901 Cost

[John S]

what sort of price range do 901 'boxes fall into, from ones needing a re-build to average/good ones?

cheers,

[Fishcop]

John, I was looking a while ago for a 901, but settled for a 915.

I found the prices varied from about 2k for an unknown history shed find to 7.5k for a full house 5 speed with 7:32 r&p (I think that's the ratio?), LSD, c/r gears et al

Cheers

[CamBiscuit]

If anyone has a container coming from the US I'd maybe try to nab a bit of room!!! They seem to go for under $1,000 over there unless they have just been rebuilt.

As for rebuilding over here it all depends how much needs to be replaced when its open Hopefully my rebuild will be ready to collect tomorrow so I can let you know the damage....gulp. I'm not expecting much change out of at least $4K

Looking forward to trying the shorter gears though!!

Cheers

[John S]

John- would you have prefered a 901 over a 915? I have no experience with 901 but was under the impression the 915 was an improvement. Personaly I am thinking in an historical racing context which would preclude me from running a 915. Having said that, Iknow my 915 in the SC does not shift anywhere near as fast as I saw Alex shift his 901 in the '67S on youtube( if I was computer literate I'd post the link )

anyone who has experience with both boxes please chime in on their respective qualities...

[hmd]

Having said that, Iknow my 915 in the SC does not shift anywhere near as fast as I saw Alex shift his 901 in the '67S on youtube

ditto.
Unless Alex edited the video with special effects my 915 shift about a second slower than Alex 901 for each gear and about 2 sec slower going 5th to 4th

[alexwebster]

Okay, for what it is worth, I love the 901 boxes! I have a kit that I got from Mark Poole that makes a really strong lock out on first. You can shift with absolute confidence out of 1st into 2nd and know that you will not hit 1st at any stage unless you try!

The 915 shift from 5th to 4th is one that you need to be careful of, where as in a 901, it is straight up the gate. I prefer it for racing as you only have the H pattern of 2,3,4,5 where as in the 915, you have to move across three gates for 2,3,4,5. The speed at which I can shift my 901 is stupid! I can do a similar change in the 915, but not in every gear while racing, you tend to have to think about it for a split second!

It is worthy to note, that the 915 can be seen to be 'stronger' than a 901. This is true, but up to about 200hp, a 901 will take it no problems. The boys in the USA run cars with over 200hp and still use 901's. They reckon they are the only thing to race with in our old cars! My car only puts out about 160-170hp. So pretty close to stock. But I have given it hell on the race tracks for 12 months, and it is still perfect.

I have a spare 901 box here that I won't use for the moment. But I think arond $2k is about right. The you need to rebuild it. If you don't change ratios, then the cost is pretty minimal. You are looking at about $600 minimum per gear set you change, so you if you change three gear ratios, then you could be up for close to $2k or more just in bits! I managed to snag a few off ebay cheaper than that, but they are used and not new. My 901 box though in my race car is dead stock. Including the Z 5th gear!

The only delemma I now have is that at the bottom of the straight at the island I am pulling 6800rpm on 50 profile tyres, so if I shortened 5th (which I had planned on doing) then I would be doing about 7200-7300rpm in 5th on the same tyres. However on 60 profile tyres that drops again by about 500rpm. ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Does you head in!

Oh the link for the shifting videos are :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6TAvX0R-lc - Phillip Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4nulqw_XK8 - Sandown

[Fishcop]

John

I actually wanted a 901, but got offered a 915 complete with shifter and RHD pedal set (my car was a sporto) for under 3k.... I just couldn't go past it.

Had I been able to get a package like that with a 901, I would have gone with it for "correctness".

[CamBiscuit]

One other consideration is the lighter weight of the 901 boxes....

I just can't remeber what the actual difference is at the moment

[mj911e]

Further to Alex's post I've just ordered the 901 shift "kit" from Mark Poole, seems a bargain at $120. Now to practise those "speed shifts"!
Also, if anyone is after a 915, I'll have one available in the next couple of months as I'm replacing my year incorrect 915 with the correct 911.

[OBRUT]

i think 901's are quite good for circuits - as 1st isn't oftened used and 5th often is. i'm enjoying learning to drive one again at the moment. having to be gentle off the line is a bit of a pain though.

i'm using, and are happy with, the rennshifter on my 901 - aside from the fact the bl*#dy allen keys keep coming loose and i'm about to throw a bottle of locktight at it... this seems to be a common issue.

a 901 downside is you have to be selective about who you let drive your car.

however, for rally (or street) driving i'd pick a 915 every time. my 915 has a simple factory short shift kit and its magic. very fast changes to any gear including back to 1st - plus you can start like a crazy man.

[John S]

Thanks for all the feedback guys
Sounds like opinion is fairly evenly split as far as preference goes. Only thing that worries me is that a healthy 2.3 with all the good bits can easily exeed 200 hp. How would a 901 deal with that sort of power?

Cam, any word on your rebuild?

thanks again for everyones input

[CamBiscuit]

No word on cost yet but it is back at my parents place!!

I think Buiks were too busy to do up the invoice today. A touch of luck though....while they were bleeding the brakes one of the rear brake lines split..... Glad that didn't happen on the back straight at Mallalla a couple of weeks ago....

As Ryan has said the 901's do not like have first gear pounded by clutch dropping smoking starts. I don't drop the clutch but aim for a smooth takeoff with full boot in once its off the line.....I opted to put in a billet aluminium intermediate plate which is a weak point with higher horsepower loads in the 901's

[Fishcop]

FWIW I have Hayden Burvill (Wevo Industries) www.wevo.com staying with me next month whilst he's here on business and he's bring my xmas present in the form of a Wevo shifter, so I'll be able to give you an idea of whether these are a nice upgrade... He's also going to take my car for a run and let me know whether my g/b is due for a rebuild. (I feel it is, but Hayden suggests I may have some correctable issues to be addressed before committing to big $$)

[OBRUT]

>Only thing that worries me is that a healthy 2.3 with all the good bits can >easily exeed 200 hp. How would a 901 deal with that sort of power?

i wouldn't say easily - but that sort of power is achievable in a 2.3 with big cams, big ports, high compression etc. however, you won't have a lot of low down torque - which is the enemy of any gearbox. as cam said, i think a 901 would be fine so long as you go easy on the starts.

[CamBiscuit]

Ok firstly the shorter gears rock!!!!!What a transformation, the car just drops into the sweet spot up through each gear. Much less bogging than with the standard ratios for the '71 box. I think if i was doing much highway cruising the X 5th gear might be a tad short but for my type of use AFMSX is pretty damn good.

And yes it makes the car feel like it has more grunt

Also of interest the standard intermediate plate feels like a piece of lightweight rubbish compared to the billet aluminium plate. I can see why this is a weak point.