InteriorDiscussion about interior restoration, repairs, and modification.
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I'm probably the only one, but for some reason I think the later, non-digital dashboards for the 3rdGen F-bodys are awesome. While I really like the "four-hole", faux-carbon Firebird dash, the 1990-92 Camaro dash with the simple guages and yellow-lettering is IMO excellent as well.
I've owned nearly 40 vehicles and still think these old 3rdGens are sweet...
I'm probably the only one, but for some reason I think the later, non-digital dashboards for the 3rdGen F-bodys are awesome. While I really like the "four-hole", faux-carbon Firebird dash, the 1990-92 Camaro dash with the simple guages and yellow-lettering is IMO excellent as well.
I've owned nearly 40 vehicles and still think these old 3rdGens are sweet...
Hell yeah. I love em. The flat, long lines. No glove box. I don't know, it's just sick!
I wish I did have a glove box, instead of that stupid map pocket. But other than that, I like my 4-hole gauges. Makes me think of fighter jet gauges in my Firebird...
Mods so far: MSD Cap and rotor, MSD ignition coil, Accel 8.8mm ignition wires, Hooker Super Comp Shortie Headers, Flowmaster 3in catback, underdrive crank pulley, custom cold air intake, NOS wet 125 shot, air foil and a lead foot! no E/T's yet. ...TURBO COMING SOON...Other mods include keyless entry and remote start, and Sequential Turn Signals.
I always loved the 85-89 camaro dash. To me its all business. Just an instrument panel filled with gauges and thats it. Race car like, long Dash, gauges and no glovebox.... just in your face.
I'd like to buy a 1991-92 Z28 mainly for the dash and rocker panels. Yes, I'm strange...
That is why I bought mine...and for the Blisters and Hi -Rise too....classic stuff that no other car can duplicate...
__________________
88 Camaro IROC Z28 Convertible
92 Camaro RS 25th Anniversary 2nd place Best Interior-'09 3rd Gen Fest 1st place Best Interior-'08 3rd Gen Fest 3rd place Camaro Modified-'08 3rd Gen Fest
i really like the look of the 3rd gen dash. its clean and looks different than any other car out there. the glovebox delete is fine with me as i never use the things anyway. the wife bitches about it all the time but its not her car. keeps her from junking up my car with women crap too. that is prolly why she gets bent out of shape about it when we take the firebird out.
i really like the look of the 3rd gen dash. its clean and looks different than any other car out there. the glovebox delete is fine with me as i never use the things anyway. the wife bitches about it all the time but its not her car. keeps her from junking up my car with women crap too. that is prolly why she gets bent out of shape about it when we take the firebird out.
HELL YEA the 3rd gen dash is one of the best the only other camaro dash that i like the most is the 69 ss with the gauges tight behind the shifter but yea my fiance complains that their is no glove box either and in my vette she complains that their is a big dash pad were the glove box should be
i would too, i think the 4th gen dash is hiddeous, looks like GM ran out of ideas, so they slammed the interior from a 1996 cavalier in it imho
I had a 650ish rwhp 2000 Z28 (see pic below) and loved everything about the car except for the interior. I honestly think GM went backwards from the late 3rdGens interior. The LT1 F-bodys were IMO awful. The LS1s got slightly better, but were still not quite as visually-pleasing as the 1990-92 F-bodys.
I had a 4th gen camaro myself it was a 1997 so it had 4 non composite headlights I really did not like the 1998 and up camaros I thought the front end looked like a chrylser LHS I believe. Anyway I thought that dash fit very well with that car and the only reason I say that is well it did look chintzy, (I hate to say this because I loved the car) it matched the rest of the car very well I mean there wasn't hardly any metal body parts on these cars as the front end, front fenders doors, rear bumper and even the roof were all plastic or something other than metal (the only metal body parts on this car was the hood rear quarters and the rear spoiler) even the horn sounded like something from a honda or toyota.
bottom line in my opinion leave the 4th gen dashes where they belong, in the 4th gens. I don't think the 3rd gen dashes look bad either they flow with the car very well.
On a side note I have always wondered with the 4th gen swaps I remember the dash on my '97 being about a mile and a half deep (due to the incredibly steep rake of the windshield). so when they swap these dashes in do they cut part of this off or does the dash sit closer to the driver than 3rd gen dashes.
Same here. I've been behind more expensive dashes (Vipers, Z06's, etc) ... But there's just something about the later model 3rd Gen dashes I love. I could look at my '92 Z28s all day and night if I didn't have other things to do!
Same here. I've been behind more expensive dashes (Vipers, Z06's, etc) ... But there's just something about the later model 3rd Gen dashes I love. I could look at my '92 Z28s all day and night if I didn't have other things to do!
I always loved the 85-89 camaro dash. To me its all business. Just an instrument panel filled with gauges and thats it. Race car like, long Dash, gauges and no glovebox.... just in your face.
+1 85-89 are the best 4th gen just dont fit our cars imo
3rd gens are simply...The Best...powertrain? gahh..getta LSX FIXED
looks? amazing...never seen a horrible looking third gen...cept for the very few that are riced..love my t/a cant see myself in anything else
I love my 84 T/A dash, with its jet cockpit like bezels. My only complain is the the two gauges on the right are not very accurate from the drivers view, since the needles sit a little too high.
I always loved the 85-89 camaro dash. To me its all business. Just an instrument panel filled with gauges and thats it. Race car like, long Dash, gauges and no glovebox.... just in your face.
what he said and a good looking nose and a great looking rear!
