My parts from Rodney arrived on Friday. I bought the ball joints for the rear control arms and the competition short shifter c/w leather boot. Great looking products from Rodney as usual:

The shifter is a really easy mod to do. Here is a picture of my shifter before removal:

All that has to be done is removal of the small cotter pin that attaches the shift cable to the bottom of the shifter as well as removing the "C" retainer on the main shaft. Here is how the well looks without the shifter:

Here is a comparison of the new short shifter with the other shifter. I had previously replaced my stock 87 shifter for an 84 unit. You can also see the cotter pin and the retainer:

And how the new shifter looks in the well:

As I said, if you haven't done this before it is really simple to do.

As indicated earlier I have been thinking about the console. Trying to decide what to do and how to do it has been a little frustrating. So after some more thought I decided to have another look at the stock console. I trimmed it to length just to get a better idea of how it might look and set it in place.



Not as bad as I had previously thought but certainly not just a drop in place piece either. But I think there is some potential.

Somewhere in my thought process I came to the conclusion that I was over thinking the problem. I was thinking that I would have to make a console from scratch. But looking at the stock piece I realized that I don't have to reinvent the wheel but only adapt it.

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-29-2007).]

Part of the issue with the stock console is, in my mind, that it is too bulky. Yet in the pictures above it does taper down in width and is close to the width of the Stealth console. So I began to wonder what the skeleton of the console looks like with all the foam and vinyl stripped off and proceeded to remove it.

There is a pile of foam on the skeleton and removing it slimmed the console down considerably. In the process I discovered that it was badly cracked, missing a few broken pieces and quite soft as a result. I suspect that there are a lot of cars out there with damaged consoles.

To repair it I applied two layers of fiberglass to the underside:

In this picture you can see how some pieces are missing. They were patched later on using fiberglass reinforced filler:

After a little more trimming I did another test fit. Previously the console was still sloping up to the Stealth console but not it was laying much more level and was surprising close to the top of the Stealth console:

I find the stripped console to be a much closer match and not so bulky.
To make a filler piece for the gap between the two consoles I used the skeleton as a mold for a single layer of fiberglass by covering it with packing tape:


Because the console tapers this piece was too wide so when I trimmed it I also cut it in half lengthwise so that it could be place on the console and adjusted to suit.

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-29-2007).]

Here are some pictures of the test fit, as you can see I overlapped the two pieces so that they would match the Stealth console:



Once I was satisfied with the fit I attached the pieces using Corvette panel adhesive:

By the way, the Stealth console was protected with packing tape so that the adhesive would not stick to the console. Once set I applied more fiberglass to the piece:

I also added a small extension to the driver-side to cover the indent in the Stealth console that is meant for the Stealth e-brake:



It's a long ways from being finished but it's a start!

Nolan

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-29-2007).]

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88 GT, 3800SC, Getrag 5sp. 12" Vette Rotors,Custom stuff done

Hi Revin:

I knew you could use wax paper but I had the packing tape handy.

***UPDATE**

I received my goodies from the Fiero Store. They didn't send one item, my new shift knob but the were very apologetic and are sending it out to me right away. Here is the carpet kit:

It looks to be like a good kit but one thing I noticed is that it does not have all the anti-wear pads that the stock carpet has. It only had one at the driver's feet.
I also ordered the black Fiero emblem floor mats:

These come with hardware that will prevent the mats from moving around. I also got the dew wipes, sunroof/headliner molding, shifter boot and one engine grille screw with the flap. The screw is a little pricey but they are as scarce as hens teeth up here.

I have also purchased 100 sq. ft. of sound deadener from the group buy that is currently going on in the mall.

I have also done some more work on the console. When the foam and vinyl was removed it revealed a recess in both side of the console at the "elbow" I want to have a strait edge so these were filled in using some sheet styrene and fiberglass reinforced filler:

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 05-29-2007).]