This is pure curiosity, I am not flaming anyone or bashing any of your cars that have a 4th gen interior. I just wanted to know why you all put 4th gen stuff in your 3rd gen f-body’s? Is it because the interior of the 3rd gens are so plain and old fashioned that you want it all to look newer?
Another question, if you like 4th gen interior so much that you put it in your 3rd gen, why don't you just buy a 4th gen? Is it because of the style of the body, price, or something else?
Again, I am just wondering.

 

Because we can.

I know it's not intended as a flame, but people have spoken too much BS around here when people do things that appeal to them. Too much "rice this" and "rice that". It gets real old real fast; I rarely bother to post or read posts in this or the other "opinion" forum - Appearance and Detailing.

Do you wear the same clothes as everyone else? Shoes? Is your car the same as everyone elses? No? Why not?

It's all about personal preference - be it in looks, comfort, or what have you. That applies to cars, clothes, women, hobbies, whatever.

'Sides that, if you want to throw a grant at me so I can purchase a '02 Firehawk... I'd be ever so grateful.

Steve

 

Well seats wise it's because 3rd gen seats are terrible seats and usually very hard to find in mint condition. Whereas 4th gen seats are really easy to find, feel better, and can be gotten pretty cheap. Same with the consoles. A 3rdgen TA console is like $250 new and usually you can find 4th gen ones for $50. And the 4th gen has a cup holder. I don't get the dash and door panel swap cause I don't think it looks right but I'm sure it is too be original.

 

I really like my 3rd gen interior, its like a cockpit, which is great for a polit, but, after setting in an 90 toady and trying to figure out how we'll make white gauges for it, I really started to like that dash. And its the dash I hated.

And I love the 4th Gen Transam dash, the one BuickGSX79 has in his firebird. I'd love to shove that in my Camaro. But now I'm really hooked on an 90 dash. Sigh..

 

I love the dash and gauges on my 91 Formula and think the 4th gens gauges look too much like my wifes old grand am.
But for the seats the 4th gens are much better looking and easier to find.

Just my 2 cents

 

fourth gen interiors look sweeter in thirdgens...

 

Well, I've owned 2 4th gens, a 96 Camaro and a 96 Trans Am.
I do like the 4th gens, but the 85-90 Trans Am body is my favorite.
I prefer the styling of the 4th gen interiors a lot, especially the dash layout of the Camaro's, which I will be adding when I get some more money coming in.

the ultimate 3rd gen is an 86 Trans Am with a 94-02 Z28 Dash and door panels, 93-02 Trans Am leather seats, 97+ center console, 95-00 WS6 wheels, 02 LS1 with a 6 speed, and 95-97 style WS6 Ram Air hood.
This is how mine is going to be setup when I am done.

Here is my work in progress

 

Personally, I don't like 4th gens at all. I feel that they've evolved into 'Wedges' with very little character (Except for the 97 and up T/A's they actually look pretty decent), espescially the new Camaro's, I mean, I can't tell whats in front of me or pulling up from behind me, or parked in my neighbors driveway... is it a Camaro? Or is it a Sebring?

However, body styleing aside, the interior aspect of them is what catches my eye. I got quoted over $700 to re-apulster my 3rd gen seats, which I wasn't crazy about in the first place. I had always like the seats and most of the interior in 4th gens.... however, until coming here I never knew that the 2 can be interchanged. After finding that out, I headed out to the local F-Body junkyard and found a BEAUTIFUL set of Black and Charcoal Grey 4th Gen seats that were in PERFECT condition.... and they were only $250. Now after getting them I gotta tell ya, it really sets the interior off and makes it look much more apealing. PLUS I find them more comfortable, AND the drivers side seat that I got has Height adjustment which I really dig. Now, with my interior restoration in progress I can't wait to see them with brand new carpet, headliner, re-finished 3rd Gen body pannels and new 3rd Gen door pannels.

