went to our local bone yard today (where the guy is normally pretty good to my friend and myself) and did a little hunting, things were looking down for a while as there wasn't much going on, a 4th gen conv. that was all of screwed up, and a camaro which had beautiful black interior , however the interior was now missing between visits....after searching around the back lot for a while we came across another 4th gen bird....complete 3.8L car w/ auto trans, and 168k miles. Neway onto the finds

the car was in a very minor front end accident but it was enough to bend the frame mounts for the front bumper, as a result my 4th gen interior swap is goign to say the least...well...

Since the car still ran, we had to remove the dash w/o cutting wires, no prob, so now i've got an:

Extra 96 Dash w/ pad including the airbag

Instrument cluster (125mph vs. old 110)

4th gen Dome light, converted to light the rear cargo hatch (really neat)

96 Center console (had to remove my 01' console, but it works better w/ my old 95 dash...and yes, it's the auto one again {fits better than the 01' setup also...or i should say easier})

4 cloth firebird seats dark gray....replaces my 82' front pleather (aka vinyal) along with replacign the ebony 4thgen leather rear's from a maro until i can find ebony fronts T/A's for a decent price.

And the cloth doorpanels to match, along with switches and all electronics

but the true kicker is .....
for all of this...
i paid...

$30 bux. and, it's all spotless.......was just wondering how many v6 guys on here have done interior modifications to their rides? and what's been done. I know the v6 cars were probalby not as abused as some of the v8 rides, as a result, they most likely have a nicer interior in them, (atleast to some extent, years of decay will creep up on anyone).

The dome light mod was really sweet, it was cut with a dremel, then ground on a bench grinder, the edges were sanded, then it was wired into the dome light. Hole were drilled through the roof cover just before the hatch, (3 holes, one large for wires and connector, 2 for screws) then put everything together, and now, there's a huge freakin light shining into my hatch when needed, and....it looks factory. It's definately a neat idea for people who were looking for some other inspiration.....pictures to come for those who care.

just thought i'd share some good fortune, and bring up a little neat modification to the v6 community, as it seems most of the guys who do this stuff, somehow are affording Ls1's also....

 

sweet find, i wish the junkyards around here were that nice

 

That's a nice lookin' car! How difficult to put 4th gen interior in? I never tried that. I had a 3.1 in my 90 to start and it was a great engine. I pulled it and sold it when it had 248,000 mi. and it went to mexico in an S-10. It was just too displacement challenged for my taste (read: HEAVY right foot!) 350 olds worked alot better. I hear the trick for Northstars is a set of STS camshafts, Aurora also, or have you found an aftermarket source for good stuff? Looks great, anyway!!

 

got some pix of the car...in one of the pictures from the rear you can see wires coming through under the pass. hush panel (friend was riding over there and hit it, gotta secure it better, cause it has a lot of weight on that panel)

 

another

 

well , i had more than one picture, unfortunately they're giving me trouble trying to save them to my hd the way i want to. At some point, i'll either get photoshop on this comp like i have on mine at shcool, or i'm just going to have to take more pics w/ another digital cam. when i get back to school. Have one of the light which unfortunately doesn't work either oh well....

On swapping to 4th gen interior, essentially it's pretty easy, depending on how "factory" you're trying to make things look. Mine is slowly coming along, A-pillars still have to be clipped up a little more so they'll fit in, door panels need to be prepped and set, then i'm just going to redo the carpet, and i'll be done w/ it for now, until i can find the seat door panel combo i want (all leather of course) along w/ the later model dash so i can use that 150 bux spent on the late model center console and put it to good work.

Seats are a direct bolt in as most people know, and a nice upgrade, it was amazing how firm these seats are in comparison to the old ones i had in the car originally, and also the ones i had swapped to when replacing my old worn cloth. Also, these 4th gen bird seats seem to sit me lower in the car than the old 3rd gen maro ones i had, they're more supportive especially in the side coushins and have the knee coushin too (which is comfy) also the driver is manual , but 4 way, so for some strange reason if i really felt the need, i could tilt my seat bottom fore and aft, and be sitting like i'm ready for take-off, even though the recliner part would be right at 90* w/ the seat....who knows what GM was thinking, up/down woulda been better, but, ya take what you get.

The center console (automatic) was the only true pita of the project, and it really wastn't one. Infact, it's just a ton of test fit, clip here, clip there, bang here, bang there, etc. And eventually, everything just kinda "plopped" into place.

 

Great find I gotta go junkyard diggin soon myself.

 

Sounds cool! None of the yards by me have 4th gens; and when they do, they're usually gutted immediately for the seats. That's what I'm after- new seats. Ah, one day it'll happen.

 

Thanks for the tech. My 90 had 4 way manual seats, I really liked it. It really looks factory the way that you put it together, good job!

 

thanx for the compliments, technically i'm still looking for seats, but i've got nothing but time now. the 4 way setup is neat, although mine's always tilted to the front position, but, knowing you can tilt it back is cool....isn't it if only it really served a purpose. Center console is nice, I love the look and functionality of the 98+ version i had in there b4, however, the fact that it was black instead of dark gray didn't work well (although u wouldn't notice it much) and the 1" gap between the console and dash really wasn't much of a beauty mark either. This one lacks some of the "usefulness" (the cup holder isn't as deep) and it doesn't have 4 cupholders, an ashtray, and a place to rest my radio remote, but, as soon as i find black w/o airbags beign destroyed, you can imagine, it's going in.

I'm really happy on the door panel setup, a yard across the river wanted 30 dollars for door handle switches from a 4th gen crazy. And then i'd have to find a set of good doors too, unless they had them lying around. A dash from them was 300 bux w/o airbags in it, seats would have been close to the same probably, they're here to screw you out of money, really are. This place was great, and the fact that these doors aren't leather, i'm not going to be nearly as worried about messing them up, nor poking holes in them for my window cranks until i can get power window motors, scissors, tracks, etc, along with power door actuators. Next on the list is carpet, redoing my cargo hatch area, and the headliner. Then just needing a weekend to mock and make the door panels fit, along with getting the a-pillars worked out.

 

This may sound too personal, but I have a valid reason for LOVING my 4 way seat. I'm 6 foot tall, but I only have a 31 inch inseam. This means in normal cars like a Grand National, my head almost hits the roof, no hats allowed. F-cars are better, but that rollback on the seat gives the extra clearance. Its a lifesaver on cross country trips!!