not that anyone cares, but....another 4th gen dash
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not that anyone cares, but....another 4th gen dash
pic number 1
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__________________ 1985 Pontiac Firebird-4th gen dash, 4th gen center console, 4th gen seats, 4th gen door panels.
Jasper 2.8L under the hood
Rebuilt 700r4, shift kit, corvette servo, high pressure boost valve.
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and the automatic console lights, and some of the heater control lights.
All for now.
__________________ 1985 Pontiac Firebird-4th gen dash, 4th gen center console, 4th gen seats, 4th gen door panels.
Jasper 2.8L under the hood
Rebuilt 700r4, shift kit, corvette servo, high pressure boost valve.
if anyone has any questions about the swap that haven't been listed a million times over, feel free to ask....im also thinking of dying the dash black to match the center console, and the rest of the interior to come, but we'll see what i decide. Also, sitting next to the car (which can't be seen) is a new steering wheel, not 4th gen, but one that's definately nicer looking than that old pos.
looks good man you must be a pro at building custom cars. And who ever trimmed your dash pad must really know what they are doing at modifying cars. Anyway just wanted to give you my input and say looks good. OH P.S. everything looks good but your front seats kind of look crappy. You should probally get 4th gen trans am seats that would really set your interior off.
How much did it cost you for the 4th Gen dash? Does any year 4th Gen dash fit? Those questions have probably been asked a zillion times, but I have never read about any 4th Gen dash installs before. I guess it never really interested me before...
Is there any way you could lay your seats all the way back and get a picture from the back of the car looking forward to get a real good look at the dash? Thanks........
92Z, the dash cost 80 bux from a local salvage yard, was just about the only dash we could ever find that didn't have airbags that grenaded on a passenger. All the dashes will physically fit in the thirdgen, however, matching the dash you choose to the center console must be observed, or you'll wind up with a 3 - 6 inch gap, this is especially true on the camaro versions. I do have a gap between my center console, and dash, as a result of using a 96 dash, with an 01 console, but sacrifices must be made, and the gap isn't DRASTICALLY noticable.
To War Eagle, ask and you shall recieve
to IrocZ
Interior will be gray...for now....really wanting to do black, especially to match the ebony rear seats i have right now (unfortunately did u know ebony looks more gray then black? ackward how they're more desireable on ebay, i think people are confused) but in the long run, i'd still want black, although it's much easier for me to find leather 4th gen gray seats.
Flyinlow Q for ya, whend you get those wheels, i like em. To ur questions.
No hvac stuff for now, i'll actually be wiring things up w/in the week most likely however , for the Hot/Cold stuff you'll need to bend your factory heater cable to wrap around the 4th gen knob and hook into the wheel on the back, this should allow you to open and close the heater box by twisting the knob which will manually move the cable. I think you get the idea.
Dash pad was cut my EveCustoms in St. Louis, and is a wonderful fit, actually, perfect. Finding a good dash piece however is much more difficult, and removing it is just as challenging, if not more challenging then having it cut to fit (although that can be a chore) When removing the dash pad from a bone yard, it was actually much simpliar (and safer for the pad) to remove the windshield from the vehicle in the yard, this way you can get to all the pad components (some are velcro, some are clips, all stick and hook really really really well "aka, it'll break if you yank it")
As for the guages, all of the smaller ones are working. The cluster is from a 96 Bird, so i've got oil pressure, Engine Temp, Volts, and Fuel. My speedo isn't working yet as i don't have a dakota conversion box and i've got the old cable speedo setup, the tach is alive, however it bounces and is off, thinking that the tach signal from the DIS system might be different than the standard v6 tach signal, going to have to work through that.
And to Kandied (like ur car too, just like flyinlow) neway....Door panels are coming, as a result of not having them, there is the massive gap (for now) and most likely a very short for now. We actually mocked the dash up using a 4th gen door panel, in place of the passenger side 3rd gen panel. Which is how we were able to achieve a correct gap, i think it leaves maybe half an inch or so of play between the dash and the panel (enough to be safe, yet look good), just gotta find a full set of panels, as the one we got wasn't in good condition, but worked perfect for mocking.
definately interested to see how the pannels come out and i would love to adapt the new heater controls as i'd like to completely relocate them off the dash.
