Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions for First Generation Firebirds that have been asked and answered on FGF. Special thanks needs to be given to all the FGF members who took the time to respond to other member's questions.
Interior - Clocks
Short answer: Yes — you can service these points-type clocks yourself and get the original tick back.
- Remove the adjustment knob (unscrew counter-clockwise), the two side screws holding the “cup,” and the nut on the +12V tab to free the mechanism.
- Take the back off the clockworks (three screws on stanchions). Careful: the winder mechanism (a white spring holding half the points) is spring-loaded and can unwind.
- Dress the points with a points file or a thin emery board.
- Lube only the bearing points (where a gear shaft touches a plate) — use a WD-40 straw to place a tiny dot exactly where you want it (clocks dislike excess oil, which attracts dirt).
- Rewind the spring (about three wraps) and reassemble.
If the +12V coil tab is broken off, unwrap one turn of the coil to get enough wire to solder to.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: You can often fix one yourself — redress the contact points and put a little light oil on the gears. If not, several shops repair them or convert them to quartz.
- DIY: clean the mechanism with an electronics cleaner like “Blast Off,” add a tiny bit of very light oil, then run it on the battery for several days before reinstalling.
- Quartz conversion: ~$100; keeps perfect time and looks identical — many members feel the mechanical movement isn’t worth saving.
- Shops: listed in Vintage Parts 411, Year One, and Hemmings Motor News. One named: ISI, Instrument Services, Inc., 11765 Main Street, Roscoe, Illinois 61073 — 1-800-558-2674 (clocks, speedometers, tachs, gauges, clusters; 1920s–1980s).
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The three wires: orange = constant +12V; black (with the clip) = ground; gray = the light.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Here’s the collected (and still partly unverified) information on the 1967–68 Firebird clock option — corrections from documented original cars are welcome.
- Face color: 1967 gauges/tach/clock had a black face; 1968 had a steel-blue face.
- Console mount: used a special adaptor base plus a bracket under the console (the 1968 service manual doesn’t show the adaptor base).
- Floor mount: used only a bracket, mounted under the carpet.
- NOS examples seen: black face with orange hour/minute hands and a white second hand; steel-blue face with white hour/minute hands and an orange second hand.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: On 1969 Firebirds, the electric clock (sales code 474) went in the upper-right rectangular pod.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The console clock cases were all black.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: Flip the console over — the plastic already has cast-in holes (with reinforcement) on the underside where the clock screws go.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Short answer: The 1968 Custom Trim option (554) included: Custom seat covers (Morrokide + stitched knit vinyl), custom molded door and quarter trim panels, the assist bar above the glovebox, dual horns, deluxe wheel covers, deluxe steering wheel, custom pedal trim, front & rear wheel-opening moldings, drip-rail moldings (coupes), and windshield-pillar garnish moldings.
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Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
Content last modified: June 9, 2026 at 7:10 am
