unknown_host

iTrader: (1)

Hey I did a few searches and would like to see some pictures of street/strip as well as race thirdgens.

I am rebuilding my interior and am looking for a few ideas, as well as some pictures just to motivate me to get started on the project .

Has anyone here fabricated a dashpad out of aluminum or sheetmetal? Made their own door panels? Etc, etc. I would like to see it all .

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

door panels and dash are both very light how they are. I doubt there is any weight savings to aluminum door panels over the factory cardboard backing. The dash if you gut the backside to it can't weigh 10 pounds IMO.

AlkyIROC

Race car, interior?

I have a dash pad. That's it for factory interior. The rest of the entire dash was ripped out. There's a knee bar running across the front between the a-pillar bars of the cage. Just under the dash pad and attached to the knee bar, I installed an aluminum plate to mount gauges and switches on. Nothing pretty but it's functional. To make it a little nicer, I covered the aluminum with prismatic decal material.

Aluminum dash pads look pretty but in a race car, they reflect a lot of light making it hard to see out.

These are older pictures but it still shows the dash. I don't have any good current pics. I've relocated the shifter and moved a bunch of stuff to a control panel beside the shifter. My dash pad has been changed. I picked up another one and now have it wrapping around the A-pillar tube.

ross

86iroc2try

there is mine.

86iroc2try

86iroc2try

here's some...just click on them.

unknown_host

iTrader: (1)

I have a street/strip car with no door panels and no dash pad, I am in the process of putting it all back together, I am just looking for ideas. Not necessarily weight savings, I can't use the stock door panels because I have an 8 point roll cage now.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Kind of a large picture so here's a link for the interior click me.

Here's the aluminum dash I did.


All lit up.

unknown_host

iTrader: (1)

Wow I like that gauge cluster!

I like all of these pictures, these are exactly what I had in mind.

unknown_host

iTrader: (1)

I used to have that Speedo/tach combo, I completely forgot about that thing ...

IHI

iTrader: (1)

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

Josh time to swap in a trans am dash for me as well

IHI

iTrader: (1)

It makes a difference, instead of feeling like a typical Joe Dirt driving around a POS 3rd gen, your now Joe Dirt that feels like he got a new set of rims for one side of the car, your big pimp'n but not everybody can see why so they just think your a happy go lucky ******* instead

PROSTOCK5031

iTrader: (1)

91 bird

Iroc Adio

iTrader: (3)

my seats are for sale. If anyone is interested.


Also does anyone have pics with kirkey seats in there car?

And any pics with there center console removed?

86iroc2try

IHI...thats a sweet interior. i had the same gauges, shift light, etc in my old '97 383 car.

PROSTOCK...very very nice!!! love that damn car!!

Those are my 2 favorite firebirds. Just my $.02

PROSTOCK5031

iTrader: (1)

Thanks 86irock2try, keep an eye out for it in a National Dragster...its going to be in one soon! You are close you should run in RAM racing. I would love to see your car. Later, John PS if anyone wants a good shifter.... my ATI/Winters Sidewinder shifter is for sale (new 316.00 sell 220.00 to your door!)

86iroc2try

national dragster. sweet. i'll look into RAM this season. bada$$ 'bird.

IHI...the 4th gen interior looks sweet...i just dont miss it personally, since i drove this car for 5 years. lol i love my simple 3rd gen interior!!!

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, when you have a car that comes with it, it becomes ho hum like anything else, but when you retro fit it, then it gives that old steel a lil more flare. I hated the 3rd gen interior just because it's so boxy, adding the curved 4th gen takes an otherwise square edged joe dirt ride and kinda spices it up a bit. Granted it's still "just another red firebird" but thankfully for a few day's time it's a bit different

86iroc2try

i agree^^ IHI, you know you have a bada$$ car. enough said.

stage20

iTrader: (3)

new look is comming real soon.
car is getting a rollbar and a set of aluminum seats.
ill miss the leather, but trying not to add weight to the car with the rollbar.

Shagwell

- that's funny right there I don't care who you are. - I've got a '96 dash in my street car convertible.

as for the race car:

Shagwell

wtf? it was saying I had 6 images and was only allowed a max of 5 when I was posting the last message. - Maybe I just can't count anymore.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Shagwell, you wanna buy this bridge?
"Sure"
Alright, fitty large
as you count out fitty large...
****, your short $40K buddy
"but i just counted out fitty for ya"
nah man, you counted out a fifth of what i am selling this for
"ahhh, okay, well here's the rest then"

IHI just profited an extra fotey on my bridge

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

the smiley emoticons count as one image a piece...

car_fixer

kirkey seat, console removed...and custom one made

Shagwell

aahhh. I see said the blind man. Now where's my ocean front property dammit!