Originally posted by 92 zzz28 How much did it cost you for the 4th Gen dash? Does any year 4th Gen dash fit? Those questions have probably been asked a zillion times, but I have never read about any 4th Gen dash installs before. I guess it never really interested me before...
yes any 4th gen dash will fit in a third gen with minor work.
If you are thinking about getting one for your car, all you need to do is pick the certain year and color dash you like, I guarentee that it will fit into your car, again with minor work.
Originally posted by 85f-bird Flyinlow Q for ya, whend you get those wheels, i like em. To ur questions.
No hvac stuff for now, i'll actually be wiring things up w/in the week most likely however , for the Hot/Cold stuff you'll need to bend your factory heater cable to wrap around the 4th gen knob and hook into the wheel on the back, this should allow you to open and close the heater box by twisting the knob which will manually move the cable. I think you get the idea.
Dash pad was cut my EveCustoms in St. Louis, and is a wonderful fit, actually, perfect. Finding a good dash piece however is much more difficult, and removing it is just as challenging, if not more challenging then having it cut to fit (although that can be a chore) When removing the dash pad from a bone yard, it was actually much simpliar (and safer for the pad) to remove the windshield from the vehicle in the yard, this way you can get to all the pad components (some are velcro, some are clips, all stick and hook really really really well "aka, it'll break if you yank it")
Take some pictures of how you fabricate the A/C controls would be really interested to see how you make them work.....
Also does that shop make off-the-shelf dashpads that can be sent to customers? Or did you have to take your car there and have them cut to fit?
Thanks for the kind words, I just got the wheels put on about 1 month ago....
I took the dash and car to Eve for fitting, and i'm not sure about shipping of parts to customers as of yet, however, i also know the difficulty that could be associated with this. The trimmed dash pad isn't nearly as fragile as the original piece, meaning, once the "fat" is taken off of it, the pad seems to be more "rigid, or stirdy" as a result of losing the extra weight, which is associated with it's extreemly long length.
I'll take a look at the HVAC system again, like i said, it seems to be straight forward, but i guess you never know, we'll see what happens.
I love the looks of that conversion!
I may just have to start looking for fourth gen stuff! I already have the console, so............................!
As for questions, how long did it take you to get this far? Just wondering on the timeframe, as I'm not quite sure that I want my car to be down for such a long period!
NOTE: This is not for my 20th TTA! For a 1991 Firebird w/Sport Appearance Package!
Thanks,
George
__________________ Go for the top of the food chain, and run wild!
1989 20th Anniv. Turbo Trans Am #231 (autographed by Emerson Fittapaldi in gold, winner of the 1989 Indy 500, on my dash panel glove pocket)
Featured in:
Books:
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 1969-1999 Photo Album
Pontiac Firebird 1967-2000 Photo History
Firebird Trans Am by David Newhardt
Magazines:
Smoke Signals Sept 1993
Car Craft March 2000
the time frame kinda depends, in all truth and honesty, i was really taking my time, and not rushing through it. So, it took me just about a week to get to where i'm at, however, honestly, if you started working on it one morning, and only took breaks for lunch and dinner, and had the ability to work into the night (not to late where u get tired though) and have a frind to assit on the mounting you could probably have it finished in a day, and buttoned up the next morning. Here was my schedule.
Night 1: remove old dash
Day:1 (start) : Finishin removing old dash
Day:1 (cont.) Mount in new Dash
Day:2 make adjustments in dash mounting
Day:3 Begin Wiring Nightmares lol.
Day:4 Make adjustments to Wiring
Day:5 More adjustments for Wiring
Day:6 Permentatly Connect wiring, getting things routed where you want them. Remount Dash in correct location permentatly, plug up guages and hope they're working the way they were supposed to.
Day:7 Clean up your project car, and enjoy the new dash.
A good portion of those days weren't spent out side all day long, as doing all this wiring would have really gotten frustrating, however i never got to that point, as i had things spread so thin, that i barely noticed it, and instead of being frustrated at problems, i was happy every time i got another problem solved.
