[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by 64speed

Hydraulic clutch, nothing about the setup is stock so I don’t know where to start with Pontiac engineering.

The only way to change engagement or free play with a hydraulic clutch is if you put an adjustable slave cylinder on it.

Most of your basic slaves, especially OEM, are not adjustable. However since your kit is aftermarket they may have supplied and adjustable one as that's pretty common in the aftermarket these days and a common upgrade on newer OEM stuff.

I run mechanical linkage on all my stick cars so adjustment is easy. You'll want a small amount of free play at the throw out bearing so you aren't riding on the throw out bearing all the time. How much free play you give it will affect engagement with the pedal off the floor. This becomes and feel preference per individual.
I prefer my clutch to engage/release at least 3-4 inches off the floor while still maintaining a bit of free play at the throw out bearing. This assures full clutch release slightly before I even hit the floor with the pedal. It's comfortable for me to power shift without moving the pedal so far this way and it's comfortable to daily drive this way as well.

You'll have to play around with it and find a comfortable spot for you.

Lastly, If the clutch is releasing all the way and you have no problem with putting it in gear while sitting still then your high rpm quick shifting gear scratch sounds more like a syncro issue. But try adjusting the clutch first if you have an adjustable slave.

The Syncro issue with the TKO starts with the fact that the gears in the TKO are quite a bit larger than a Muncie, which means they are also heavier, but they use the same size syncro as a Muncie or Top Loader which isn't exactly a good thing as a larger heavier gear is a little tougher to slow down making those Muncie size sycnros work harder. That's been a TKO downfall since it's inception. The fix has been paying extra for better syncros, (carbon fiber lined etc...) as well as modifying the shift levers for smoother operation but that's always been an extra cost upgrade. Works well enough for those of us that street drive the car as well as a little fun now and then. The more serious solution for those that race with these transmissions is to just have the trans converted to a crash box.

Another overlooked issue with the TKO is bellhousing alignment. That has to be spot on because the input shaft uses a taper bearing rather than the old ball bearing on a muncie input shaft. Without proper bell housing alignment it can and usually will cause sticky shifter issues.