Hi there.
I have recently bought a 1887 trans am, automatic. When i bought the car i knew that i would like to swap a manual transmission into the car. i now have the opportunity to buy a 1984 trans am with a manual transmission. So my question is, what will i need to take off of the 1984, and if the z bar (i think this is what it is called) has to be welled to the firewall of my 1987 trans am? The owner of the 1984 has brought it to my attention that somewhere along the line the linkage is broken on the 84. He thinks that the weld broke on the firewall, so he says. Is he correct? Thanks

 

How you could do it:

An 87 5 speedo Trans AM VSS (or equivalent like the 4k version from JagsThatRun that threads onto 84 speedo gears) If your 87 speedo is correct, change speedo gears on the new VSS / in the T5 to match the ratio between them.

Everything from the 84 including clutch pedals, bellhousing, fork, throwout bearing and whatever clutch linkage it has. 84 through 92 should have hydraulic clutch release system including a master cylinder bolted to the firewall and slave cylinder bolted to the bellhousing. If the 84 has z-bar, it's 82-83 parts and they are less reliable than the 84-92 parts.

An 86 - 92 Trans Am flywheel. 85 and older used a different flywheel bolt pattern and is not balanced the same. A new clutch disc & pressure plate are advisable. A used pressure plate and new flywheel surface wouldn't be a good match to bed in a clutch.

Your 87 engine will need a pilot bearing or bushing tapped into the crank shaft, which will already be machined for it.

Crossmember, driveshaft, are fine to re-use.

The T5 torque arm mount needs used. If the bushing is backwards (top of a sideways "W" faces left or right depending on year,) then use the 84 torque arm bolted to the differential.

If the 84 transmission has an obvious leak at the front lower passenger corner, it may be pretty well worn out. If it has that, and 82-83 linkage was used, the car may be a less than ideal donor car.

You could weld a reinforcement on the firewall, but he clearly knows there's a problem and he clearly doesn't know what that problem is, so dont' expect to troubleshoot it online without pictures.

 

The mechanical linkage parts are nearly impossible to find replacements for. Find a good working hydraulic setup, don't bother with this one from the 84

 

question: will a 89 vss swap into a 89 cable T5?

 

Yup; as long as it's from a T-5