... that is the question

[scalino65]

when you get the gearbox rebuilt, chuck in some lower ratios. You'llwant 160bhp and to add some lightness. Spend the money on suspension and drive the wheels off it.

Unfortunately I have little to no experience appropriate ratios. I have seen a 915 box with the following:

RUNING ON 7 TOOTH PINION 7:31
1ST GEAR 11:35
2ND GEAR 18:35
3RD GEAR 23:29
4TH GEAR 27:25
5TH GEAR 29:22

Any good?

dunno to be honest. i have "nurburgring" ratios in mine whatever they are and its great. Maybe chat to mike bainbridge. whereabouts are you? you're welcome to try mine sometime

[Lightweight_911]

What's your past experience/history in terms of early 911's ?

If limited, then I'd try & get a ride in a few different early 911's - std & modified - with a range of engine specs to help you decide.

[hot66]

ignore power figures .. look at how different engines deliver the power

for example I love the power delivery of my 2.4S .... others would hate it as you really need to be spinning 5K + before the real power starts

[squirdan]

when you get the gearbox rebuilt, chuck in some lower ratios. You'llwant 160bhp and to add some lightness. Spend the money on suspension and drive the wheels off it.

Unfortunately I have little to no experience appropriate ratios. I have seen a 915 box with the following:

RUNING ON 7 TOOTH PINION 7:31
1ST GEAR 11:35
2ND GEAR 18:35
3RD GEAR 23:29
4TH GEAR 27:25
5TH GEAR 29:22

Any good?

This is the gearbox that's been rebuilt for my hotrod

[911hillclimber]

That's just a tickle.
My sheet was 2 x deeper because it is an alum cased 915.
And it only had a bit of a 'snick' on the synchro on 2nd.

I think the bill was close to £2500 and done at close to Mates-Rates.

[PMNorris]

I decided to go for the 3.0 SC engine swap for my 2.2T and keep the original matching numbers engine intact.The cost creeps up pretty quickly if you want to backdate the exhaust, fit PMO carbs, new ignition and external oil cooler as i'm doing. By the time i've finished and beautified the engine a bit i will exceed my original budget of £10k.

[Superlight7]

What ignition system are you going for, I've just removed a 3.0SC from my 72 to replace with a 2.5ST so may have a setup for sale in the coming weeks.

[210bhp]

Go completely stock. Engine, sporto, colour, interior. It will give the best return should you ever want to sell, the easiest rebuild and miles of smiles knowing you have something nobody else has. Vic Elford raced/rallied a sporto in 68/69 and won!

For sale in the USA right now at $75k. Try and get that price for a bitsa.




Regards
Mike

[PMNorris]

I've bought an elf ignition system. The problem is that the CDI from the 70 engine has different connections and the 79 distributor isnt compatible with PMO carbs without a reprofile, so elf ignition will sort all this out. Obviously i will keep all the original parts.

[TheEasyLife]

Go completely stock. Engine, sporto, colour, interior. It will give the best return should you ever want to sell, the easiest rebuild and miles of smiles knowing you have something nobody else has. Vic Elford raced/rallied a sporto in 68/69 and won!

For sale in the USA right now at $75k. Try and get that price for a bitsa.




Regards
Mike

I have a nice bitsa car (73T with a 72E engine with ITB's on EFI and crankfire ignition) and find myself mostly in agreement with Mike. There are so few sporto's left and I beleive most people who slate them haven't actually driven one. I have and it wasn't a problem for me. They are not automatics, just a manual without a clutch pedal. Mike Bainbridge in Kendal is the man to speak to about them in the UK.

If it was me, I would go for original colour, interior and gearbox but uprate the engine in ways that nobody can see for better performance (higher compression pistons and E cams). These are mostly period correct and should be good for your 150bhp and maybe more.. In a SWB car that will be great fun. I've driven a friends 150+ bhp 2.2T and it is fantastic (but struggled with the dogleg 901 gearbox!). Please don't go down the 3.0/3.2 route as the joy of the early cars is that they are revvier than the 'lazy' 3.2's which are more torquey. S cams as James has said, come alive after 5K revs, E cams have a good power in the lower/mid revs but don't have the top end kick/grunt of S cams whichmakes them nicer for most on a day to day basis as you can't get to 5K+ revs in town usually. Do your own research and note that lots on here are now choosing E cams over S cams as you are in the power band in most normal modern road driving situations. (and we are all jealous of James living in the sticks and having his high compression rev happy 2.4S to play with on empty roads )

Don't get hung up on power (pot kettle black). As most have said, these cars can keep up with the faster 911's on runs to CLM etc and to paraphrase a moderators tagline, 'its about how you go fast, not how fast you go'. SOrt out the bodywork, fit F+R ARB's, decent brakes this will make a world of difference.

My only other comments would be not to throw away any original bits that you don't put back on the car if you change them for other components. Original standard seats if you change to sports seats, original door cards if you go for the lightweight look, door pockets, etc. etc. Clean them all and pack them away safely so that it can be returned to as near as dammit original in the future if you or the next owner wants.

HTH and isn't too patronising. Its your car, you choose what you want to use it for and make it appropriate for that use. And we are the Maverick club after all.

James

[955sp]

[955sp]

I have a nice bitsa car (73T with a 72E engine with ITB's on EFI and crankfire ignition) and find myself mostly in agreement with Mike. There are so few sporto's left and I beleive most people who slate them haven't actually driven one. I have and it wasn't a problem for me. They are not automatics, just a manual without a clutch pedal. Mike Bainbridge in Kendal is the man to speak to about them in the UK.

Thanks James for your comments I really quite like the idea of a sporto but the problem I am quickly learning with classic cars (my first!) is that everything costs a fortune to sort. So if I do have the sporto box stripped and sorted it could literally cost thousands and then if I dont get on with it... eg. I like leaving my hand on the gear stick and I hear that this causes the microswitch to engage the clutch ready for the shift.

I know what a standard gearbox feels like and after finding a rebuilt 915 box with a guarantee I already know the total cost so I can plan. I will certainly wrap the sporto box up and store it with every other part from the car but logic and finances dictate that I cannot retain it.

[955sp]

[Bootsy]

$75k or £45k for a restored 1969 911T! Mike is that suppose to tempt me to keeping it stock? The first resto quote I got was £90k and the car cost me £16k with delivery!

I think Mike was demonstrating that if you're looking at keeping the difference between the amount invested into your car and it's possible market value to a minimum then a 'stock T' will realise more (and be a lot easier to sell) than a 'bitsa T' all be it a fair bit less than you'll be investing in the first place.

[955sp]