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Am I the only one who thinks it's crazy that there are no reproduction full consoles for a third-gen firebird anywhere. Every center console I find is in terrible condition and is expensive. I don't mind expensive if it is a good replacement. Most of them look worse than the one I have. The only thing I can find is a lid. There is no point in the lid if the rest of the console is going to look horrible. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to deal with an old junky looking console? Also, I just wanted to say thank you to the members of this group. This site has been a great help in trying to get my GTA back on the road and looking good.
Thanks
Ryan.
I thought Hawk's offered reproduction consoles, at least, maybe they used to, because now it looks like refurbished. But it looks new, so it's probably your best option. And it comes with a new lid, which I believe is a reproduction. https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/fir...d-refurbished/
I'm not necessarily a fan of Hawk's, don't dislike them either. Seems hit-and-miss, depending on the day of week, I guess. A lot of people have great luck with Hawk's, and some not so much. But they are very active in the preservation and restoration of 3rdgens. Can't say that about many other vendors, or ANY other vendors, for that matter. And the reviews on all of the above linked parts are good, so that looks like the way to go.
I was absolutely disappointed by their reproduction shifter plate. It fits okay and looks ok at first sight, but when you look closer it is just made wrong. The casting of the PRND for automatic cars is completely wrong. And the ashtray lid release **** fades in the sun like a 500 year old vampire while you look at it. And the little gear for the lid crumbled away the first time I've tried to open it because the teeth didn't match the teeth from the lid.
I swapped some parts over from a used plate and tried to make it look better but couldn't stand it and bought a very nice used original plate. The repro is sitting on the shelf now until someone wants to have it. Totally disappointing.
I thought Hawk's offered reproduction consoles, at least, maybe they used to, because now it looks like refurbished. But it looks new, so it's probably your best option. And it comes with a new lid, which I believe is a reproduction.
Are we looking at the same photos? The console in the above pic looks worse than the one from my 140k mile project car, and I didn't pay $499 for the entire car!
Hawks is mostly active in making more money for Hawks. They've managed to make a name for themselves, but a person would have to be desperate or dumb to buy from them.
Back to the original question.... The best bet is to find the best console you can find and then repair it like Hawks has done. 20 years ago the best solution was to whisper sweet nothings in the ear of the parts guy at your local GM dealer, slip $120 across the counter, and walk out with a brand new console. Now, that's not an option. Hawks has pretty much cornered and controls the market on repro thirdgen parts. If anyone comes up with a reproduction, it'll probably be Hawks and it'll probably be another substandard piece of **** that makes the warped garbage in that photo look good, with a price to match.
I was absolutely disappointed by their reproduction shifter plate. It fits okay and looks ok at first sight, but when you look closer it is just made wrong.
No joke... I waited a couple years for them to come out with a repro 5spd plate. When it finally was available, they had distortions in the plastic because someone thought they needed to mark the back side where the window and mirror switches should be. Completely defeats the purpose of a new plate if you don't have power mirrors and windows. When the plates were made by GM they didn't have any marks for the switches, and the damn things were perfect, and cheap compared to Hawks prices.
I was absolutely disappointed by their reproduction shifter plate. It fits okay and looks ok at first sight, but when you look closer it is just made wrong. The casting of the PRND for automatic cars is completely wrong. And the ashtray lid release **** fades in the sun like a 500 year old vampire while you look at it. And the little gear for the lid crumbled away the first time I've tried to open it because the teeth didn't match the teeth from the lid.
I swapped some parts over from a used plate and tried to make it look better but couldn't stand it and bought a very nice used original plate. The repro is sitting on the shelf now until someone wants to have it. Totally disappointing.
I bought one of these as well for my '91 RS auto, and had to put quite a bit of work into it to get it to look okay and function properly. The shift indicator set up was way off -- ended up having to shove a wadded up piece of paper in it to get it to read accurately, which required me to saw the underside bits of the shift plate assembly in half just to access it, as they're not serviceable like the originals. Had to plastic weld it back together. My factory ashtray was completely incompatible; I later found out through a member on here that the earlier metal ashtrays (1982-88?) are the only ones that work with any of these repro shift plates, despite the fact that my shift plate was said to fit a 1990-92. The icing on the turd came when something broke off inside the shift plate, which wore all of the Black paint off inside the indicator lens around the PRND321 lettering. Had to break it apart again to repaint that. Also the "AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE" font is a little different than the original.