My 6'2" butt wouldn't fit in several of these cars.

I would also like to note one of my "brighter" ideas, which you can see in the pics(although not direct). The trans cooler sits on the passegners' side floor with a puller fan mounted under the car. It helps clear burn-out smoke immensly. - Other than a daily driven street car I don't think I'd ever mount the cooler up front again. Even in a street/strip car I'd just leave it out back somewhere.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Daily driven or even partial street cars dont need no stinken trans fan since they have a hard time building heat

AlkyIROC

My cooler is in front of the rad. When the rad fan is on, it cools the tranny. Sit on the transbrake at WOT too long and you'll see the tranny temp climb up fast enough especially with a high stall converter like I use. It's common to just mount a cooler under the car right beside the tranny with or without a fan. It doesn't need to be vertical just as long as air can flow around it but I like that idea of a puller fan under the floor even if there isn't a cooler above it.

I'm not sure how well I like that all black painted interior. My car is hot enough sitting in the staging lanes in a 2 layer fire suit.

I was noticing your cage bars. I'd like to see them a little better to see how you did the tube the shifter is on and the inside of the funny car car tubes. How do they all attach behind/beside the seat.

Shagwell

When the blower motor is in it I have to wear a minimum of a 5 layer jacket....and since my dad already had a 7-layer from his open-wheel car, that's what I wear. In Florida, in the summer time..... I don't reccomend it.

The tin work was black when I got the car, so I stuck with it. I will never have polished aluminum again, f* keeping that clean. - The pipe my shifter is mounted on is a diagonal pipe that runs from basically right behind(a little below) my shoulder on the cross-pipe between the main hoop legs and runs down to the passenger's a-pillar pipe where it meets the door pipe(at the floor). That pipe is one of my idea's from researching how the chassis works and crashes(research and "hands-on" experience). If you think about all the rear x-braces, the firewall braces, etc, you basically have the front and rear of the car cross-braced, but nothing in the middle. I run the diagonal in-lue of being double frame rail.

I don't really have much else on my photo bucket account. I'll try to remember to get on-lline from home sometime and add some more. - I'm horrible about getting pics up from home.

This pic somewhat shows my extra brace for the drivers' side strut pipe and my two uprights directly behind the firewall the connect between the frame rails and a 2nd knee/dash pipe that runs cross-ways between the front strut pipes. There is also a two pipes forming a "v" that run brace between the two dash pipes.(I have a better angle on my 'puter at home) Between the extra firewall/dash pipes and the diagonal, there is a lot of extra torsional bracing, and if for some reason you hit something, it's nice to know the motor is not going to land in your lap.


This one kind shows the angle diagonal comes into the pillar/door pipe, and it shows the trans cooler fan:


The only one I currently have of funny car loop, and it is before finishing it and before finishing the "x" in the roof:

Shagwell

I really don't have any trans heat issues. With the current combo, I leave off a a 4400 chip in the 7AL-3, with the blower I leave just off idle(out of blower surge), but with my foot in the floor using an air-servo to turn it loose when I let go of the t-brake.

AlkyIROC

I need to cut out my firewall more to access the tranny like that. It would shave about an hour off removing the tranny if I was able to get at the bellhousing bolts easier. With the shields, I can't access them from the top.

I still like that fan in the floor idea. If a cooler wasn't above it, a simple screen would do. I wonder if I just mounted one right at the rear?

That's more of what a race car interior needs to be. Functional with no cosmetics. Polished aluminum, chrome, paint etc doesn't make it go any faster.

Shagwell

Actually, I was thinking about it yesterday after I responded, and I'm fairly certain the interior in this car is cooler than the polished alum was in the '68. With the polished alum it's kinda like surrounding your self with tin-foil and getting in a BBQ grill. - I haven't noticed being hot as much in this car as I remember in the old car.

