(all hearsay)

While searching for the vanagon that would be "right for me", I spoke with a
gentleman in North Carolina who was looking to sell a 5 speed gas
water-cooled vanagon.  His daughter had lived on the west coast and her old
german wrench got one from a canadian wreck and put it in the van.  I never
visited the vehicle and can neither confirm nor deny the identity of the
tranny.

Perhap a Canadian list member could check it out and chime in.

Mark Zaranski
87 GL Weekender
Porter, Indiana
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Snow <mwsnow@COX.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Thursday, July 17, 2003 8:04 PM
Subject: Re: E-bay item - 5-speed Vanagon Tranny

>> I searched the archives for "5 speed" a while back, and mainly found
>> references implying that it was a mythical beast...
>>
>> So, my questions are for anyone with actual experience:
>>
>> Do these truly exist, are they an adaptable replacement for a 4-speed in
an
>> '85 Westie?
>>
>> Does the fifth gear provide a better ratio for highway cruising, or is
this
>> tranny to give better lo-range torque?
>
>5 speed transmissions really do exist, in 1983 diesel vans.  I have one
>in my '82 Westy.  It provides a little higher top speed and keeps the
>RPMs down on the highway for the 48HP diesel engine.  The gearing would
>be too low for a waterboxer.  Get our your calculator and do some
>figuring using the transmission info at
>
>http://volksweb.relitech.com/helmut/GEARBOX.HTM
>
>The USA market 5 speed for the 1983 diesels is the DX model.  Compare
>final drive ratios with the factory offerings for your engine.
>
>Mike Snow
>1982 Westfalia diesel