pwmin Posted October 16, 2006 Report Posted October 16, 2006 i asked a question before about the shift indicator on my gp since i put one of those consoles in with no viable suggestions (IMHO). oh, well, i figured it out myself. i guess ill kinda try to do this as a write-up since there isnt a good one out there. here's what i did: 1. locate a console from a 97-03 grand prix (interior colors other than charcoal MAY have different color lids a/o top trim pieces) and take the shifter piece, console, top trim piece, and everything else associated with it (cant think of anything else) 2. now, you have a choice: a. use the shifter piece that came with it (no indicator and stick doesnt line up with gears on the shifter piece also youll have to fab up something cuz the two consoles/cars use different size bulbs for the indicator light or just forget about it) b. think of something else on your own c. (what i did) i. take the shifter piece out of the old console and pull the new one apart ii. hack up both of them till the old piece sits inside the new piece (i cant explain exactly how i did it, i just took it easy and kept cutting out what i needed until it sat in and the new pieces snapped back together. i painted the top piece from the new shifter piece gray to cover it up. it looks off in the picture later but its not near as bad as it looks. its very close. iii. i had to screw the pieces of the old shifter piece together on the left side so it didnt slide when i moved the shifter 3. if you havent, remove the old console and put the new one in. put the shift indicator piece in the console over the shift stick thingy (lol). if using my method, you will have to get it perfect or the indicator for the gears wont line up correctly. none of the holes line up, so youre going to have to make new brackets to bolt it down. the front mounting holes from the old console i didnt worry about. the middle i made a bracket similar to the old one and used the old scres to bolt it to the console (same screws for both types) and drilled and bolted it to the floor. the rear bolts i took a piece of flat metal stock and drilled holes where the old console bolted down (once again used bolts from old console) and drilled holes in it where the new console sits and actually had enough room to put bolts in with lock washers so it wouldnt move at all (again, if it moves at all, the indicator wont line up correctly). sorry, no picture of this. 4. most people wont do this, but i drilled holes in the console for my gauges and used the existing hole (the best i could) (shift lock lever release which is not used anymore) for the light for my alarm. i also ordered a new steering wheel remote interface so i didnt need a hole for the led anymore (PAC SWI-ALP vs. SWI-X). 5. i cut out a piece of plastic to cover the gap between the console and the radio/hvac trim. i also used weatherstripping to cover the hole between the console and the top console trim piece, but theres a piece of foam that should be on the trim piece that will cover this gap, i just took it off before i realized it i hope i didnt forget anything and hope its easy enough to understand and write-up quality full size and more pics here: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v476/pwmin/96%20Grand%20Prix/97%20Console/ Quote
Psych0matt Posted October 16, 2006 Report Posted October 16, 2006 looks pretty darn good, although I dont have much experience with old or new gps, so im not the best at telling the difference anyways Quote
pwmin Posted October 16, 2006 Author Report Posted October 16, 2006 old console (the lids break all the time and i had other problems so it was junk and i couldnt find one from like a 96 and i knew they would fit cuz there's a crappy write-up on clubgp. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v476/pwmin/gp%20interior/ Quote
Q-Ball Posted October 16, 2006 Report Posted October 16, 2006 You lost your cup holders! Whats the arm rest look like for the 97+? Quote
5speedz34 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 You lost your cup holders! Whats the arm rest look like for the 97+? The fold out just in front of the armrest. Quote
GP1138 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 I actually kind of like the older console better myself. Nice job fabbing it up, though! Quote
DiscoStudd Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 I see you're a customer of Mr. Penny! I can't really tell from the pic, but did you spring for the illumination on your HU mount? Quote
runt Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 If you were going to do a write up, I actually found this one about 3 nights ago while I was looking for some other information: http://www.clubgp.com/cgi-asp/mods.asp?modid=49 Yeah, it's a clubGP link...yay. I'm sure that you can do a better one though. But on a good note, it looks really good in there! Plus, the cup holders actually somewhat work on that console. Quote
pwmin Posted October 17, 2006 Author Report Posted October 17, 2006 If you were going to do a write up, I actually found this one about 3 nights ago while I was looking for some other information: http://www.clubgp.com/cgi-asp/mods.asp?modid=49 Yeah, it's a clubGP link...yay. I'm sure that you can do a better one though. But on a good note, it looks really good in there! Plus, the cup holders actually somewhat work on that console. so, the one i just did isnt better than the cgp one? i knew about that one and thats why i said there wasnt a good one out there, oh, yeah, and i also said there's a crappy writeup on clubgp I see you're a customer of Mr. Penny! I can't really tell from the pic, but did you spring for the illumination on your HU mount? no, i didnt wanna dick with the wiring. ive got enough crap in my car with my stereo and gauges and crap. You lost your cup holders! Whats the arm rest look like for the 97+? theres a pic on the link i posted that shows the arm rest and the cup holders are directly in front of the arm rest and fold out. they work a lot better than the old ones. Quote
CSI_MuNkY Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 Looks clean! I like the guages, thats where I was thinking about putting mine, only on a peice of brushed aluminum to match the guage bezel and the plate my switches are mounted to. I thought about doing this swap just for the cup holders... When I originally painted my interior, I slammed it back into 1st and my "dildo" shifter hit and chipped the paint on the console top. I've since seitched to a 94 style top... Jamie Quote
runt Posted October 17, 2006 Report Posted October 17, 2006 Opps!!! I guess I didn't read the original thread too well.... Quote
bdub_02 Posted April 28, 2007 Report Posted April 28, 2007 can you fix your link so i can view your pictures of this install? and i think this should be a sticky in the 'how to' section. i have been searching for a write up and none are very good. good details, but pictures would make it awesome Quote
pwmin Posted May 1, 2007 Author Report Posted May 1, 2007 can you fix your link so i can view your pictures of this install? and i think this should be a sticky in the 'how to' section. i have been searching for a write up and none are very good. good details, but pictures would make it awesome fixed the links. sorry about that. did some rearranging of my pb accnt Quote
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