My firewall skirts being legal for 10.5. I left most of the stock the kick boards and about 1/2 tall section of the stock firewall all the way around the perimeter, but the actual firewall is now tin. Much of that was done when I got this car, but we finished cutting the inner part of the cowl and stock dash mount/structure out. You can see what we cut out in the top pic, it's rusted on the back side from not previously having paint. - If I needed to I could R&R the trans inside of 30min. If you're feeling strong you can actually pluck it out the top and not have to pull the crossmember, but with the dash and seat in place(dash is not removable w/o pulling the windshield) it's easier to drop it out the bottom. All that said I run a th400 instead of a glide to negate having to do so.

KWIK84

iTrader: (5)

Old interior pic.

JesasaurusRex

iTrader: (3)

All n all I hate it (aluminum dash) and am in the middle of putting the stock dash back in, should have that, door panels, and carpet next time anybody else sees it

car_fixer

hmm, that doesnt look like any t5 shifter i have seen lol..seat looks mounted, you went with the solid mount right..how did it fit?

JesasaurusRex

iTrader: (3)

It's all about giving the impression that you have a manual transmission, without actually having one..."just a stock suspension 9" tire iroc with 3 pedals "

Fit is real nice, using the original seat mounting studs on the floor actually...sorta. Tried using the kirkey seat brackets but they were like an inch or 2 too short (length wise/front to rear) to use the factory studs. So basically got some metal and cut it to length to use the factory studs and then bolted the kirkey seat brackets (part # 99204) to that. Came out real nice, i'll snap some shots later if you wish. As for the back of the seat mount, just used some roll bar tubing. Looks TONS better than the rear brace kirkey sells (part # 99202) and way less trouble than having to deal with somehow getting the kirkey aluminum piece braced onto the crossbar. So yes on the floor kirkey brackets, big no on the rear brace...less u wanna buy mine . One more i have on hand of the rear of the seat.

profootbrake2

why would you cut out the transmission tunnel when you could just as easy drill 4 1 inch holes where you need them to get to the bell housing bolts

AlkyIROC

Try putting a flexplate shield back on when you can't hold it and put the bolts in at the same time.

Shagwell

Easy access.

For my car, the removable tunnel is a no-brainer, as there is all of zero of the stock floor left. The front lip where the tunnel slides on is 1/8"x4" plate; it sits flate against the mid-plate and hangs back inside the car approxiamtely 3" creating a flywheel shield and a lip to seal the tunnel on. - Otherwise, it's as Stephen noted; 4 little holes still won't get you around a flywheel shield. I'm planning to use the CSU full shield in the radial car I'm building so I'll probably end-up making the stock tunnel removable.

AlkyIROC

Ahhhhh! So that's what those vertical tubes you have coming down from the dash bar. The mid plate attaches to them. I saw the tubes and couldn't figure out why you had them there. That's very smart thinking. I was always curious on how the best way to install a mid plate would be.

My dash bar isn't as close to the firewall but I can see how I could fabricate something similar.

Damn, more design changes now.

Shagwell

The mid plate attaches to my front lower rails and also to those up-rights. I have two small pices of 3/8 ID pipe welded through the up-rights and bolted through the mid plate, within 1" of the bellhousing. By being that close, it eliminates the need for a lateral restraint.

Like I said though, there's two dash pipes. The standard one that attaches the a-pillar pipes, and a second one that is directly against the firewall, attaching to the front strut pipes. The up-rights run from the lower front rails to the firewall dash pipe, and a second set of pipes run in the form of a "v" between the two dash pipes.

The lower front frame rails are basically an extension of the k-member that is welded into the frame rails at the firewall.

These are during construction, before the mid plate was installed, but should give you and idea of my front suspension and the dash bracing.




Sorry they came out so small. I saved them from a local forum I had posted them on and then put them up here. I'll load them from home in the next day or two and you'll be able to view them better.

AlkyIROC

Ya, I would like to see a larger version of that first picture but I do see exactly what you did after you just explained the second dash bar. The angle is different in the new pictire so you can see the forward dash bar now.

I would have to rip out my dash to do that so maybe that will be the project for next winter. It'll give me a good excess to finally put my tubes through the firewall.

Shagwell

I highly reccomend that driver's side kicker leg from the floor up to the forward strut pipe. I don't have any pics where you can see it well, but I have a plate welded to it that makes foa r solid foot rest for your left foot. - One of those little things that really helps you feel secure in the car.

onebadzz

mw66nova

iTrader: (13)

where did you get that roll bar padding from?

Shagwell

onebadzz - very clean man.

onebadzz

You can have any interior guy make it for u..

onebadzz

Thanks buddy....