ericjon262

I'm starting to work on the entire 4th gen interior swap.

driver side Sail panel. Major trimming and "welding"



Driver side kick panel. minor trimming to fit it, and a new hood release(not in place yet).



I'll try to post more pics as I go.

shr00m

iTrader: (2)

A couple of things to help you out. Don't take anything the wrong way.

1: Don't fall into the trap of using 4th gen items just to use them. If it isn't easy to swap or doesn't give you a great reward, don't bother.

IE, the door panels are hard, but give the old style panels a new dimension and and function. With the rear panels, you're looking at a lot of work to replace rounded plastic panels that cover up sheet-metal with slightly more rounded plastic panels the cover up sheet-metal.

2: You need to think of it as a whole and not individual pieces. If you want to put in as much work as it's going to take, it needs to flow. Looking at the kick panel pics, it looks like you slipped it over the pinch weld like the 3rd gen panels. If so, you are going to have a gap between them and the dash. It's quite possible it won't be high enough to meet up with the a-pillar trim as well.

In addition, you might want to have the carpet in place, looks like it might get a little tight. You really need to get the core dash put in and build everything around that. You could spend a large amount of time getting 4th gen pieces to fit and still not line up with the 4th gen dash.

3: No need to run a new hood release. Either a metal bracket or longer screws and spacers (like I did).

Keep posting updates and throw out any questions you may have. This isn't math and there is no correct answers. I'm just letting you know things I've all ready found out.

Kevin D.

ericjon262

I understand that I'm opening a big can of worms. my car hasn't had door panels in about a year, which gets pretty old, so I'm willing to make them fit, and my dash was pretty crummy too, basically, my whole interior sucked, and I have a 4th gen parts car, so why not. it's not currently my DD, so it can sit for a while while I complete the swap.

honestly, the only reason I'm swapping the whole interior, is to see if I can do it and make it look good, so far I think I can make it work, I'll keep you'll updated as I go.

ericjon262

The stock third gen release won't fit through the 4th gen panel, I'm going to try out the 4th gen pull and if I can match it to the 3rd gen bracket to make it work.

The_Wraith

I agree 100%

shr00m

iTrader: (2)

Fit fine here..

ShMaCk2004

He did alot of moldlng work to make that fit

ericjon262

HMM, Mine wouldn't fit, maybe I just wasn't coming in at the right angle.

Ethan91

iTrader: (2)

Subscribed, now I sit back and watch

ShMaCk2004

let others do the work for you, laziness at its best

ericjon262

Hopefully I be able to work on it some tomorrow and tuesday (days off), I'll take pictures.

ericjon262

just a couple of little things done so far, got the old dash harness out, and I'm getting ready to start fitting the new harness and dash.

ericjon262

First mock up, weather is starting to turn on me though, so I think I'm going to go work on my cam swap in the garage.

The Project

iTrader: (6)

Are you going to use some of Hawks connectors to integrate the 3rd and 4th gen wiring harnesses? Money well spent.

ericjon262

I didn't know they existed, I'll check them out, thanks.

Edit: would I need them?, I'm swapping in an LT1 and 4L60 E also, so both harnesses will already be 4th gen spec.

ericjon262

weather sucked today, so I didn't make any progress, but I might be getting a '97 dash instead of the 95 I already have which would be a plus to me, the 97 looks way better.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I'm really interested to see how this works out for you... subscribing!

ericjon262

Thanks, unfortunately, my garage isn't big enough for my needs, and by the time I get off work, it's either to dark or too cold (I know you northerner's are laughing at that) so I haven't made much progress on it. to end this post on a good note, my LT1 thats going in the car next now has an XFI 467!

JTNKTZ

iTrader: (10)

Me replying to this thread makes me interested. :P

Did I mention it automatically subscribes me?

Chevy8588

iTrader: (1)

you dont know cold.......

Mgb86

iTrader: (3)

HawkZ28

iTrader: (2)

After the days some of us spent below or at below 0, or hanging in the 0-15* range for months, I'd gladly settle for a 'cold Florida day', and even offer you my heated garage. You just get to help me make the wife get rid of the last 2 years of garage sale 'shtuff' taking up one of my stalls.....

