I need to replace the Shift Plate on my 82 Firebird. Does anyone know how the top comes off the shift lever. Does it screw off or do I have to take the center part with the Pontiac loco off first and unscrew something. I realize that these parts are getting very rare and I don't want to damage it by doing the wrong thing.

 

I'm not too sure if your shifter would work the same as mine, but I posted a pic to show you how mine comes off. There is a clip that you slide out (I circled it) and then you pull the shifter off. But yours might be a screw off type. Just food for thought

 

I used to have that same shifter/console in my 83. The shifter handle does in fact have the same clip in the front of it. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and pull the clip straight out, then the handle should slide right off. If needle nosed pliers wont get the clip out, try prying it out with a small slotted screwdriver. Also note that most of those torx head screws on the shifter plate are not real, theyre just there for looks. Theyre actually part of the plate, and wont come off. I cant remember exactly where all the real ones are, but I know the one under the e-brake handle is real, and that theres another in the ash tray.

 

yup... thats the clip.. pop that out.. and removes the screws on the plate.. and slip it all off..

 

Thanks for your help guys.

 

hmm t/a's n firebirds different then camaro consoule that and i guess manuals and autos are the plate wise that is.

i see 2 screws in front corners and 2 in back and one under the e brake them should al be real and come out. after removing the shifter ****.

on my 5 speed camaro there are 6 torx heads 2 in frton corners 2 in rear corners and 2 in frotn of ash tray u take them out and screw off the know then the plate itself comes out and the top consoule stays in place around e brake and radio and everythgin.

 

I had a look at the auto shift lever and there is no clip at the front of it that comes out. It looks like it just screws off but not sure. Does anyone know? The car is an 82 Firebird.

Thanks

 

Hey gholian. Try seeing if that button at the top of your shifter comes out then. If it does there might be a screw or a clip of some sort under there. If not, then I would suggest unscrewing it off. I'm really not familiar with birds but these are just some things to try since you don't have that front clip. Hope this helps.

 

yes those 82 style shifters have a c-clip under the shift button that has to be removed then the rest of the shifter body will remove from the shaft

 

Most of those screws you see are fake. The one under the ebrake is real though. The plate is not just the part around the shifter either, the whole top part comes off, including the part with the window switches in it. I had thought that shifter had a clip in the front, but I guess it is under the button. It's been forever since I've had that shifter...

 

well i wrote my refference to my camaro 5 speed thats why at the top i stated they must be different because on my 5 speed camaro u take out 6 torx's and then the **** twists off and u can remove only the top plate around the shifter.
or u can go deeper and remove the 4 from the radio face.
and some that hold the radio and heater control in i removed all 8 to be sure none would hold it.(thoose are bolts not torxs)
then i removed the consoule lid hinge screws since that was goin to be changed, like 3 screws on bottom or 2 on top and the spring. then 2 10 mm bolts in bottom of the consoule storage box, and 2 by the button to open the lid.(was'nt sure if they had come out or not so i took em off.)
then i pulled the whole top off mine to paint it and went even further and removed the 6 bolts holdin the lower half to the floor and dash for paint as well.
so i didnt and dont know how trans ams n stuff are just by personal experience do i know about the 5 speed camaros.

 

Yeah so be careful. I didn't realize that was how they were on the door panel in my 88 and ended up rounding out the inside of one of the "screws" which really looked like crap. I'd suggest you don't use too much force trying to turn the screw in case you really need to, or you can see pretty well that its fake (on the door I think its a little harder to tell).