ok i got an 83 z28 and i'm in the process of droppin the 350 turbo short shaft(second one i've dropped) and i got a brand new 400 turbo with a shift kit that i'm gonna put in my car. when i replaced the tranny b4 i wondered about this piece but never bothered to ask. its like a long metal brace/bar that goes from the back of teh tranny to the rear axle, it runs right along side the driveshaft. i assume this has to do with somethin in the rear end to hold the car kinda as one big unit. well i'm curious to know what this thing really is, what its for, and is it necessary? the bracket that it bolts onto the tranny with won't fit onto the 400 turbo so i'm wondering if its necessary to keep it and i'm gonna have to fab a bracket for it, or if i can just forget about it...

 

That's the torque arm. It serves a couple of purposes, but the biggest is that it keeps the rear from twisting around and tearing the driveshaft/suspension apart. You can't drive without it (although you can push the car around in a limited fashion...just don't stop it too quickly.)

 

Spohn (sp?) makes a conversion kit for it, its like $120.

Or I think You can go with ladder bars and call it a day.

Honestly I would just buy the conversion kit and a new adjustable torque arm. The stock stamped steel ones suck ***** anyway. You would get a little more power to the ground with an aftermarket one

 

ok thanks for the info, i figured it was to hold the suspension and **** in place better... that just made sense looking at hte application, well i think im just gonna refab a bracket to hold it on to the tranny becuase the one i had on it i had to fab anyways since the last time i replaced my transmission i noticed that hte bracket was busted and the torque arm was just free roaming.... the whole stopping thing i spose its a good thing for once that my brakes suck so that i coudnt' stop fast. im not sure why they are so bad, but i think it might have something to do with the fact that my vacuum system is so messed up... like from the intake manifold to the carb to the vac. advance.... when i look at mine, its not set up like anyone elses and i think that its done incorrectly and maybe that has to do with my brakes. a friend of mine said that one of the tubes hooked up to something for brake pressure or something, but i have no idea... thanks tho