On the Renault Dauphene of  19xx (I forget, maybe 1955-60?),
a similarly crisp shifter action was described as "broomstick in a bath tub."
3rd gear was somewhere in the glove box (I actually forget whether
there was a glove box...),
while shifting into 4th was liable to get you in trouble if you were
on a date....

Dave
90 Westy

>Thanks for all the info.  I'm going to try the extension first, if I don't
>like the results then I'll go for the short shift kit.  It seems like a
>good idea, but I'm leery of tearing into the shifter because adjusting it
>is such a pain.  One of these days I should go through and replace the
>bushings, though, I suppose -- I did that on my '75 bus and I was amazed
>how tight and crisp the shift throws were afterwards.  Suddenly 3rd gear
>was close at hand instead of over by the passenger door. ;)  On that van
>the linkage had gotten so bad I no longer had enough side-to-side travel
>to reliably get all four gears -- I could have 1st and 2nd, or 3rd and
>4th, but not necessarily all at the same time.
>
>
>David Brodbeck, N8SRE
>'82 Diesel Westfalia
>'94 Honda Civic Si