Hi. I was wondering if I could remove my whole dash from my 1983 TA, and install one from either a 1987 or 1988 TA/firebird/or formula. I want to remove all the gauges and everything, and install the whole new dash. I have a 1988 and 1987 in which i could remove the dash setups from. After the switch, would the gauges still work? What parts do I need to make the switch successful? Please help me out, and let me know if you or anybody you know have already done this. Thanks.

James

1983 Trans Am

 

There is an article in the Tech section about doing that exact swap, although I think it was done with a Camaro... I am going to be switching dashboards out of my 85 with one from an 87 as soon as I get the parts that were outlined in that article.

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Kevin Irving
85 Trans Am WS-6, 305 TPI, custom burned '86 PROM with '87 "165"ECM, Accel Supercoil & 8.8 Wires, MSD 6AL, Aluminum Driveshaft, TB Coolant Bypass, Ported Plenum, Modified MAF, Syclone Fuel Pump, JET Airfoil

15.556 @ 86.65mph, Nov 10, 2000.... I know it sucks.. but it will get better!

http://www.geocities.com/transam85tpi/

 

Thanks for the help. One question though, would it make a difference if the new dash and gauges were from a firebird, eventhough my car is a Trans am??? Please help me.

 

trans am and firebird gauges shold be the same as long as they are from a V8 car. the sending units may be different, as well as VSS vs speedo cable
good luck, that would be a killer swap
i myself have always wanted the GTA digital in my camaro

 

Thanks. Well the problem is that the firebird is a 6 cylinder, while my TA is an 8. Will this cause any problems? Will i still be able to switch the gauges and dash? If not then i can get them from an '88 formula, which is a V8. Thanks.

 

Tachometers are cylinder specific. The V6 tach will not read right in a V8 car.