My smartass answer also subscribes me!

sam24th

iTrader: (1)

Where do I find these? I looked on hawks and couldnt find any conversion connectors. I wanna do a dash swap and this would make my life easier. Or are you talking about stock 4th gen connectors? In that case I already have them just need to find time to do my swap.

ericjon262

Hey, it was more than cold, it snowed!

I've been working weird hours and trying to get back into school, so I haven't had a chance to get much done on the car, I'll post progress soon.

Chevy8588

iTrader: (1)

omg snow? holy crap! :P

HawkZ28

iTrader: (2)

LOL snow! We finally got rid of our 24+ inches that was on the ground, only to get slush yesterday. Could be worse- further north they've gotten a LOT more snow, and it's still hanging around. I guess you guys don't exactly have snow removal equipment either .

Good luck and good for you! I worked FT though college- just hang in there and keep up the good fight! It's easier to build a car when you're only working a career, vs school, career, and family!

Awesome-X

Looks interesting, I hope you can make it work!

Chevy8588

iTrader: (1)

....it was 55 degrees today, and 60 yesterday..no snowwwwww

ericjon262

removal equipment??? whats getting removed, stuff melts on contact here!



Trust me, I know, I work in the garden center at lowes, here, it was 70-75, temps like that make for a very busy day!


Thanks, Me too, I'll hopefully be getting something done tommorrow.

mattdirocz

Subscribed cant wait to see what comes out of it. Might even get me moving on doing my dash swap.

ericjon262

it's been way too long since my last update, I worked 16 days in a row, and didn't have much time for anything else. I'm working on her today to see if I can finish up the dash mounts, my one question, will the late 4th gen dash(1997-02) be a direct bolt in replacement fot my early 4th gen(1993-96)? if it's not a direct replacement, then I'm going to hold off on the dash work and work on getting the LT1 prepped for the swap.

descry

dang... I think the 4th gen dash looks so much better!

ericjon262

does anyone know if the late 4th gen dash(97-02) is a direct replacement for the earlier(93-96) 4th gen? I really don't want to do this twice if I can avoid it.

ericjon262

I did some more work today, nothing noteworthy though, just working on getting those sail panels in, CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP

HawkZ28

iTrader: (2)

More chopping than a ginsu knife informercial seems noteworthy to me

ericjon262

Then I'll see about getting some pic when I get off work.

ShMaCk2004

It should bolt up the same. the 93-96 and 97-02 firebird dashes all bolt the same. im sure they didnt change the between the camaros. You may need the bottom support bar for the newer dash though but that should bolt in the same as well so no big deal.

ericjon262

Thanks, I've heard this from multiple sources now, including you guide thread, I think thats the route I'll go with, and just get overlays or something to make sure they don't say firebird or trans am.

As you probably noticed, I've changed the title of my thread to My 4th gen dash/custom interior thread, unfortunately, the more I try to work in these 4th gen panels, the more I realize it'll be easier just to make entirely new panels, so the plan is now to start cutting up some MDF and a couple of door skins to make a mold and break out the fiberglass. My 4th gen parts will start with the dash, center console, and the kick panels, and then everything behind that, will be custom fiberglass, textured to look like stock panels. I plan to model them after the 4th gen panels so they flow with the rest of the interior.

If you have any questions or advice for me, please ask, I'm all ears. I'll be sure to update this thread as often as I have updates for it.

Thanks-

Eric

mtflyboy

this sounds sooo sweet man !

ericjon262

I hope to get really cooking on it when I get back home, it's going to be alot of work, but it should be about the same amount of work as making the 4th gen stuff fit.

Falconiroc

I'm excited to watch this thread, I am doing something similar in that I am getting a 4th gen parts car, so I am interested to know what I can make things fit.

ericjon262

You'll be better off making one off custom panels then trying to make the 4th gen stuff fit the dash and kick panels aren't too much work, and the door panels are well documented enough to do, everything else, I'd go third gen or one off.

I also just bought a house, and am in the middle of renovations, so progress has ground to a halt.

The good news, I'm building a detached garage.

Arttyscamaro

so what happened?

ericjon262

I bought a house and found I had more important things to worry about... maybe one day I will own another thirdgen, but it'll be a while...