I just recently bought a 1985 Pontiac Trans am.

Its the 305 with the standard 5 speed.

The problem is that when the engine is on and going, when you press in the clutch and shift gears, the gears grind. Hard. Like your not even pressing in the clutch.

The last owner said his son was doing burn outs and broke it. Said it was probably the clutch plate.

I have seen many different kind of plates for the clutch online, and can't seem to figure out what the problem is.

I am also wondering if its possible to just fix the plate or whatever, without replacing everything. I would rather upgrade it all at once at a later time when I have a lot more money. Right now I am working on getting it road ready.

If it helps, the entire car has only 36, XXX miles on it. The kid broke it 5 years ago and it has sat on a hydraulic lift in his garage since then.

Also, it has no problem at all switching gears when its not on. I actually turn it off and put it into reverse no problem.

Any help or any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Could have screwed up the tranny too.

Pull that, and check the clutch. Hard to tell without tearing it apart.
A factory clutch kit comes with a pressure plate, TO bearing, friction disc, and an install gizmo. I think they run about $150. Buy one and install it. You'll probably find the broken parts then.