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Porsche 901/914 5-speed gearbox in Type1

I have done this job myself in 2011, and while not really well documented on the Internet, I thought a little bit of info on this subject could be of help to you.

It is possible to fit a Porsche 901/914 5-speed gearbox in an IRS-Beetle chassis. What you need is of course a (rebuilt) Porsche 901/914 5-speed gearbox which must be modified to accept the VW saddle mounts, a modified Porsche 911 nose cone (or aftermarket pieces made by bug-at-5speed for example), a Porsche shifter, Porsche shift linkage and a special made front gearbox mount. The 901/914 gearbox is a very strong gearbox that can easily handle up to 200 hp. There are also many gear ratios available on the market to set up some close ratio gearing with 5th for overdrive.

When fitting the gearbox you must be sure that the engine is in the stock position. For reference, the gearbox-upgrade places the engine 25 mm higher than the stock position. Besides the engine will end up about 10 mm further to the back. The Type1 and Type4 engine fit the bolt pattern of the 901/914. A hole has to be cut in the chassis for the coupler.

 

Pictures from my modification: