What about the one in your 80s vintage 911?
LOL.
It was awful. To give everyone an idea...here's an article from Edmunds.
The above map is to scale. So is the shift pattern.
Disclaimer - I like this car. A lot. After a weekend, I can go through gears in this car easier than Elizabeth Taylor went through husbands. Too soon?
Lets take a run through the gears.
Gears one through four are tight together, much like they should be on a four-speed gearbox. Only fifth seems to be in a different orbit. It's like they just stuck fifth gear into a 'box where only four had been before.
So let's look at that map.
First is in Beverly Hills. Nice place. Second is in Rolling Hills Estates. It's a nice place too, but it's going to take a while to get there. Just be patient. Third is all the way the hell back up in Hollywood. Don't worry, if you learned anything from your trip from Beverly Hills down to Rolling Hills, the trip back up should be a lot quicker. Fourth... fourth is in San Pedro. It's next to Rolling Hills Estates, but if you're not careful, you're going wind up back in Rolling Hills Estates and you're gonna have a problem. Rolling Hills and San Pedro are solid three wood apart. And much like the two cities themselves, what you can do in San Pedro, you can't get away with in Rolling Hills.
Now for fifth.
Fifth is in Upland. It's a hell of a long way to go. Much like Upland, the first time you go there, you start to wonder if you've gone too far, only to wind up there after you thought you couldn't possibly go any further east. A little blip of the throttle ensures you drop it into gear without a second thought.
Now comes the hard part.
Our 911's shift linkage is not self centering; once you're in Upland, it wants to stay in Upland. To get it back into fourth takes an act of faith. Upland to San Pedro. Pick the wrong exit and you wind up in Rolling Hills; you're going to pay. This is how I get there. I pull it out of fifth, and throw the lever west until it hits the stop above second. From there, I move it east, barely, until I think I'm over fourth and with a blip, I drop it into gear. Another blip to match the revs I hope are correct and then I let the clutch out and listen. A spike means I've gone to far and I'm in second and I'm going to have explaining to do. No spike means I'm right where I want to be and I just mash the throttle and revel in some flat six sound - I can also breath again.
For me, the lack of a self centering shifter is the most difficult part about this gearbox. I'd love to say how difficult this 911 is to drive, with the hopes of scaring off the rest of the staff, but the fact is, I really dig this car. It take some adaptation, but if you care enough to learn its ways, it rewards you with things only an air cooled 911 can. I want more.
