turning tail shifter into a sidewinder: sources for bushings?, Have I been mislead? Options

[Calwaterbear]

Ok guys, have a 72, with the tailshifter. so I salvaged everything from a junked 74 - from the shifter to the transmission.

so first - i have been told that you just need to change the linkages, but in reading on the Pelican, they indicate you would need the newer transmission as well - IE no conversion, it is a replacement - trans and shifter. Can anyone confirm that?

my hope/plan is to leave the current trans in the 72, and turn it into a sidewinder. so took all the shift rods etc, wire wheeled em, hit em with primer and an enamel for longevity and rust protection. So I guess next step is to replace all the bushings, Right?

so anyone have a favorite supplier? does 914 rubber carry em? I assume pelican does.

I'm hoping they come as a kit!

somebodty needs to lie to me and tell me this is a simple straightforward conversion, slap it back in, 2 hours tops!

[theer]

This is a simple straightforward conversion, as long as you have all the parts. There's a bunch of threads on this topic here & on Pelican, but in addition to everything inside the car (shifter & linkage bar), you also need the rear linkage bar and transmission connector bits - which you probably got at the boneyard.

I believe you can convert a tail to side shifter, but it is a bolt-in affair if you have the side shifter already.

What's not obvious, is that you will need the later engine support bar, inner & outer motor mounts and the metal brackets to connect to the block (two) and the outer bar mount (two). Lastly, the driver side warm air guide is different, so you will need that (or run without).

The bushings are available (Pelican & others), including the "special" firewall bushing you'll need to mate the old hole to the new linkage bar. The rubber boot at the firewall is also different, but I used the early hard plastic cover flipped 180 degrees (I found that solution here, too).

Piece of cake!

Did I miss anything?

[theer]

here's a thread (there are others) with better explanations:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=292962

[BeatNavy]

I believe you can convert a tail to side shifter, but it is a bolt-in affair if you have the side shifter already.

You can. I believe most people swap out the whole gearbox, but it is pretty straightforward to convert a tail shifter gearbox into a side shifter with the right parts (e.g., shift console).

In terms of bushing, I recommend the one from Tangerine.

I did this a couple of years ago. All good and worth it. The process is documented extensively here, but the information is generally in fragments in various threads. Try to find a "comprehensive" thread that covers it all.

[Calwaterbear]

If I am reading this correctly, and following the other threads, it looks like I may temporarily be - shall we say screwed. While I have all the shifter and linkage parts, and even the side mount transmission, i did not harvest the engine mount bar - because the donor was a failed engine swap, and that part was missing. so it looks like i am short the mounting bar, some of the bushings to mount the bar, some braketry, and a piece of engine tin.

So for now, I'll probably try and refresh the tail mount, and keep looking for the rest of the pieces, so I can eventually do the swap

[BeatNavy]

Yeah, you need those things. Don't think of yourself as temporarily screwed. Think of this as an opportunity to do more planning. Better to make sure you have everything on hand before you drop your drivetrain.

In terms of engine bar / mounts you need:

1. Later engine supporting bar
2. Motor mounts for that bar
3. Bar to chassis mounting brackets.

This was my complete (I believe) shopping list from a couple of years ago:

Side Shift Tranny
Late Style Shifter
Forward Shift Rod
Firewall Shift Bushing (Tangerine)
Back Shift Rod
Late Style Engine Bar
Engine mounts (engine to bar)
Rubber "hockey puck" inner motor mounts
Engine mounts (bar to car)
Linkage cover at firewall
Linkage cover at tranny
Drivers’ side warm air guide
Boots for linkage (both ends)
Allen Cone Screws (two each)
New Tranny Bushing (brass/bronze)
New ball for tranny end (this one not sure about, might be metal ball permanently attached to shift lever at tranny)
"Cup" bushing, goes inside the linkage at the tranny end
Shift Rod Head (Porsche part number 914 424 241 02)

and a couple of pics for reference (although everything listed above isn't in the pic).

[mepstein]

You can get the bar for around $20. Just put a a WTB out for the parts and you will be able to finish the swap.

[rhodyguy]

The aluminum base plate pictured is only used with a short shift kit. The front boot for the rear shift rod does not work on a tail shift chassis. As I mentioned in the link provided in post #3, you need to inspect the shift lever assembly or you'll wind up with problems right from the start.

[ChrisFoley]

...
The front boot for the rear shift rod does not work on a tail shift chassis.
...

My firewall bearing has a groove on the housing to support the sideshift boot, and fits either early or late firewall. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[rhodyguy]

Right. But when one buys a conversion package i imagine it's rarely part of the deal. If ever.

[Calwaterbear]

Ok Thanks for all the information guys, it really helps. so I will change up my plans. For right now, I will go ahead and recondition the tail shifter, in an attempt to get this thing on the road ASAP, in the meantime, I will collect the 2 or 3 side shifter conversion parts i still need, and find someone to go through and freshen up the sideshifter trans, so first time I pull the engine, I'll go ahead and make the shift!

[Dave_Darling]

Note that there are bits inside the transmission that you need to change over if you are going to turn a tail-shift transmission into a side-shifter. That is why it is easier to just swap the whole thing in; the most convenient way to get the shift rails and such from the later transmission is with a whole transmission.

I haven't seen any mention yet of the rubber mounts that go between the brackets on the motor and the mount bar. You need those; they are different from the early-style mounts. And those early mounts on the outboard end get replaced by the "engine bar to body mount" you can see in the last photo above.

--DD

[Calwaterbear]

Note that there are bits inside the transmission that you need to change over if you are going to turn a tail-shift transmission into a side-shifter. That is why it is easier to just swap the whole thing in; the most convenient way to get the shift rails and such from the later transmission is with a whole transmission.

I haven't seen any mention yet of the rubber mounts that go between the brackets on the motor and the mount bar. You need those; they are different from the early-style mounts. And those early mounts on the outboard end get replaced by the "engine bar to body mount" you can see in the last photo above.

--DD

Got it, I do have the side shifter transmission and all of the linkage and shifter, i harvested all of that from the junker. i just need the engine bar, brackets, and rubber engine mounts - right?

[theer]

.. and driver side warm air guide.

Plastic cover & rubber boot, new bushings, locking screws, etc. as others have mentioned.