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Tag: porsche

Replacing Porsche shifter bushings

There are 3 main bushings that need to be replaced in this project:

1. The shift coupler bushing

Worn coupler bushing
Original plastic bushings are almost totally disintegrated

As you can see, my current shift coupler bushing was almost totally disintegrated. The brass replacement kit from Pelican is the ideal replacement and comes with some very comprehensive instructions. The brass replacements look great once installed. It’s takes a lot of adjustment to get the shifter right when you put it back in, because the brass has different dimensions to the bushings you marked the position for.

2. Cup bushing at the bottom of the shifter

Side by side view of old and new cup bushings

Under the shifting stick for both manual and sportomatic transmissions you will find a cup bushing. It’s hard to tell if it’s worn, the stick will have a small dead spot where it feels loose. It’s fairly straightforward to pry the old one off, then lubricate and install the new.

3. Shifter tunnel bushing

Replaced shifter tunnel bushing
Replaced shifter tunnel bushing

The shift rod tunnel bushing requires removing the ball cup at the end of the shifting rod via a cone shaped allen key screw. The metal mount itself would have been unscrewed in order to remove the shifter itself. Slide off and remove the entire mount. It requires quite a bit of leverage to extract the worn bearing given it has a flange, but the new one pushes in fairly easily.

3D Printing a Sportomatic brake pedal rubber

Owning a classic car is a great experience, particularly when there’s a huge community to help you solve problems and find parts. Sometimes however there’s a part that just isn’t made anymore, and one of those is the Porsche 911 Sportomatic Brake Pad (Part#: 905-423-511-00). Not even Pelican Parts can help me, and on forums second hand ones are selling for anywhere from US$90-175. That’s a lot of money for what should be a <$20 piece of rubber.

My work happened to purchase a Form2 3D printer, which has the option of printing in a flexible resin. So I made a 3D model of the brake pedal using my very well worn one as a template and extrapolating what it would have looked like pre-wear, and printed it!

 

Here’s a side by side comparison of the two pads, once I had trimmed off the support lattice. You can see very clearly how badly worn my old pad was:

 

I was very happy with the look and feel. The edges were a little more square than the original no doubt was, and perhaps it wasn’t quite as flexible – but the grip level was great and it was more than flexible enough. After some minor trimming with a Stanley knife of the back edge, it fitted perfectly!

In total I calculate it cost around $12 of resin (~50mL), so it’s a significant saving. Now I just need to see how it wears over time.

 

Green Porsche 911E

Luftgekuhlt 5

This year I had the privilege of attending Luftgekuhlt 5 in Los Angeles. The timing worked out well, as it was on the weekend before I was meant to be in the US for a business trip. Perfect Californian sunshine and a brand new lumber yard welcomed everyone to this sold out event, with classic air-cooled Porsche’s lined up between rows of freshly cut timber. The lumber yard in itself made my Bunnings trips pale in comparison, and the sheer number (100+) and variety of cars was almost overwhelming. Walking away at the end, I left exhausted and with a renewed obsession with air-cooled green Porsches. It’s amazing how energised this very niche community is.


Green Porsche 911E   Black Porsche 1972 RSR

Timber alley Porsche lineup

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