i shouldn't be quoted as this is second hand, but apparently he told a friend who is interested that if you aren't on the list, it's about a year lead time.

the transmissions all have to be assembled by hand, and are done so meticulously, yet this is not the mainstay of the business. all the usual 4 speed stuff has to happen to keep the shop and his livelihood going: the 5 speeds are on top of all this.

so, keep the faith! (dumb statement, never really liked it, but it popped into my head for some reason!)