Z-bar not aligned properly
You said the car was converted to a 4 speed by a previous owner and didn't have the inner fender brace but the engine, trans and dash vin match? Does the dash vin match the body vin? This can't be a manual trans car unless the inner fender brace was removed at some point.
I understand. But this is something of a mystery car. I really suspect that it was "cloned to GTS" status sometime in the past. It was badged as a GTS and had some characteristics (engine, trans, VIN, etc.). However, the trunk rail number and the core support number don't match. The rear spring mounts were small diameter bolts; not heavy duty as should be with a true GTS car. It did not have torque boxes. None of that is absolutely conclusive, as we know that Mopar sent things off the assembly line in a number of different configurations for whatever reason. But, the real killer is that the fender tag was in place, but it de-codes as a CHARGER. So obviously, someone was scamming somebody (me) when it was sold as a GTS. With no tag, there's no way to know exactly how it left the factory.
The steering column is smooth; no remnant of a gear shift.
The mismatch of numbers between the trunk rail and the core support suggests that maybe the car was pieced together from two cars, one of which had been rear-ended. If you took the goodies from a wrecked GTS and transferred them into a standard Dart, you could end up with the aberation that I own.
I only paid $4,500 for a running 340 4 speed car so I'm still good. I only wish I had a better understanding of the pedigree. I'm building it back as a GTS should be, but I won't try to pass it off to a future buyer as anything other than what it is.