I dealt with Denny also. He sells good stuff, and his prices are great. Rob - you should let us know where you got bad service so we avoid them like the plague. I always go by other people's experiences when I am on the fence about buying from someone.

i wish my problem was just a switch, try finding a shifter with the bracket and linkadge for an 82 4 speed

I feel your pain. There are a lot of parts that are unique to the early cars that we will never find.

People need to list what they are looking for. I just hit a guy with an 82 to the other day. I was the first one to get to the car he was parting out. Auto 305 car with blue interior and white shell. I bought the console out of it since I want a clock in my 89. I was going to grab some other parts but I did a search for unique 82 items and didn't seem like many people were looking for much. I know the dash "Lights" and "Lighter" silk screen is different. I also thougth someone might have wanted the factory twin muffler and the blue seat belts and plastic for an Indy but nothing I could find in the wanted section. I could have gotten quite a bit. I paid a whole $25 for the upper console. I have an app on my phone that alerts me of any new third gen post. The stuff is out there but like me, others need to know you need it. The guy still might have the car and might even go cheaper on items now.

Yep - I have a bunch of stuff listed that I am looking for. I just keep bumping the stuff to the top. I did find a decent armrest that way, but that is not a hard part to find. I did get a response from an Ebay seller for some NOS switches, but the price was really high. I will pay a premium for stuff, but I have my limits.

Are you looking for T/A stuff or Camaro? I also know where a Crossfire setup (no air cleaner) is as well as an early T/A. I was going to get the crossfire as a spare for my Vette but I just need to know what to find. I am not going to find NOS stuff in a car being parted out but if I did, I would grab it no matter what.

Early TA stuff. I mainly need stuff that usually wears out in the interior - like the hatch, defrost and wiper switches. I am also trying to find the UM6 radio. I picked up an upper console from Denny that is in nice shape. If you are able to get the switches, I will buy them from you as long as they are not too worn. I need switches where the lettering indents are still there. I am trying to figure out how to get the paint to stay in the engraved part. I tried yesterday with acrylic and I wasn't to successful.

well if anyone finds the hurst bracket for the torque tube trans . let me know, i have the hurst shifter , but they dont make the bracket anymore. its not the same as the factory one

Drew is right, the community is the problem in this case. Generally, the reproduction parts cost more than the original parts did... that's understandable. But the average third gen owner is cheap and won't pay good money for a decent new part when they can find an incorrect (but usable) part for much less. And then there's the smaller percentage of third gen owners that won't pay the price for a reproduction part, simply because it's an inferior part.

IMHO, until there's almost no used parts availability, the very high priced (but very nice quality) reproduction parts will have a better market than the cheaper stuff.

The time will come, it is still early in these cars life. The younger guys will make more money and some will keep there cars, some will sell and the new owners might realize it cost money to keep these cars up. If you want it to look better, you will have to pay. It seems an awful lot of people are just trying to make it work and not make it look better. Time will tell and when demand goes up for detailed upgrades rather than repairs is when the market will get better. Everything works on my car but I want it to be detailed and not just "it works, don't fix it".

I just got depressed when I saw a thread about someone wanting to put Pontiac Vibe grilles on his Camaro. You guys are right - unless guys stop ruining our cars and take them more seriously, the cars will never be taken seriously.

YUP, I saw that two and about puked. lets not forget freaking neon lights too.

Well rest assured the tides are changing.

So did either of you guys tell that dude his idea was stupid?

I don't mean to point out the obvious, but when someone wants feedback on an idea, it doesn't always have to be positive feedback. If you don't like the idea, say so. Eventually it'll have an effect.

Drew - the thing is, the fact that he was contemplating doing it proves your point that there is a problem. Next week he will be talking about spray bombing his car with a few rattle cans, or maybe he will want to paint his car flat black, or recover his dash with some **** rug, or fit in a dash from a Dodge Neon. You are right. The cars will never be dealt with seriously until things like that stop. BTW - there were already negative responses to his idea.

Denny,
Thank you for taking the time to create this thread and share your perspective on the market. I have a 1984 Trans Am that I've modified/restored and I'm now working in bringing it closer to stock appearance, particularly in the interior. Fortunately, I held on to my original interior parts that were still in good shape. Unfortunately, most weren't in good shape.

I am currently trying to put together a model year correct center console that is in condition worthy of my show-quality exterior. I am having the most difficulty finding a NOS or extremely good condition shifter plate for a manual transmission. I see that you carry what look to be excellent reproduction shifter plates for camaros at what I consider to be a very reasonable price of $165. Is there any hope of them being made for the 82-84 Firebirds? It's a limited application, but the lack of excellent condition originals certainly raises the demand for a reproduction piece.

I have to think at some point the 4th gen cars will come down in price and will become the new target for kids looking for a car to hack up. Just a matter of time and cost before the trend shifts that direction. The cycle might take a bit longer since the 4th gens are generally more reliable than the third gens, but I believe it will happen eventually.

I think that corner has already been turned. I see more beat up 4th gens on the road in in junkyards than 3rd gens now, and you can get an early 4th gen for dirt cheap.

Yes, the reproduction Camaro shifter plates are very nice pieces. I believe somebody is working on early Firebird shifter plates but I don't know much more than that.

well and good!! but mr unsuspecting that buys from you or your competitor is expecting a part that is at least usable ,if not as good as original. i commend you for at least trying to offer us parts,but we need solutions not excuses.personally if i found ,say a console lid that was OE with no damage i would expect to pay, maybe $300 for it and would be happy to have a part that is not made of "chineseium" many of us dont give a damn about price,we just want our cars repaired correctly.yes mr lowball who dont care to repair his thirdgen accurately will always go for the cheapest alternative,but when he decides to sell his "restored" camaro/firebird ,he wonders why everybody is walking away,quickly!!.personally,i would rather pay more and be satisfied with my purchase,than take the china route and be pissed off at the stunning lack of quality/fit and finish