IF you try to never hit the gas pedal while your foot is on the clutch pedal it will last a long time. You must tighten the driveline on a takeoff and do clean shifts with a zero throttle opening. After your foot is off the clutch pedal go nuts, it can take lots of power.
The plate is easy to make and does not need to be really accurate. I needs to surround the pinion bearing area only. I originally made it to cover as much as possible for strength. For the shift rod area for example, one big slot for all three rods would be fine.
The Porsche 944 Turbo has the exact same differential carrier but with four spiders instead of two. This will distribute the load better and should not break the spiders.
Here is my latest build with a BMW v-12 and here is a video;
http://stweb.peelschools.org/sssweb/TTI-WEB/cars/videos/ChassisDriving.wmv
Cheers;
Jim
