A new and somewhat disturbing sound showed up recently in my 3.0 - 6 that runs on a sidey 901 box.

The gear box innards are an unknown however, never failed me in a couple of years of daily drives on a 1.7/4 and a 2.3/4. the 6 may have awaken a weakness not previously tested to the limits / dont know...

The grapenutty sound sounds like someone is eating a bowl of bb's without milk.

The tinkie scrunchy sound is not noticeable if I drive off at a gentle pace / but who does that?

The sound is not in any other gear no matte how hard pressed. Could it be CV's giving up due to new and mighty torque never seen before on the CV balls? Again, the CV's are in good internal shape and packed with grease / unless they disintegrated internally...

Hopefully Dr. Evil sees this for, if anyone knows weird tranny sounds, he would.

Any thoughts or experiences would greatly help.

Elroy! Hammer down, your driving a six now. If something is weak it will reveal itself under pressure.

1st gear is the weak link in the 914 gear box. Baby first or start out in second.
Hope there is no debris in the tranny oil or your looking at another rebuild.

Check your clutch cable adjustment first, then the shifter bushings.

Best way to test CV's is to find a place where you can do tight circles, not psycho doughnuts... drive slowly in a tight circle and listen for clunks. If you hear or feel a clunk, you have a bad cv.
If the 1st gear noise happens in gear, not when letting the clutch out, it shouldn't be related to the clutch.

The sound is not getting worse but is there in first. I will go do the tight circle ploy mentioned by my pal Steve. Also, I will drain the fluid and check it out and report back this evening.

unrelated photo... of one of Jeff z's cars in action

A tinkie, scrunchie sound? Maybe it's a SQUIRREL!!!!