Bruce,
Weddle Enginering-- www.2weddle.com

I would get the South African .457 five speed.  Or have a .457 ring and pinion put in place of a .486.

I would get the .457 ring and Pinon rather than the .486.  The .457 put fifth in a true overdrive gear, around 400 rpms less, while the .486 is a four speed with a LOW first gear rather than an overdrive gear.

You could have fifth gear changed, But the costs would be similar to upgrading the tranny to .457.

I have put both in my 88 vanagon.  The .486 first, then the .457 after UPS damaged my .486 after I sent it back to have the Lock-Rite locking diff removed and a heavy duty German four spider diff put in its place.

The ONLY modification I made was to have the front mount shortened (Chris Weddle did this for me). It bolts up to the stock linkage.  It puts first gear on the same path as reverse, makes it easy to rock the van when stuck in snow.

Robert Lilley

88 Wolfsburg
With a SA .457 with the "Full Lilley"