They're okay if you don't mind spending a whole bunch of time re-doing them. Definitely overpriced considering the lack of workmanship though.
Yeah, but a person shouldn't have to redo a brand new reproduction part. The stupid thing should be RIGHT from the factory, especially as overpriced as thirdgen repro parts are. Unfortunately as long as people keep buying garbage from Hawks and accepting garbage quality, that's all we'll ever get from them.
I bought one of these as well for my '91 RS auto, and had to put quite a bit of work into it to get it to look okay and function properly. The shift indicator set up was way off -- ended up having to shove a wadded up piece of paper in it to get it to read accurately, which required me to saw the underside bits of the shift plate assembly in half just to access it, as they're not serviceable like the originals. Had to plastic weld it back together. My factory ashtray was completely incompatible; I later found out through a member on here that the earlier metal ashtrays (1982-88?) are the only ones that work with any of these repro shift plates, despite the fact that my shift plate was said to fit a 1990-92. The icing on the turd came when something broke off inside the shift plate, which wore all of the Black paint off inside the indicator lens around the PRND321 lettering. Had to break it apart again to repaint that. Also the "AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE" font is a little different than the original.
They're okay if you don't mind spending a whole bunch of time re-doing them. Definitely overpriced considering the lack of workmanship though.
Ok, here are a few pics of the firebird piece.
First, the OE on the right and the repro on the left compared to each other. The material of the boot is different, clearly visible. This isn't bad at all, just wanted to mention it.
Here is the indicator. As you can see, the indicator is only half visible and hides under the casting partially... when I recognized it, I was wondering about it and disassembled everything to see whats wrong...
Then this came to me... the indicator tab is absolutely flimsy, it must have been broken in the box before I opened it...
Then I compared the indicators directly to each other. OE piece on the left, repro piece on the right. You can see that the writing is different, kind of blurred or just cheaply printed out. But it the position of the PRND meets the position of the OE piece... weird, why is it hiding under the console casting?
Whole different colors of the indicator tabs... OE on the right, repro broken on the left.
After a few minutes of head scratching wtf ist going on and why the indicator isn't fully visible on the repro plate... I found the issue. It is just casted wrong. If you compare both "indicator housings" directly next to each other you will see, it is just casted upside down! Turned 180 degree... I couldn't believe it. On the left is the OE plate, on the right the replacement. On the OE plate the wider parts of the indicator housing are on the left and on the bottom. On the repro plate it's vice versa! This is the reaseon for the only half visible indicator.
And the little repro gear (left) that opens the ashtray smoothly compared to the OE (right)... well, it didn't open. The gear was stuck and hard to turn, when you pulled the release button nothing happend. The consequence was, it broke shortly after this pic.
Well, is it just me? Am I picky because of being a german? I mean, how can you release a product to your customers that is not only made of cheap materials and also just casted wrong? I couldn't live with this crap. Everytime I looked down to the gear indicator I felt a hard headache with the only half visible indocator. So I bought an (expensive) used OE plate in good condition.
Kinda looks like they mixed parts of the later Firebird design and earlier design. In 85 the Firebird didn't have an indicator, just the shift pattern, and the thinner pleather boot. By 91 they'd added the indicator and gone to a heavier bumpy grain boot. For what they charge, the part should be correct.
What’s the deal with all the terrible repro parts? I’ve had the same issue with Classic Industries before. Emblems that are smaller than the originals,parts that look and fit incorrectly. I don’t get it. They aren’t giving this stuff away,you’d at least think they would make sure it’s as close to original as possible. If you’re going to do something,do it right.
What’s the deal with all the terrible repro parts? I’ve had the same issue with Classic Industries before. Emblems that are smaller than the originals,parts that look and fit incorrectly. I don’t get it. They aren’t giving this stuff away,you’d at least think they would make sure it’s as close to original as possible. If you’re going to do something,do it right.
That's exactly what I think. If you reproduce something, why is it in most cases crap right out of the box? I don't get it... all the effort reproducing these things... and in the end it's not even close to original.
Same thing with the GTA emblems, all reproductions I have seen so far are completely different to the original emblems.