I love the simplicity of the dash, but the main problem with 90-92 cars is that the addition of an airbag restricts some of the view (at least on the Firebird).
The main problem with the 90 - 92 camaro dash is that hardly anyone makes upgrades or replacements
Hawks thirdgen now offers a replacement cluster for 90-92 cars that looks like the covans panel, but I couldnt find just the panel on their website. Check it out, I think it looks pretty cool!
Also, agree. The thirdgen dashes just fit the car! My only complaint about them is that there are no provisions for speakers in the door, but that is a pretty easy thing to fix. Also new dash pads are a little on the expensive side, but unlike the 4thgen dash, it's a pretty easy fix!
Last edited by drknow90rs_ss@y; 09-29-2010 at 05:19 PM.
Reason: spelling..........
while i do love my camaro i'm not crazy about the inst. layout . i have had several camaro's 83 thru 91 . the 85-89 i like the best , 90-92 not so much . 85-89 more of an acft. look . ( i'm a retired military & civilian acft. mechanic ) the 90-92 does not look bad but i HATE the yellow on the gauges . i have a spare inst. cluster from a 91 Z28 , going to see if i can convert it to white . do not want white background with black letters . i'm going to ck. ebay for overlays that i like . just my thoughts . opinions are like elbows , we all have them , they are all different . to all , good luck .
Hawks thirdgen now offers a replacement cluster for 90-92 cars that looks like the covans panel, but I couldnt find just the panel on their website. Check it out, I think it looks pretty cool!
Also, agree. The thirdgen dashes just fit the car! My only complaint about them is that there are no provisions for speakers in the door, but that is a pretty easy thing to fix. Also new dash pads are a little on the expensive side, but unlike the 4thgen dash, it's a pretty easy fix!
The Hawks panels are pricey and you seem to lose the warning lights etc
You guys keep talking about the clusters....how about the dash itself. I love the fact that a thirdgen is designed to cut your passenger's heads off in a wreck. It's like the anti-airbag design.
You guys keep talking about the clusters....how about the dash itself. I love the fact that a thirdgen is designed to cut your passenger's heads off in a wreck. It's like the anti-airbag design.
you mean those digital gauges in a light greyish + white interior?
naah, I wouldnt dare
btw, on the night picture, take not of the red radiobuttons and the red bluetooth button for my cellphone.
also not on is the instrument lights wich spread a red glow over the shifter. will post a picture later tonight just to tease you
hmm, altitude meter, maybe..
for the fuel dumb switch I can also put a flamekit in my exhaust ( maybe with 2 injectors in the exhaust 2 )_ and put a button on my dash that says "afterburner"
You guys keep talking about the clusters....how about the dash itself. I love the fact that a thirdgen is designed to cut your passenger's heads off in a wreck. It's like the anti-airbag design.
Hahaha thats hilarious! Never even though about that......I'm sure it wouldn't feel good for the passenger hitting that dash in an accident!
And I LOVE my 86 TA interior. The 4 pod gauges are awesome IMO and the coloring and everything just works perfect for the car. I thought about the 4th gen center console but the more I see them the more they just look so out of place. The stock one flows too nicely to change out. As for camaros, the 90-92 dash is def my fav. The older one is ok, but a little plain to me after being in my trans am. Plus, sorry to anyone that has one, but the non airbag camaro steering wheel is ugly as heck to me!
__________________ 1986 Trans Am, 2005 5.3, 317 heads, LS6 intake, LS6 cam and valve springs, Turbonetics T76 turbo, T56 transmission, BMR everything
Last edited by whitedevilTA; 10-04-2010 at 03:04 PM.
And I LOVE my 86 TA interior. The 4 pod gauges are awesome IMO and the coloring and everything just works perfect for the car.
Have you gotten all your gauges to function with your engine-swap? I'd love to go with a LSx/4L60E, but not if I couldn't keep the original dash/gauges. Yes, I like them that much...
Have you gotten all your gauges to function with your engine-swap? I'd love to go with a LSx/4L60E, but not if I couldn't keep the original dash/gauges. Yes, I like them that much...
The gauges aren't in yet but I plan on using autometers to replace the facory gauges. I will miss my stock gauges but I really need the autometers for the car since I need a higher redlining tach and I'd like a speedo that goes above 140.....no particular reason why though
I know for a fact that you can get all the gauges working fine with an LS1 swap though. I have seen it done plenty of times before.
__________________ 1986 Trans Am, 2005 5.3, 317 heads, LS6 intake, LS6 cam and valve springs, Turbonetics T76 turbo, T56 transmission, BMR everything
I like my dash i think it fits the car very well, some ppl put 4thgen interior on these cars but it just does not fit at all, our cars have a squareish line and 4th gen interiors have that modern more round style to it, 3rd gen exterior and interior match very well with each other.
Now the only thing i hate about my interior is those damn squeaks and little noices from old plastics, btw does anyone have any idea of how to stop these noices ? I was thinking on using little pieces of rubber to put between the dash and the place the were bolt goes, kinda of like insulating.
I consider myself very lucky....my entire car (including the dash) is squeek and rattle FREE! I even have T-Tops!! 112k miles too so its not like I have a low, low mileage car.
Love it. All business, no clutter, easy to read and stylish. I really enjoy the view from the driver's seat of my Formula...
That's EXACTLY why I love my 91 TA dash as well. I don't like or need a s**t ton of fancy stupid buttons like some new honda accord. And I like the way the gauges are spread across the dash rather than in a tiny central cluster.