Z31 driveshaft and other driveline compatability information

I just totalled my 86 NA 5 speed and want to swap the motor and tranny into my 87 turbo (keeping the turbo obviously) is this possible provided I keep the engine and driveline together? (And do I need the diffy as well?) My 86 was my baby and I'd like to keep as much of it as possible. Got my mechanic ready to rock with me on this any help will be greatly appreciated.

It can swap over and no you don't need the diffy, but you will need the driveshaft.

Ok, if I'm reading this correctly, I can put an a turbo clutch LSD diff into my '87, re-use the CV axles from my '87 (I just put new ones in last year), and even though the diff has a round flange, I can bolt up my square flange driveshaft since it's the same bolt pattern? Thanks for the help and clarification!

No, the square flange and the round flange don't bolt up together. You will need to either swap the flange on the differential side or swap driveshafts (but pay attention to driveshaft compatibility with your trans… not sure what trans you are running). The LSD/axles you mentioned should be fine.

Thanks Justin! Swapped the companion flange on the diff to the rectangle version & bolted it all up.

Sorry to revive an old topic here but I need some help. I've bolted a borg warner t5 from an 86 2 door to my 87 2 door and I know I have to modify my Trans mount and use the diff flange, but the drives haft doesn't seem to be long enough?? What am I doing wrong? What drives haft should I be using?

Ok, not quite enough information to help you Dave. Is your '86 an NA or Turbo? How about your '87? Are you using the drive shaft from your 86 that mated to the t5 on the '87? Is the '87 a 2+2? How about the '86? If the '87 is a 2+2 and the '86 isn't, there's your problem.

How much too short is it? That's curious, the 2 seaters should both be the same length driveshaft.

Sorry, I feel like an idiot now. I didn't realize that some of the slip yoke should hang out of the tail of the trans to compensate for suspension travel. It seems to be fine now but i wish I knew ahead of time that you have to modify the trans mount if putting a t5 in a 87

As least you don't have a driveshaft problem Yep, different mounts, all of them are a pain. We ended up cutting the ears off of the ones in the race cars just to make it easier to work around.

Yeah I think I'm just gonna weld some flat bar to the 4 corners to reach the holes. Don't know what else I can do