Topic: 1979 Special Edition Y84 Correct Interior

[Maxthe222]

Hey guys,

I just bought this Y84 79 SE and one of the first things I noticed was the front grills on the car as well as a lot of discrepancies with the interior. I am about to order a whole bunch of replacement parts, and i'd like to see if any of you guys have noticed anything else that I haven't picked up on. I'd like to make this car as correct and as original to factory as possible. Apparently the build sheet is still on top of the gas tank. 

The owner has been super helpful and he's been really honest about everything on the car so I'm not inclined to believe he's not telling the truth about anything. He also stated that he had to change the windscreen because it had a crack in it. Here's what i've seen:

1. The door panels aren't the deluxe interior, even though the dealer invoice says "B18 Custom Trim Group, Velour". The owner has replaced the panels from when he dug it out of the barn, but insists that they are exactly the same as the ones that were on the car when he got it out.

http://imgur.com/wHQOWkK

2. The dash doesn't have the passenger side grab handle. The person i'm buying the parts off stated that the dash may have had some kind of cover or something applied to it and they forgot to poke the holes in it again or something, i'm not quite sure.

http://imgur.com/KFWvJk1

3. The headliner is a black/dark grey colour. This one bugged me, as I just noticed it recently. From what i've seen and from what i've been told, the car is supposed to have a camel tan headliner, yet this one is that odd dark colour that doesn't exactly match the rest of the interior.

http://imgur.com/AUFJG1m

4. The front bumper has the vents/grills painted solid gold. I've only ever seen three other firebirds like this, 2 Y84's and one Formula, I'm not sure if this was painted correctly or not, but again the owner said that it's the same as when he got it out.

http://imgur.com/pZqnBZa

5. The owner said he refinished or repainted the rims on the car to restore them or whatever. The car has the WS6 option and I believe they are the original rims, however i'm not sure if those are the correct rims or not.

http://imgur.com/0DJbfjg

6. The steering wheel and the gold dash cover and shifter cover. The steering wheel is black with a brown trim, but the dash and shifter "bezel" or whatever has a gold finish cover. On closer inspection, it looks like it could be a sticker or something on top of the dash cover but i'm not sure what the colour is supposed to be. I haven't seen many gold on tan interiors, and I'm thinking it is actually supposed to be silver. Also not sure what colour the steering wheel spokes are supposed to be.

http://imgur.com/Bd5KfLX
http://imgur.com/IvrxrFy


Oh and here's the dealer invoice so you can see the options incase anything there isn't present.

http://imgur.com/S1pkFdH

Anything else you guys noted that's incorrect? Please lemme know if you see anything that looks a bit suspicious  or wrong. Thanks folks!!

[Stringer]

You may find some of your answers here:  http://www.transamworld.com/ta-features.php

I hope this helps. 

[Maxthe222]

I remember going through this article the other day, it was a little bit helpful but it wasn't awfully specific on the steering wheel colours etc

[Wallington]

Firstly, I'd make sure it is actually an SE or Y84. Many features are missing and others clearly added, nothing says genuine or original. The paperwork says so, be sure the details match as the photos aren't otherwise convincing with the changes made. PHS docs would be useful too.

It's normal for guys to not remember every detail over the years or remember them incorrectly. This is likely how the door trims came about as the standard trims were usually more accessible. Then again, many of these changes are not just bad memory, but acting dumb about changes made. Looks like aftermarket chrome door lock snipper knobs. By '79 the door handle cups should also be colour coded on Deluxe models, the black was still on base trim models, or black. They'd be tan on your car originally.

The door trim winder winder holes have had power locks added in wrong locations and no gold bird emblem medallions at all. None of this is correct on any model.

Looks like a dash cap installed, common to not installed out of shape grab handle that is standard on deluxe models. The sunken ashtray seems to say this is the case, he'd remember that if done in his time. The steering column panel is also sunken, sign of a dash cap.

The dash facia bezel is a sticker type, not machined with yellow clear coat. Common to add when the original fades or was never gold to start with.

Yes, headliner should 'match' but replacements called camel could be any shade, that one is not remotely close though or type of material, vinyl with pin holes.

The steering wheel could be original if it has the pebbled finish on the black spokes to show the steel version that started around '79. The aluminium versions were gold anodised as per dash for SE. Horn emblem should be gold for an SE. Your park brake rubber pedal is missing.

You kick panel is missing the tan shroud cover over the vacuum pod. The vacuum pod appears to have non-standard mounting bracket or something there bolted to kick panel.

The map pocket has been sprayed tan, normally black plastic with chromed border.

The wheels are from a '78 model with 15x8" with painted spokes. If they are original then refinished incorrectly for 79. I doubt he would know what rims were even original and had several swaps in 40 yrs. WS6 used the 8" rims as shown.

Yes, grilles have been totally repainted and not correct. Should be border only. One grille shows signs of either dropping or collision distortion. Nose emblem should be gold for SE, is it meant to be or just a clone?

Aftermarket black mats as you'd be aware, originals can be bought but colour of tan can differ.

The gold shifter surround was 'possibly' not until 80-81, normally black with chrome edge, but possibly 79.

[Maxthe222]

Now THAT is what i'm talking about, those are the kind of details I wanted!

First off, yes it's a genuine, PHS verified the car, plus it's got the Y84 stamp on the cowl tag. That's were I got the dealer invoice. Those photos were taken by a 3rd party, not affiliated to the seller and not affiliated to me.

But mate, what can I say that is the kind of information I was after, i'm glad i asked. Thank you so much!

Now to ask for even more specific details, let's start from the top.

Dash cap is what someone had mentioned to me, i'm not quite sure what that is, what is a dash cap exactly? Is it a new dash or do I just need to buy a handle and poke holes in it? You say a lot of stuff has sunken, how do you reckon I go about sorting all that out? Pulling the dash of or...?

Door lock stripper knobs? Door handle cups? What cups? Is that like the housing for the handle you use to open the door? I'll keep an eye out for some tan ones.

The power window hole cover I knew from the start were incorrect, as for the placement of the door locks or whatever is on the door panel itself, those would definitely get changed when I swap the panels.

As for the dash, personally I don't think the gold goes as well with the tan as the silver, so if it was originally silver i'm not fussed at all, but if it was actually gold i'd rather keep it that way and see what's behind the sticker.

Ok, so for the headliner, i'd probably just order one that's Camel Tan that fits a Fisher T-Top 1979, i'm sure they'll get the colour right.

I also forgot to note the horn emblem, I did see the red one and think that wasn't right. Incorrect steering wheel in general maybe?

Now that kick panel thing you mentioned, that's very interesting, I did not notice that, and i'd like to know what this vacuum mumbo jumbo is about, can you explain what you mean about this bracket and all that? I'd definitely have to look into some tan kick panels.

Now map pocket, which ones the map pocket again? Where is that on the interior? Is that under the ash tray? I hope not because one of those small black pockets cost $90 USD!!

From what the guy said and what it sounds like he tried to do, he's painted the rims incorrectly, I specifically remembered that detail and even someone who isn't familiar with TRANS AMs mentioned "hey they don't look right".

As for the front end, what part of the front end looks like it's dropping or had a collision? How do you know? I checked a few places and the car has never reported to have been in an accident.

Also are the door locks on the door panels or are those the window switches? I thought the window switches were on the console behind the shifter.

Also oh my god thank you for all your help man, if you live in aus you might even see the car soon!