So no, its not that I like 4th Gens.... I think most of them look far to plain for my taste. However, the idea of sticking the seats of a 4th Gen into my 3rd Gen (Seats out of a 95 Camaro, into an 84 Camaro, thats a 11 year difference, and quite frankley, I think its awesome that it can be done) was way to tempting to pass up. Plus I find it pretty damn cool that it can be done, and that there aren't a hell of alot of people that drive thirdgens around here that have done it. Oh, and now I feel more comfortable when I'm driving around down here in FL, and thats an incredbile feat for someone whos car has no AC

Oh, and if you don't like it, then I'm sorry your wasting time worrying about it, because it doesn't bother me a bit.

Adam

 

i put 4th gen seats in my camaro, because the stock seats were sort of purplish/blue, which looked incredibly tacky with my faded black carpet and black plastic.. i found some seats i liked, and what do you know.. they were out of a fourht gen.. i wouldnt have cared if they came out of a honda, really.. they looked nice, they're comfortable, and they bolt right in..

i hate fourth gens, i think they look disgusting.. they're aimed at a newer generation, not at the muscle body crowd.. and while i like certain aspects of the car, such as the seats, i would not be caught dead driving one.. simply because i dont like them..

i dont think im making any sense anymore, but.. i guess, simply put, im not driving a fourth gen because i hate their styling

 

now i dont have any 4thgen stuff in my car YET i do want the seats just cuz mine are wasted and i like the looks of the 4th gen.

but your asking almost the same as someone asking "why do you put a bigger motor in your car? why not just buy a car that has a bigger motor in it?" and the reason we dont is because we like the style of our 3rd gens. and thats what makes us the same cuz we all love working on our cars and its fun. and no one here wants their car to look like everyone else's so we all do different things to them to make them stand out.


and mudaholic i dont understand you?

"i hate fourth gens, i think they look disgusting.. they're aimed at a newer generation, not at the muscle body crowd"

the 3rd gen is not a muscle car either its just a sports car. muscle cars were made in the 60's and the 70's not the 80's

"i would not be caught dead driving one.. simply because i dont like them."

your telling me you wouldn't want to drive a 2002 BERGER SS?
you are just down right crazy if you say that man



not to flame you man but your crazy if you still think that

 

three things....
1. i wana get 4th seats because the ones in my 87 are not cuttin it
2. 4th gens are good cars.... they might look ugly....but my di-ck gets hard when i see one... esp. a SS or a Ram Air T/A with some mods.... 12 sec cars.... ahh yea...
3. who is that girl 88_RS?... if thats ur GF WOOWOWOWOW shes hot... just thought i would add that... hehehe

 

i think 3rd gen interiors and the 4th gen exterior are both ugly. so for me the best is a 3rd gen exterior and a 4th gen interior. haven't done the swap yet I but have the dash, console, and interior part of the doors from a 97 trans am sitting on my porch. they will be going into my 90 RS after I paint it.

 

Does a 4th gen console bolt right in? No modifications?

 

I put my seats in (pulled from wrecked 94 bird) because

1. They were a good deal. $185 for 4 charcoal leather seats.
2. They are leather
3. My old ones were worn out, always replace something with something better.
4. They are much more comfortable and supportive
5. They look cool.
6. It was easy

 

My reasons are the same as HrdRockA4305 with the exception of #2. I have cloth.

 

ok, first i'll confirm things.

1. Sebrings and 4th gen Camaros look uncannily alike!
2. That chick in the avatar, HOT!

I'd like to answer the question posted too. Why do it? Well, if you take the best parts from different cars, and put them together inside the best looking F-Bodies ever made, you have something that could be classified as a kick *** hybrid. Also, i have a dream of working at GM designing, so i pick up where they left off on the thirdgen, and pick up the slack they left. I'll think of the way my car is when i finish as, "The way GM should've made it in the first place" And in a way, we all get to play engineer for a day or too. Hehehe.

 

Hey Zepher,
I just love the way those 91-92 Camaro side effects look on your car. Was there any difficulty fitting them on or did they just bolt right on? Also, are the part that bolt to the rocker panel, ABS plastic like the 85-90 T/A or are they fiberglass? Just got to say that looks awesome. :rockon:

As for the 4th gen, 3rd gen topic, I say do what you want. Afterall it is your car right? No matter what you do, it's gonna **** someone off.

