Hey guys... I took the overhead console out of my 87 and installed it into my 86...finally. I also put the mirror from the 87, which is a 4th gen mirror, into the 86. Since my headliner needs to be re-covered, I figured now would be a good time to cut the openings. I figured Ide post pictures....mainly because Im bored haha. I ran into some wiring confusion...and the diagrams didnt help, and search didnt really help. So maybe this will help someone out. First, the guide in the tech section is great...for mounting the console. Which I feel is the hardest part. It was a tad lacking in the wiring aspect though. The suggestion for using the ground screw to "thread" the mounting holes was a great suggestion. Worked perfect. I made a template and made my cuts according to the tech article. The cuts in the template dont have to be to engineering standards... My headliner needs to be recovered, so I wasnt worried about wrinkles or things of that nature. Ill fix it when I re-cover. Cont...

Old light removed.










Cont...

Wiring.

My 86 had two wires for the dome light. Both white. No stripe, no marks or anything. And the way it wired up, wasnt how I would have assumed. With the doors shut and the lights off...one of the white wires will have 12v. The other, nothing. So...my common sense said this must be the orange hook up. Wrong. When you turn the lights on, the +12v switches to the other wire, and it confused the heck out of me.

So, the way I wired it was: With everything off, the wire with 12v gets hooked to the WHITE wire on the overhead console harness. The other white wire, goes to the orange wire in the console harness. And then you ground the black wire up in the roof bracing. There was no ground screw up there....I used the one from my 87.

My test connections.



Everything works as it should.



These mirror lights come on with all the other interior lights, or you can switch them on independently whenever you want.



Thats it. It was pretty easy. Cutting the headliner was a mess...my foam backing was nothing but dust. Im going to replace the pocket with a new one, and Im toying with the idea of replacing all of the bulbs with custom LED clusters so the interior lighting is super bright. We'll see...time and money always dictate the small projects like that.

J.

Looks good!

Great write up, thanks for sharing

Nice work, what sort of price do the overhead consoles bring? I wouldn't mind one for my GTA

That does look good,nice job.

Thanks guys. The console was original in my 87...and I always sort of liked them. I did enjoy the clean headliner look without it too, but since I wanted to wire in the mirror lights and all, why not. Plus the little "Firebird" flashlight is just plain neat.

As much as Ide like to keep it nice and original, part of me wants to knock out those little event wheels and put something useful in there. Ide like to retro fit a temp/compass display in there maybe.

Now I just need to gather up the supplies to re-do the headliner.

I need to remove my council cuz i am gonna reapolster my t top headliner. How do ya get it out?

Coupe, remove the screws in the dome light housing, then pull the console toward the you.

T-top, remove the screws..., then push the console toward the windshield.

Remove wiring at the connector.

Van454,

I wouldn't consider an overhead unless it's complete. Missing parts can be difficult to find.

JamesC

The only thing missing is the flashlight. I will go and remove it

Haha thats the best part.....

Ive seen them pop up here and there. Im just glad mine is in one piece and work. I dont leave a battery in it though because it just corrodes and screws up the contacts...but its nice to know it'd work if I wanted haha.

J.

Use some dialectic grease on the contacts and they'll be good to go.

JamesC

The flashlight in my console decided to crap out on me one day. So I took it apart and cleaned all the connectors with my dremmel tool and brush then put in a bulb i picked up at Radio Shack. Works great now.

Yeah thats what I did.

I didnt think about putting some dielectric grease on it though...Im gonna give that a try. Good call!

J.

I applied some several years ago, and as of an hour or so ago, the flashlight still works.

JamesC

Yeah Ha Ha! I'm not too broken up about the flashlight. I can probably buy one, but not worth it. It doesn't seem as though anything is missing anyway. It would probably fall on my head after a quick stop.

The gaping hole would trouble me (yes, I'm anal about such matters). Check the following link for a possible fix:

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/in...-continue.html (Overhead Console Experiments Continue)

JamesC

And I thought it was an overhead vent...lol, What would be a reasonable price for one that works, and one that doesn't??

Most work with a bit of clean up as the internals are seldom messed with. The clip and/or clips that hold the two pieces of the flashlight together are sometimes broken. I sold one with that problem for $17.50 shipped. I sold one that was near mint for $45, IIRC.

JamesC

do you have any more to sell?

Sorry, no.

JamesC

They pop up on Ebay from time to time. That's how I got mine. There's one there now for about 34 bucks but it says CAMARO instead of FIREBIRD