I had high hopes for the Open ReVolt controller, if just for the name.
https://ecomodder.com/wiki/Open_ReVolt
Back in the day, I called up Gene Berg for one of his five-speeds but he growled at me. So it was built by a garage in the woods outside Beaverton named Mikey's Five-speed. He showed me the custom mainshaft before it went in.
It adds a section between the case and nosecone with a 'low 4th and high 4th' gears. Requires a bump in the sheet metal and a modified shifter, Fifth is right and forward. In the notchback I shifted up into fifth at 85MPH so it wasn't used much, but there was an extra gear avaiiable around town. 85 is where the Superbeetle wants another gear.
The Baja has four-bolt wheels, I'm hoarding a set of aluminum dune buggy 14s. Those will get big and little tires as soon as it's back downtown. My project for today is to extend a parking space.
The advantage of an FUV conversion is the whole double A-arm suspension and brakes 'should' fit [TBD] with the same 4x100 bolt pattern as the front.