From left to right: NOS original emblem, should have been flame red but it is definitely bright red, someone put a wrong label on it... next is my original factory emblem still on the correct position. Next is a repro from car motorsports and the last one is from hawks...and they all swear the do GM licensed and 100% repros... just talking big and deliver crap. Car motorsports and hawks don't even fit the bumper, they are flat and not slightly curved to fit the bumper like the original. I can't understand how they still sell these parts that are useless in some ways.
J.C. Denton,That’s the same problem I had with their “exact gm repro” of the 1977-1978 Trans Am Pontiac arrowhead nose emblem. The thing is SMALLER than the original and looked terrible in the larger indentation. The sail panel emblems are poor reproductions too. I took them back and spent only a little more on eBay buying vintage nos ones that fit correctly.
I guess the folks who repro these aren’t car guys. Funny,you’d think they would be,or would find some other bussiness
Because people don't send them back and demand a refund, they just live with crap, so they continue to sell crap.
I would, but... I live in germany, sending back is very expensive and often not worth it...
Originally Posted by JimRockford
J.C. Denton,That’s the same problem I had with their “exact gm repro” of the 1977-1978 Trans Am Pontiac arrowhead nose emblem. The thing is SMALLER than the original and looked terrible in the larger indentation. The sail panel emblems are poor reproductions too. I took them back and spent only a little more on eBay buying vintage nos ones that fit correctly.
I guess the folks who repro these aren’t car guys. Funny,you’d think they would be,or would find some other bussiness
I've been searching for a factory NOS flame red emblem since 2018... hard to come by, they don't appear very often even in the US market... and most sellers don't want to ship overseas.
Am I the only one who thinks it's crazy that there are no reproduction full consoles for a third-gen firebird anywhere. Every center console I find is in terrible condition and is expensive. I don't mind expensive if it is a good replacement. Most of them look worse than the one I have. The only thing I can find is a lid. There is no point in the lid if the rest of the console is going to look horrible. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to deal with an old junky looking console? Also, I just wanted to say thank you to the members of this group. This site has been a great help in trying to get my GTA back on the road and looking good.
Thanks
Ryan.
It is frustrating. Hawks sells spoilers which seem to get good reviews. I wonder, why not consoles? They seem at least as vulnerable to deterioration as the soft-touch wraparound spoilers. The refurbished one they have on there now for $500 (!) looks like it's warping anyway.
Even really well maintained cars often have warped center consoles. Yeah, the car is old. But I think a decent number of people would be willing to pay a good price for a like-new console. I would.
I agree. They make sub-standard parts because people will just stand there and take it. That's why I like competition in the marketplace; If 50 companies make the same part, the one that makes the best part will sell the most. Word gets out that they make the best, and they will make the most money. The companies that make the worst parts will have to improve their quality, or risk going out of business. If they produce a new part that is as good, or better than the "best" company, then they will have to step up their game and offer a product that is as good, or better, at a reasonable price.
Unfortunately, we don't have that for thirdgen cars, yet. Look how easy it is to find high quality parts for a '69 Camaro. There are dozens of companies making them. Someday, we will have this for our cars, I think.
DR.K.
It's rough because Hawks is established as the thirdgen vendor. Most of the parts are coming from OER/Classic Industries, Hawks is just contracting with OER to bring the parts to market. With the two of them linked together and selling overpriced garbage, no one else is likely to offer anything. At least when Classic sells the stuff directly, they have piles of coupons to make them more affordable. The quality is still marginal, but at least the prices are better.
I have only bought from Hawks once. I was unhappy with the fit/finish of the part. They were very un-helpful when I brought it to their attention, citing that all cars are different, and therefore the parts won't always fit as advertised. I explained that both the color and texture were not even close, and I got an audible shrug. That, and all the bad reviews, ensures I won't do business with a company that does not strive for higher quality in their products and their customer service. If more people choose not to do business with them, they will have to change or go under. It will happen sooner, or later.
DR.K.
Kinda looks like they mixed parts of the later Firebird design and earlier design. In 85 the Firebird didn't have an indicator, just the shift pattern, and the thinner pleather boot. By 91 they'd added the indicator and gone to a heavier bumpy grain boot. For what they charge, the part should be correct.
I miss an indicator on my 87 Trans Am GTA 5,7. Should og shouldn't there be one?
That might be the reason why it was so hard to open and cracked... oh boy, what an epic fail... 
