That type 1 gearbox price of $1600 rebuilt with a super diff is pretty damn good. When I priced up that kind of box ages ago it was much more, but I was looking at doing it within Australia.
type 2 into type 1 gearbox mount kits are a little over $200 (rubber mounted ones). see the custom offroad website.
I first had a 5-rib kombi box. bought it for about $150. Got it fully reco'd for another $800 or so for a little under $1000 I had a tough little smooth gearbox. Brad now runs that box in his manx. He has trashed the hell out of it and it still runs fine. If I were to rebuild it again I would've put a 1600 0.82:1 4th gear in it for better highway cruising than the stock 0.89:1 4th.
I now run a 6-rib as I thought it will cope with the torque of the V6 in the heavy Baja a bit better. I spent a bit more on this one. Went for an Albins 0.70:1 4th gear set ($350), a late model Vanagon 4-spider diff ($200) and a rebuild. The gearbox had a few pited vital bearings which pushed the cost up. All up the 6-rib with 4-spider diff and custom 4th set me back under $2000. About twice as expensive as the 5-rib, but hopefully twice as strong. And from what I am told a heap stronger than a type 1 box.
This website has some good info about the various boxes
http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Dunes/9702/transtalk.html
The spider gear pic gives you a good idea of size and strength differences
http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Dunes/9702/SpiderGears.html
Wes -
www.offroadvw.net - 200HP Quad Cam V6 in a VW Baja - with climate control...
🙂
www.taylorcycles.com.au - My DH MTB racing brothers shop.