 

In '98 I picked up my first third-gen for $1800. Fourth gen at that time was about $10K+. I hope that answered that question. As far as seats, have you ever sat in leather seats? Oh yeah. They are very nice, and to my knowledge were never an option on third gens.

Other reasons I love my third gen.

1) The engine/trans comes in and out with minimal effort compared to 4th gen.

2) All swaps are reasonably easy, becasue early and late model stuff was used in the same platform. Good 'ole GM never changes anything too much.

3) Third gens are the car I grew up wanting to own, so I do.

4) My third gen feels old, but 4th gens just feel cheap to me.

 

I think the rocker panels are ABS plastic.
The rocker panels bolted right up, I just had to take off a bracket that the stock 86 rocker panel sat on. The door moldings needed to have 3 new holes drilled and then I had to have 3 holes filled on each door as well as 3 holes on each side of the car from the brackets of the 86 rocker panel.
I think it looks awesome,

 

After reading this topic i was curious. my center console is falling to pieces. Litterally. The lid is hitting my shifter. LOL. So getting a 4th generation console would be cheaper then getting a 3rd right? If so yeah and i know what my next prject is going to be.!!!!!!!!

 

I have a 95 T/A console in mine along with 89 Corvette seats. And yes Tom,the console will bolt right in as long as you use the 6 speed top piece.

 

Did the Vette seats bolt right up, or did you have to use the rails from a 3rd/4th gen seat?

 

And yes Tom,the console will bolt right in as long as you use the 6 speed top piece.

Thank you Mongoose

 

I had to use the seat tracks from my original seats. I had to do a bit of modification to the seat bottoms and fab up some small spacers to get them in and at the correct angle.

 

Wow you guys must be old if you think 3rd gen seats are uncomfortible. I mean I am 18 so i have a bit more endurance on the bottom end, but man i have driven cars with much worse seats than these cars. My first car, a gremlin, had bench seats that were 26 years old! My second car, a 78 bmw 320i, had some pretty decen seats except the horse hair stuffing was falling out of the bottom so i was rideing on springes with a bit of vinyl over the top. These are cars i have driven on long distance trips of 4 hours or more. I drove my 91 rs all the way from indiana to missouri, and felt better after that 430mile drive than i did after a 30 minute drive in the bmw. Although those 4th gen seats look pretty sweet...

 

I'll have to admit my original seats were quite comfortable. The problem was that the drivers side fabric is ripped on the outside bolster and after seeing Nosaint's car I went all out and found black Vette seats and changed the interior from grey to black.

 

So any forth-gen dash will bolt up in a Third-gen?

 

Nope, won't bolt up, but can be installed.

 

I had near mint seats in my 87 camaro. They weren't uncomfortable at all, but the 93 camaro seats are so much better looking, more comfortable, and hold you in much better. the center console's look better, and have cup holders.

 

If your going to ask a question like that, then might as well ask something like this "
Why put bolt-ons in your car? Is it Because you want it to be something its not ?

No, we want to make the car faster, better, stronger, something it can be.

Why put rims on your car ?
Because we like our cars and we spend ample amounts of time working on them to make them look good for us. ( I can confidently say that a good majority of people in this forum don't do what they do to their camaro's 4 chix)

Why race your car ?
because I can .
Why wash your car ?
BECAUSE I CAN!!
Why even care ?
BECAUSE I LOVE MY THIRDGEN!!

Why put 4th gen seats in my 3rd gen ?
1. they are more comfortable for me being a big guy.
2. They have telescoping support.
3. They look better
4. Because you didn't
and mainly
5. Because I can.

 

depending on your personal opinion of the 4thgen interior, why not have the best of both worlds? I wouldn't mind having a cupholder...

why do we use 4thgen interior parts in 3rdgens? because it is still the same model of car and many parts are interchangeable or do not need much manipulation to work/fit...(just try taking the interior from a mustang or corvette or any misc car and putting it in....talk about a pain in ***)