steve,
So happy to hear your positive results and I have been anxiously waiting. This very thorough (as usual) report you have provided should help us all. You know I have the same Martin Bott kit on my 915 Trans, just not installed as yet, and have been following your lead. Your experience is invaluable and much appreciated. If that offer to drive your car still stands, I'm in.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Oct 5 2020, 05:51 AM

Congratulations Steve. I am very glad to hear you got your car sorted so you can really enjoy driving it.

Posted by: Superhawk996 Oct 5 2020, 06:19 AM

Always amazed at the number of shops that are willing to learn on your dime rather than just admit that they probably don't have the experience and that you'd be better served by finding someone that does.

It's one thing if you twist thier arm and insist on using them. A different animal completely when they act confident and then fail to deliver + charge you for thier failure.

Posted by: 914Sixer Oct 5 2020, 06:30 AM

Nothing like a well sorted car, puts the fun back in driving.

Posted by: gonzo54 Oct 5 2020, 07:41 AM

Steve, that's great news! Taking the car on vacation? See you at C&C soon-

-Rick

Posted by: Steve Oct 5 2020, 08:06 AM

QUOTE(gonzo54 @ Oct 5 2020, 06:41 AM)

Posted by: 914Toy Oct 5 2020, 08:59 AM

QUOTE(Steve @ Oct 5 2020, 07:06 AM)

QUOTE(gonzo54 @ Oct 5 2020, 06:41 AM)

Steve, that's great news! Taking the car on vacation? See you at C&C soon-

-Rick

Hi Rick!! I do a yearly father and son vacation to Death Valley with our 4 runner. He is 91. We have been going there since the early 70’s

Posted by: ValcoOscar Oct 5 2020, 09:36 AM

Thanks for sharing Steve-
Very informative.
From what I know, PMS offers outstanding parts & service.
You get what you pay for.
Thrilled you are happy with your car...Enjoy!!!

Oscar

Posted by: Coondog Oct 5 2020, 11:17 AM

Hope you paid my invoice when u were there....

Posted by: Steve Oct 5 2020, 01:29 PM

QUOTE(Coondog @ Oct 5 2020, 10:17 AM)

Hope you paid my invoice when u were there....

Posted by: eric9144 Oct 5 2020, 01:59 PM

Hooray for happy endings

Posted by: Luke M Oct 5 2020, 02:57 PM

QUOTE(ValcoOscar @ Oct 5 2020, 08:36 AM)

Thanks for sharing Steve-
Very informative.
From what I know, PMS offers outstanding parts & service.
You get what you pay for.
Thrilled you are happy with your car...Enjoy!!!

Oscar

Posted by: gonzo54 Oct 5 2020, 05:08 PM

QUOTE(Steve @ Oct 5 2020, 07:06 AM)

QUOTE(gonzo54 @ Oct 5 2020, 06:41 AM)

Steve, that's great news! Taking the car on vacation? See you at C&C soon-

-Rick

Hi Rick!! I do a yearly father and son vacation to Death Valley with our 4 runner. He is 91. We have been going there since the early 70’s

Posted by: ndfrigi Oct 5 2020, 05:32 PM

Congratulations Steve! Looks like you really enjoyed driving ur new car (a lot different from before) last saturday from PMS all the way to SoCal.
And that is why Sir Greg is keeps on going back to PMS for more upgrades.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Oct 5 2020, 05:53 PM

Let's face it, when it comes to modified 914's PMS wrote the book.