I remember seeing someone doing a dash swap from an early 90's or late 80's Grand Am. I cant seem to find it now, but it looked pretty good and wasn't near as in depth as a newer dash swap. Does anyone have this swap in their favorites by chance? Thanks!

I'd be interested also as I have access to most of the interior out of a '97 Grand Am SE.

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--David

Black '86 GT-under construction
Silver '87 GT-daily driver

[This message has been edited by dcfox (edited 10-21-2007).]

I'm talking about the 88-91 Grand Ams. Just now looked up the specific year, sorry bout that.

Won't that just make you feel like you are driving a Grand Am ? Why not just drive a Grand Am ?? I never understood domestic dash swaps.

quote Originally posted by GT Quick: Won't that just make you feel like you are driving a Grand Am ? Why not just drive a Grand Am ?? I never understood domestic dash swaps.

On one hand I agree with you.I hear people saying all the time how they want to change out the dash because it looks "dated".Hell...the whole car looks dated.Isn't that the point?It's a 20+ year old car for goodness sake.lol.

The only reason I'm even remotely considering a dash swap is because the lower corners of mine are busted(both corners...on both Fieros).
If someone were to make replacement dashes that were the same as the factory dash...it would be a no brainer for me.

quote Originally posted by GT Quick: Won't that just make you feel like you are driving a Grand Am ? Why not just drive a Grand Am ?? I never understood domestic dash swaps.

I like alot of pontiac dashboards, except the fiero one. I know I dont like grand ams, so why not have the best of both worlds?

I dont understand why you would even post something that stupid....

If I remember right, the dash needs to be widened enough to fit. If I find the thread I'll post a link to it here.

[This message has been edited by toadson (edited 10-22-2007).]

I found a thread about installing a newer (2001)Grand Am dash...but not the years you and I are interested in.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/043545.html

quote Originally posted by GT Quick: snip... I never understood domestic dash swaps.

I can think of a few reasons:





Nolan

quote Originally posted by Sourmug: I can think of a few reasons: Nolan

Me too!

Is that a Grand Am dash? Whatever it is, it looks pretty good. It also looks like you dont have to cut the steering column support, which is even better. I swapped a 97 Camaro dash in my car, and had to cut that support out. I would like to avoid doing that on my 88 project.

It's a Dodge stealth dash and it's actually a pretty good fit! Not exactly on topic since it's not a Grand Am dash but it shows how a different dash can compliment the Fiero.

Nolan

[This message has been edited by Sourmug (edited 10-22-2007).]

quote Originally posted by GT Quick: Won't that just make you feel like you are driving a Grand Am ? Why not just drive a Grand Am ?? I never understood domestic dash swaps.

Most people feel that the Fiero dash has not aged as well as the rest of the car. All of them have vinyl that is separating form the dash, and broken corners and that awful smell. Not to mention the outdated styling, so many opt to put in a newer dash, and from a pontiac to keep the overall look and feel of the car as being Pontiac. If you look at a well done Firebird dash it looks like it belongs there.



And yes it does look like you are driving a Firebird from the inside, but it's still a Fiero. Not to mention you get a glove compartment and cupholders. So what's not to understand?

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 10-22-2007).]

Just looking at the pictures in this thread I would easily go with the stealth dash in a heartbeat. It looks sleek and sporty compared to the firebird. But thats just me.

does anyone do these conversions if so how much would it cost installed

The Firebird interior looks great, and without your help I wouldn't have ever thought of putting a Camaro dash in my car. I like my Camaro dash, and the gauges IMO look much sleeker than the Firebird, even though its not a Pontiac dash. The Stealth dash looks great, but getting the gauges to work would take a lot of dedication. It's been at least 6 months since I put the Camaro dash in, and it still needs a lot of trim work. Every gauge works as it should, but I still need a center console, and I need to cut down some trim pieces and make some new ones. My 88 project car didn't come with a dash, and I really don't want to stick my 86's dash in it. I just thought I would like to put something much simpler in there, so I'm not working on the interior for an ungodly amount of time.

No one that I know of does turnkey dash installations. It is very labor intensive. You have to physically mount it, then get all the electrical, ventilation, and gauges to work. Then there are all the interfaces with the Fiero that you have to make it look like it belongs. And everyone has a different personal taste.

Unless you are an electrical genius, getting a non-GM gauges to work in a GM is going to be a nightmare. So if you do a Mitsubishi be prepared for that.

Honestly the Firebird dash doesn't look as good to me now as it did 5 years ago when I did mine. It's a 1993 design that is starting to get a little long in the tooth. There is no screen for a navigation system, or at least a double-din opening for a radio based navigation system.

It's time to start looking for a more modern swap...but no gauge cluster made after about 1998 is going to work unless you swap over the engine and a large chunk of the donor car.

I'm thinking about putting a 94 Camaro dash in, as I have a few sets of gauges and most of the parts, except for the dash body. I just hate to cut the steering column support off another car, since it makes the swap that much more involved. I'll keep looking around for other dashes just to see what else is out there. I don't like Grand Prix dashes too much, or any other W body car I can think of. Most likely I'll end up going with the 94 Camaro dash though, since I at least have some experience with them.

I like the 01 grand am dash, I would give that a shot.

quote Originally posted by toadson: I just hate to cut the steering column support off another car, since it makes the swap that much more involved. I'll

For the record in the F-body swap what you are cutting is the Fiero steering column support. Because of the Fiero's pod dash this sticks out more than what it does on modern cars. I think you will find that this "snout" will interfere with any non-pod dash that you try to install, and will have to be cut.

What might be cool is if one was doing an ecotec swap from a G5, and then just went ahead and put the donor car's steering rack (electric power steering-just for kicks), steering wheel, AND the dash in, including the XM radio and the airbags... sounds like an unbelievable amount of work, but might be kind of cool.

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1984 Fiero SE, White, first love, sold...
1986 Fiero SE 2M6, gold
1988 Fiero 2M4, the Fox
1987 Fiero GT, Blue, 3.4/4T40
Still looking for that perfect CJB 88 GT...

I just meant that I hate to cut the snout off of my 88, because I did on my 86 and it just takes more time to fab up a new steering column support bracket. I have mine fairly sturdy now, but it still shakes a tad to much for me. The interior above would be cool to swap in, but I'm sure I would have a hell of a time finding a new car like that in a junkyard around here.

For what it's worth, I have not cut the stock Fiero column support for my dash install. Yes, I think there will be a challenge with the gauges but I think that it can all be worked out and I will post the info on my thread once I actually get around to doing this.

Nolan