I've worked on a few VR6 Eurovans. They did come here. There was also different final drive ratios used for the Rialta.

Dennis,
From my phone.
________________________________
From: Theodore Hoekman<mailto:thoekman@GMAIL.COM>
Sent: ‎3/‎7/‎2014 3:53 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM<mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Subject: Re: '93 Eurovan auto to manual

My understanding is that the gearbox per se is the same in jetta, golf, and passat, but the final drive is quite different and not appropriate for the EV.    No VR6 versions of the EV were ever exported to North America,  although they were available in Europe.   I actually set about taking the fifth gear from my defunct Passat, thinking I could boost the final drive ratio for better fuel economy,  but it turned out to be the same as the one in the EV transmission.   They played with ring and pinion ratios to get a bunch of different final drive ratios in different vehicles.

Ted

Theodore Hoekman
thoekman@gmail.com
19 York St.
Newbury, ON  N0L 1Z0
(519)719-0342
Blog:http://Tedspassivesolarhouse.wordpress.com

On 2014-03-07, at 4:10 PM, Project Pat wrote:

> The EV has a transverse mounted engine.  VR6 came from the factory.  Why
> wouldn't a VR6 Golf/Jetta transmission work?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Theodore Hoekman
> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 1:12 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: '93 Eurovan auto to manual
>
> Yes that information which is available on ev_update and Go Westy as well as
> on VW-vortex convinced me to do the manual transplant when we acquired the
> EVC with a broken auto trans.  The 5 speed may be vulnerable, but it can be
> repaired/rebuilt for a lot less money and then has a better prognosis for
> life afterward if you treat it civilly.
>
> Ted
>
>