after installing the new kit the throw between 4th to 5th got harder not easier. Any thoughts?

first of all, Welcome!

2nd, the short shift kit does not help shifting in our cars... the only 'kit' for shorter throw that improves shifting is the Rennshifter... available from jwesteng.com

but I suggest checking all of your bushings to improve shifting first.. the rennshifter would be wasted if the bushings are bad.

uninstall it and fix the original shifting problem

The shifting does have to be fixed before shortening anything. But I have had a Weltmeister short shift kit in this 914 for 15 years with no problems whatsoever.

It helps tighten the throw between rather high buckets. But, because there is less leverage with a longer shaft, the shifting effort is a higher because the ratio is aggressive.

But my bushings are very tight. I used new stock bushings, and used .005" shim stock to make them tighter than std. both in the bulkhead holes outside of the bushings, and epoxied to the rod to make a tighter fit inside the bushings. That's more than most folks want to do. That said...

The Rennshifter kit is outstanding. It doesn't change the ratio as much as the Weltmeister.

Do all your adjustments in the 2-3 gear plane. It will get all screwy in the neutral or 1st gear position.

T.C.

Thanks for the welcome. Problem resolved. The original shifter was sloppy (after looking at the old removed one I found the lower bushing to be the reason for the slop) and I decided to put in the Weltmeister (short throw) and after working through it (with some advice-thanks Brad) ---I didn't have it aligned in the tunnel (the shifter collar to the shift rod) and the collar was hitting on the bolts. Re-aligned and now works fine. Thanks for the timely response. Time for a test drive and hoping to get 15 years of service too.

I pulled a Weltmeister short shift kit out of a donor car last year. It had some serious dissimilar metal corrosion going on. It looked like Chewbacca knawed on it. I don't know if it's common. I'd be sure there is no bare metal under there.