There's a reason there's not a lot of threads on the GP dash. It doesn't fit like the firebird dash does.
The GTP dash is about an inch and half too wide to slide in. I had to remove the end caps and glassed in new ends to remove some length. The front is also too long by around 4 inches so I had to cut that short and make a new windshield vent for the heater. The glove box cover had to also be shortened an inch and the glove box inside had to be trimmed and reglassed to make it usable.
I spent a lot of time trying to get the stock gauges and buttons to work and finally gave up after a lot of headaches. I bought aftermarket gauges and just cut holes on the speedo cluster to replace the originals and wired them up individually using a lot of bullet plugs so I can remove it easily.
It was an impulse pull at the junkyard last year and has been a lot of work. Had I known ahead of time, I would've just gone with the firebird dash but I was already too deep into it to stop.
Actually the steering wheel works for me, I'd be more concerned about the shifter section. Its a little too boxy so close to the dash. It looks really good though and can't wait to see it painted.
I was actually thinking about getting an aftermarket steering wheel but at this point, I just want to get the dash painted and be able to drive the car again. I've been trying to find plastic\vynil paint to use with a spray gun but the only real choices I have locally are the krylon rattle cans. I'm looking at making it all flat black.
And as for the center console, I haven't really done much. I got rid of the center skeleton and the trim for the shifter but I'm kinda thinking of just buying those and setting up the shifter and console as stock. It'll be much easier to finish.
Finally got to do some painting and i'm pretty happy with the results. Nothing spectacular but for a novice, it still puts a smile on my face knowing what I was able to build. Now its time to get it smogged and registered but I'm not looking forward to the 100 dollar fee for not renewing since 2010.
Very nice job. Outstanding! Several years ago PBJ did one of the first dash swaps and IIRC it was a Firebird dash. His dash also came out nice. I'll try to find his dash thread in the archives for comparison.
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You should have posted earlier. I have a tan gp dash in one of our mockup cars. Working gauges, headlight switch and everything
I wish I had enough know how to get the stock gauges and switches to work. All my frustrations and delays were from trying to get them to work with the Fiero signals.
The only thing that had to be changed were the pots for speed and gas, but those are easily swapped with cavalier gauge pots tgst are compatible. Tach was dead on and the rest was just pin matching
One of the neatest dash paint jobs I have seen was on a replica Cobra. The guy used pick up truck bed liner, the kind you paint onto the surface. He simply used the small paint roller that came with the kit. It looked great, textured surface and had a sort of soft feel to it and should last for ever. It would also be a good sound deadner. You can get this stuuf in colors aldo.
[This message has been edited by oldbikeracer (edited 06-05-2012).]
Nice job...Something to be proud of.
All my frustrations and delays were from trying to get them to work with the Fiero signals.
