Hi All,

Here it is! My 88 Formula interior redesign. Why the interior? OK... I love the Fiero interior. I don't know why, but I do. However, in my opinion, it lacks the basic of necessities. One of them being cup holders. As time goes by, technology around us changes, but our cars remain stuck in the years between 1984 and 1988. There are several basic necessities and creature comforts we've grown to love and would like to have. One of those, other than cup holders, is an iPod connection - not the kind that screws into the side of the dash, but something that looks and feels integrated - as it would or should be 20+ years ago.

Other changes will include a redesigned center armrest console, painted trim pieces and other "neat" little things I can think of.

The biggest goal will be to keep the interior as STOCK looking as possible.

I tinkered with the center console design for a few weeks and finally came up with something I really liked. (I used Nolan's console pic as a starting point - thanks Nolan!)



and



The hard part was over. Now it was time to begin the build... more later

G

[This message has been edited by Sofa King (edited 11-09-2009).]

About a month ago I decided to change the look of the trim pieces. I've been particularly fond of the silver / brushed aluminum look so I decided to go with that. The console and dash plates are very easy to remove. I lightly sanded them down with 400 grit paper, washed them off with soap and water and then let them completely dry before painting. As dopey as I am... I decided to mask off the edges so I could keep the "black" outline... During the paint process I realized that black fine tip magic marker would make things go by SO MUCH EASIER!

Below are the results...

Masking Off


The end of the X-Acto knife was perfect for pushing the tape into place


Slowly cutting along the edge


Hello Mr. Happy Face!


All primed and ready


The silver was done in several little steps. I first sprayed a "tack layer" - this sets up the initial layers of silver paint. After the tack layer dries completely, it was 3 layers of paint and 2 layers of clear for protection


Removing the tape


I then used the black magic marker to really accentuate the edges


Installed in all its glory with a new shifter i "just" got from a local junk yard along with a few other "Pontiac" related goodies


Another (prior to new shifter)


As I mentioned... I went to a local junk yard Friday after work - one of the those last minute ideas. What I didn't know was that this yard specializes in Pontiacs, Buicks, and Olds cars - I was in HEAVEN! The first car I went o, a 200??? Grand Am had something I was looking for. It was a great find!


I think you can see where I'm headed with this idea!


A few other cars netted me a great idea for the center console...


After dismantling the console I retrieved from a 90's Pontiac - I'm not sure what it was - It was funny, the bumpers and door skins were gone. I was lucky to find this. I think it was a Grand Prix but I'm not sure


I cut the Grand Prix console in half to fit the Fiero console



Quite the mess and 2 blisters later


I positioned the parts on the stock Fiero console


What's ahead? Lots of fiberglassing and trying to stick to the original design. I've already prepped a few pieces of glass.


More to come!

[This message has been edited by Sofa King (edited 11-09-2009).]

quote Originally posted by Sofa King: The "Dot Matrix" style plates were pretty banged up. I didn't take any detailed pics - I should have. Normally, I wouldn't have done something like that to a rare, hard to find part, but the radio plate was also cracked in several places which I did manage to fix. The shifter plate had/has several areas that are also broken and cracked. In my opinion, whatever that means, they weren't worth saving - they were just too banged up.

I am glad you explained that! I'd hate to see 'rare' trim destroyed ... you're work looks really good and innovative.

Can you tell me a little bit about that shift boot?... where'd you get that?

-edit- and what about that lip piece that extends from your radio surround?... where you're sunglasses are?... That looks stock!

[This message has been edited by blakeinspace (edited 11-09-2009).]

More pics of the center console progress

My concerns right now are the ALDL link (I believe) under the center console and I really want to install a 12 volt aux jack. So, I have a few wiring and structural hurdles. But I'm feeling pretty good about it...





The cupholder had one of the those integrated coin holders. I'm thinking about taking advantage of this spot for the IPhone/iPod connection


In the car


Updates Soon

[This message has been edited by Sofa King (edited 11-09-2009).]

Before I did anything I had to reinforce the original center console. It was badly damaged and very weak. This was my first attempt at fiberglassing but I've been building models for years so it wasn't much of a stretch to work with to include the body filler - sanding wasn't a big deal







More to come

[This message has been edited by Sofa King (edited 11-09-2009).]