New 5th gear conversion

[Bruce.m]

You might need the auto translation subtitles because it’s in German. Bolt on conversion which fits the stock nose mount (either version).

https://youtu.be/ot54r-8iCO0?si=4MwwldHDEY7BMJZI

[Chip Birks]

That's cool!

[Ian Godfrey]

Yep, and that front beam looks very interesting packaging as a Mendeola front beam has quite some bump steer, so with the rack up a bit higher it looks promising on that front. I wonder if there is a T1 version as well as a T3?
Back to the gear box. I was unable to work out if it used an extended pinion and main shaft or if it used a different solution to a Berg 5?

[Bruce.m]

The subtitles suggest it’s for t3 & t34 but they can produce a t1 version. It was a graduate thesis project for the designers “masters” qualification.

[H2OSB]

I watched with rapped attention. I understand very little German (as much as you can recall from 4 years of HS and two college semesters), but it looked very interesting.

H2OSB

[Bruce.m]

Press & hold the subtitle button. The pop up give you an option for “auto translate” select that & it give you one option (English)

[Bruce2]

I was unable to work out if it used an extended pinion and main shaft or if it used a different solution to a Berg 5?

I think these are the shaft extenders:



And then installed, you can see the socket head screws to hold them on.

[Bruce.m]

Well spotted. That will reduce the price significantly if it’s not a custom main shaft & pinion shaft. Load limits would be an interesting debate. Tricky machining operation since I assume the ends of the shafts need drilled & tapped? Those will be hard steel too.

[Dubveedub]

I think the Subaru with r&p swap is a great setup, but not having to source a different trans, the flipped parts, and an adapter makes the 5 speed upgrade for stock trans look like the way to go.

[Piledriver]

The reversed Subaru trans setup makes a great deal of sense if you are also doing a Subaru motor swap.

As long as its 5th gear in the nosecone instead of first as in a 914/901 the loadings would probably be fine.

6061T6 front plates are available for 914/901 trans to help keep things together.

[Bruce.m]

Bit more details are available on the 5th gear conversion. An insta video shows closer details of the parts & design.

CAD cutaway shows the bolt on shaft extensions.

Price though is a lot. Circa €4.5k which is a shame.

https://dastriebwerk.com/dtw-fuenfgang-umbausatz

[Bruce.m]

[Piledriver]

How much are the alternatives?
Only ones that come to mind are 901s or Mendeola at ~$6-7K used
The 901 will still cost $$$$ to rebuild, and they are all 40-50 years old.?
You could probably score a later model low mile Porsche trans for less, but they are a lot longer.
Same for the Audi units.

A 090 automatic would potentially take far more power, but there go the frame horns and IRS only.

[Bruce.m]

“Shame”. Because its more than I’m happy to spend on a 5th gear.

Given the complex billet parts, its probably a reasonable price. Splined hard shaft extensions for example are not a simple piece to make.

Its not clear if the cost includes modifying the pinion shaft & the input shaft, or even if they are included (drilled & tapped for the extension pieces). But i suspect you need to get your own parts modified.

I do have a 60s 901 transmission core which i bought for very little a long time ago, but the rules for classic car mods have been tightened up recently so any non standard welding or even holes on the floorpan can result in the car being deregistered permanently with no appeal or reversal option. So it not worth the risk.