[Mr Teddy Bear]

I have owned two of these beasts and the gear change from memory seems to be markedly different?
My low mileage late 93 manufacture 214Si has a spring loaded gate across into the 3rd/4th gear plane. It takes a while to judge the right amount of force against the spring to cleanly engage 1st when changing down or engaging 1st gear on a hill for example. Changing up from 2nd the lever moves into the 3/4th gear plane under spring pressure alone.

My green 414 M reg' didn't present with this issue; engaging first gear wasn't the same dark art as on this earlier car, was the spring removed? was the gearbox otherwise modified in the interim period? Or does the spring just become ineffective after 100,000 miles of use?

Also I should comment that these early cars make a fantastic starter classic, considering VED and the performance available.