Doing it to a 91' bird should be really straight forward and simple, as far as wiring, you'll be looking at having your speedometer and tach working on day one (atleast from what i've been told) with your style of VSS.
this is probly a bad/stupid question but im kinda short and i cant see over my dash as it is. Are you able to see over the dash or atleast see the hood???? i have to lean on my center consol to see over my stearing wheel and i leave my lights up so i know where the front of my car is.. ...thats ok tho im a female
invest in a power seat and just move it up...........if you still can't see then pick up a race seat. their bottoms are taller then stock by almost twice. hook up power then and your good. you'll hit your head before you'll have to lean on a center console.
well, the mounting holes that were drilled for the dash are actually on the firewall , next to but not in the holes used on the previous dashpad. In other words, with the exception of the bubble in the instrument cluster (which will be higher) the actual mounting point for the dash is the same as where the factory firebird dash is. With the firebird's sloping nose, anyone will lose sight of it eventually, so, i guess that goes for me too, and i'm not necessarily tall, about average male height of 5'10" ish....maybe less, not sure.
I'd also advice in 6 way power seat, and hey, if ya get em, they'll improve the looks of the interior 100 fold also. then you'd have a good excuse to go and do the dash swap.
I noticed a couple of gaps under the dash and between the console and the dash. Is this completely in place or are you still adjusting? I like the overall look but not the openings...
I can't answer if his works but, I can tell you that the vacuum diverter matches the way 3rdgens operate with the exception of the 4thgen has a 2-way vac solonoid on the defrost/floor door (this is for the 'blend' mode).
Wiring is a no-brainer if you have a multimeter, pen/paper and 5-10 minutes. You can even go as low-tech as a battery and a 194 light bulb to figure it out.
All this info is pretty much in tpiroc's sticky at the top of this forum.
Not a fan of any of the 4thgen dashes myself but, it looks like it's turning out to be a well done install.
__________________ "It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away."
- '87 Formula Firebird - never ending project
- '91 RS Camaro - beater
- '93 Z28 - donor
- '71 Camaro LT - as if I need another project.....
yes i agree, i like to see new ideas like this but i definately wouldn't want such a curved dash in such a square car. regardless though i would like to extend my guages and swapping pannels would make for a cleaner install to hide them in my center console which would be worth it....just need to figure out how to get them to the center console and work.
alright, on to answering all the Q's that have popped up, startin at the top.
War- The gaps under the dash actually shouldn't be there, i hadn't bolted up those bottom pieces yet, aka they're just sitting in place, once they're actually permentatly put in, those gaps won't be there. The ones by the console will most likely be there however, that's because i'm using a 98+ console with a 96 Dash. I had wanted the 98+ Console because it has the 4 cupholders (although the back two are never used, the front two are nice to have). I probably won't be able to clean that up, however, i will be able to tuck it all away, and also, from the sides, or even in the car the gap can't be noticed, the only time it is viewable is from the rear of the car as in that picture.
Z28guy- Pulling the old dash out was pretty straight forward, infact all i did was start taking off screws, and eventually vwalla' no more dash. If all you need is a new pad, then that's even easier, about 8 or 9 screws hold it in, think 5 underneith, and 4 or 5 at teh top i nthe heater duct....real simple....the basic reason i got a new one, is , i could either get on ebay and buy a new pad for 30-40 bux, or buy a new dash from a 4thgen for under 100, and i like "new" things.
Flyinlow- Actually cheaper than i could have ever expected ... it was free!!! Simple reason though, the man who runs the shop is also a friend i've had since i was in pre-school. Think the ones they're doing for customers are around 40-45 , but i might be slightly off on that.
and to Kandied- Can understand where you're coming from on the style of dash. I don't think it looks terribly out of place, and it's definatley helping to complete the look i'm going for, "modern technology-old vehicle" and the 4th gen stuff was definately necessary for it. Also, in a camaro, i personally believe that the early model dash/center console combo is just about the best looking setup available, because of the camaros more "boxy" styling (and who can call any thirdgen "unboxy"?) the dash really flows well, and although it brings together some more curves, it's no where near as dramatic as the firebird's version, which i do think works well with the firebirds more curvign body lines.
