He already has a DK 4 speed , which is very nice gearing and ratios.
It does use the older style fairly funky shift linkage though.

it's true ..the 83 diesel vanagons is about 40 % better overall,
compared to an 82 diesel vanagon, the only big part being very different
is the switch from ultra low-geared 82 4 speed to what the 83 has for a
trans.  Vast improvement. ..and the 83 has the later style better shift
linkage.   82 was sort of a 'first attempt' at a water-cooled vanagon by
VW , in my opinion.

we luv 'em tho !

On 10/22/2013 11:13 AM, Jim Felder wrote:
> Uh, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that Ralph's Velma is a 4-speed
> diesel. Telling someone that a 1.6 na won't benefit from a 5-speed is like
> telling... well, there is no real comparison here. Five speeds transforms
> the 1.6 into another car.
>
> Jim
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 12:34 PM, Stacy Schneider <vwcrewman@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>        Go and drive a  5 speed before you put one in your own car .
>>         Those things are horrible to drive.  That 1 st gear over and down
>> will make you curse it every time you do it.  There is no real advantage
>> that a well built 4 speed won't  give you  .
>>         I had one in a  112'd Tristar and it would have been replaced with
>> either a 4 speed or an A / T had I kept it.
>>
>>                              .Stacy
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Oct 22, 2013, at 10:19 AM, ralph meyermann <ralphmeyermann@GMAIL.COM>
>> wrote:
>>> Velma is not going on any trips until next spring/summer, only into the
>>> garage after I finish repairing the deer damage on my Hyundai. Hopefully
>> I
>>> can find a 5 speed and have it gone through, if not this 4 speed will be
>>> gone through. Heres for hoping for the elusive 5 speed
>>>
>>> Velma 82 1.9L AAZ td westy
>>>> On Oct 22, 2013 11:33 AM, "Stuart MacMillan" <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> The bottom line is you are on borrowed time with this unit, with the
>>>> ultimate result you could need to add the  core charge to the cost of
>> your
>>>> rebuild.  Bits of hardened metal are swirling around in your oil and
>>>> circulating through the transmission and transaxle. Once that hardened
>>>> surface is lost, complete failure is rapid.
>>>>
>>>> BTW, I'm amazed to see that people have replaced the input shaft bearing
>>>> with the shaft in place.  Lots of skill and patience required to get
>> that
>>>> bearing out in situ.
>>>>
>>>> I don't do my own transmission work, so I've had Daryl do three for me
>> over
>>>> the years:  www.aatransaxle.com He'll send you a box for $50, or you
>> can
>>>> often order an off the shelf unit and ship your (currently) rebuildable
>>>> core
>>>> back in the box and save the $50.  Core charge is $500 if yours is toast
>>>> (usually case damage).
>>>>
>>>> Good luck!
>>>>
>>>> Stuart
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
>> Behalf Of
>>>> ralph meyermann
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2013 7:57 AM
>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>> Subject: Re: Noisy transaxle??
>>>>
>>>> Pretty sure that my input shaft bearing is loose/going out, but I think
>>>> there are other worn parts that need attention.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>