Hey guys, I was wondering if its possible to put a late 80s GTA steering wheel with the controls on a 1991 Trans Am, with the buttons wired up and functional of course. I'm talking about the steering wheel here:



Anybody got a close up of that steering wheel anyway? I'd like to know what each of the buttons do. Oh and my 91 Trans Am vert has the factory CD player.

EDIT: I forgot to also ask if it's possible/practical to swap in a digital dash from a late 80s GTA as well...

 

The steering wheel radio controls from the late 80s are not compatible with the factory CD head units. They were only available with cassette head units. As to whether they could be swapped into a '91, I'd imagine that it's possible, but would probably be a major pain in the a$$ to do, and if you have a CD unit, then it wouldn't be worth doing anyway.

As for the digital dash, I'd be curious to know the answer to that myself. I would imagine it could be done, but whether it's worth the effort is another story. I've never even seen the digital dash except in fuzzy internet pics, so I don't know if I'd even to do it. I'd just enjoy reading about how it could be done.

 

To swap in the digital dash, you'd basically need a whole donor car. The dash itself is different, not just the cluster. Also, you'd need the body wiring harness, it is different for the driver information center to know when a bulb is out. The washer fluid tank has a level sensor in it, and theres a coolant level sensor in the radiator.

With that said, I wouldn't recommend doing it. I have the digital dash in my GTA, and trust me, it's a piece of crap. It's impossible to see in bright sunlight, the gauges aren't all that accurate, and it's impossible to find parts for. If mine ever stops working, I'm just going to swap in a normal dash.

 

Not a GTA wheel, but I put a wheel with controls in over the summer.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...-interior.html

 

The wheel would be an easy swap wince everything is the same except for the addition of two wires for the radio controls. Get a coumn with the controls and have at it. Keep in mind, I think those GTA controls will only work with the same style radio it came with from the factory, which means no CD player.

 

Old thread bump.

I just bought a 1988 Trans Am GTA yesterday that has a perfectly operating digital dash and has the steering wheel radio controls. I purchased the car with the sole intent to swap the dash and steering wheel to my 1991 Trans Am GTA. I'll need to send the steering wheel off to have it wrapped with new leather. There are adapters available to make the steering wheel controls functional with most aftermarket stereo head-units.

 

I THINK you can put some sort of blue tooth unit in to make it work with a aftermarket stereo...has anyone done that?

I have a new Intellitronics red LED Digital Dash for a 3rd Gen Firebird sitting here in my living room ready for install. Take a look at them, they're awesome. You can get the read-out in almost any color and they're less money than the Dakota Digital dashes.

 

I know this thread is long dead but in case anyone else is looking for answers and stumbles on it like I did.

The digital dash works fine, and it's more reliable than the crap odometer on the analog gauges IMO. 45 minutes or so to swap to LED bulbs will make the gauges easy to read on the brightest of days, I've never had an issue in my convertible. You don't need a donor car, and you don't need a body harness. The complete dash, the 3 connectors that plug into it, the sensors for the DIC and some wire will work just fine. As for the steering wheel controls, I can't comment, but that's my next project. I swapped to an '87 GTA wheel in the meantime.