4 to 5 speed conversion

I took the day off work today to carry on with the caddy,we lowered the motor/gearbox back in and it all sits fine now that the rear box mount is in the correct place    We used the studs off another box I had spare so that's ok now 8) now onto the linkage, I fit the gear shifter,rod and bracket/lever the other night so I thought it would be easy to set up and finish today BUT oh no if you try and select 2nd gear the arm on the lever now hits the exhaust down pipe flange  :dontknow:  so we had a look at the same set up on my other caddy (apart from the motor is a 1.6 petrol and the 5 speedbox from a mk1 cabriolet and there's a good 3"cap between selecter arm and manifold. The only gears that work is reverse,3rd and 5th.it looks like the down pipe is offset towards driver side on my 1.6 But will have a better look at that in daylight tomorrow.Any ideas why I have this problem mate? Cheers Darren.

check the lengths of all the linkage rods. if you have 4 speed mk1 or mk2 ones in there the lengths arnt right and it throws everything out

http://www.angrymods.com/projects/scirocco/shift_lockout/shift_linkage.JPG

I've just had thought rubjonny :wink:, does the bracket where the relay shaft bracket bolts too unbolt or is it welded? Is it removeable and need a pacific 5 speed one? It's the thing I can think of as to why the relay lever hits the down pipe flange when selecting 2nd gear.

the bracket on the steering rack comes off but that isnt 5 speed specific i think, but the relay shadt the rods all fit onto is i beleive

sign up to this site you can check out whats different with pics:
http://www.vagcat.com/epc/

http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/Images/shiftkit_06.jpg
How about this idea, I'm guessing extending the lever would stop it hitting the down pipe?
Do you reckon this will work rubjonny?

Another pic
http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/Images/shiftkit_03.jpg

yeah thats a short shift so it might help, but if its all standard it shouldnt hit at all which is why im thinking some rod missmatches under there, or maybe it needs new bushes and re-aligning as per the guide to the l;eft

I'll try and get down my shed tomorrow and take some pics mate 8)

http://www.vwcaddy.com/showthread.php?t=33832
I found this interesting.
I've checked all the linkages so many times and there all correct 5 speed mk1 linkages mate.
This idea might be best for me as I have a mk2 motor/gearbox in a mk1 bay,what do you reckon?

I was down the shed at 6am determined to sort this out, so did the mod from the caddy forum above where you straighten the arm from the gearbox and drill a hole an inch lower and it works a treat.All gears select as they should and the lever misses the downpipe by about half inch 8)
Thanks for your help peeps and especially rubjonny for his knowledge on our beloved mk1's 8)
Cheers Darren.

the engine and box from mk2 makes no odds as they're the same shape as mk1 anyway, the only thing i can think of is maybe the alignment under the car and relay shaft position need looking at? but you could do the mods above instead whatever it takes to get it working