Sporto gremlins

[dece72]

Hi fellow Porsche lovers,
I’ve recently completed restoration on a 1972 911E back to factory specs of Viper Green with Sporto gearbox. Sporto seems to have a mind of its own, contact points on the gear lever are working fine but engagement of gears appears to be very haphazard. Last weekend I took it out for a run of approx 60klms, called in to get some fuel and needed to grab reverse but clutch would not disengage - all forward gears were fine so headed off Sportos are certainly a little different but I’m starting to like it….. arrived home turned her off and then needed to move it and could not get any gears at all, left it to cool down and still nothing but when I turned the engine off and rocked the car around and found low and D1 then restarted the car and found that I could engage those two gears but nothing else - Grant at Autohaus Hamilton has been instrumental with the final stages of restoration, the car has been test driven and checked over by both Grant and Tim with thumbs up but now that I’ve got the car I’m finding these weird gremlins. Grant has and still is working on it with me but it’s doing our heads in. Grant believes it may be related to heat and one of the switches on the side of the gearbox.
Hoping that someone may have experienced the same thing and can offer advice, I’m keen to get out and drive it but paranoid about stopping anywhere

Referring to photo attached I understand that horn vents and blinker lenses are not correct and will be putting out another request for these and some other Misc items….. sill trims have arrived and will be fitted very soon
Thanks for taking the time to read

[epilot]

Car looks beautiful David, unfortunately I can't help with the sporto question but there are a few guys with sportos here.
Maybe try the tech section of Early S Registry as well.

[dece72]

Many thanks Craig, much appreciated

[reedminor]

Yes early 911 S registry is the best place is probably the best place to look for sporto tech tips. There are just more cars in the US.

JR

[AMB]

FWIW, I recently had a lot of difficulty with my 71E sporto with similar erratic behaviour including substantial sporto originating oil leaks. After several unsuccessful attempts, I had enormous success with Kane Hearn who owns Zuffenhaus Classics in Heidelberg Victoria.
From electrical to mechanical linkage to vacuum and hydraulic related matters, Kane was able to get everything working such that I really enjoy the sporto transmission now. The car is bone dry in terms of oil leaks and I confidently head out knowing that the issues that would impede progress in the past are no longer a concern. Happy to discuss my experience further if you would like to PM me. Andrew

[72_sporto]

Hi David,

I've owned my 72E sporto over 35 years. Have you had a look at the "Driving with Sportomatic" brochure that came with your car? It has a full breakdown of the circuits and various drive states the gearbox goes through. For fault finding, it's possible to bypass the Bypass switch (I think, from memory) which should allow you to start the car in gear - remembering it also has a torque converter. Have you checked that the vacuum servo is pulling the clutch in fully? Has the diaphragm ever been checked for tears. Small tears can partially seal and provide erratic clutching. You might also check the 2 vacuum non return valves are actually tight and working correctly.

[dece72]

Hi Bill and Andrew,
Apologies for the slow reply, we were on grandchildren duty yesterday 5 of them under 10 and raining in Sydney !!
Both responses have been really helpful, have found that if I select a gear without engine running I can then turn the car on and have access to all forward gears so clutch operation appears to be fine…. All except reverse which I believe is controlled by one of the switches fitted to the side of the gearbox, one was replaced during the build the other is supposedly not available but Grant believes he may have one in a storage shed. Fingers crossed this is the answer, pushed it out of my garage before the rain yesterday and took my 10 year old grandson for a drive - we both loved it….. certainly a bit different to my 997.2 PDK turbo, gearboxes have come a long way
Will keep you posted

[Terminator]

Hi Bill and Andrew,
Apologies for the slow reply, we were on grandchildren duty yesterday 5 of them under 10 and raining in Sydney !!
Both responses have been really helpful, have found that if I select a gear without engine running I can then turn the car on and have access to all forward gears so clutch operation appears to be fine…. All except reverse which I believe is controlled by one of the switches fitted to the side of the gearbox, one was replaced during the build the other is supposedly not available but Grant believes he may have one in a storage shed. Fingers crossed this is the answer, pushed it out of my garage before the rain yesterday and took my 10 year old grandson for a drive - we both loved it….. certainly a bit different to my 997.2 PDK turbo, gearboxes have come a long way
Will keep you posted

Yep chalk and cheese to a PDK!!!!

[Andrew911E2.4]

Looks great after the resto. Please keep us posted. I've have same yr model sporto, so far it has behaved itself. While I have the Sporto book, there are always real life experiences that are priceless. Tks again and good luck.