Dash cover (sunshade) Issues & missing trim questions

Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I recently acquired a 1998 Riviera with a tan interior. An older guy owned it and then left it to his grandson. Long story short he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and decided one day to try and put a stereo system in it. Thanks to him there are a few broken trim pieces and just some plain idiotic things that need correcting. You guys have been a great help so far by just reading threads, but I still have a few questions to ask. I've only owned the car for a few days, so a lot of stuff is going through my head.

First off, the dash cover is completely screwed up. The kid apparently decided he'd just try and pull it off. Now the drivers side of the dash is loose and sort of sticking up off the rest of the dash. Can I get a replacement cover or somehow get this to stick back down? I'm hoping it's just some missing clips or screws, but maybe someone here can point me in the right direction.

Secondly there's a bunch of missing trim missing or broken trim pieces. The first one that's driving me insane is the side dash trim piece on the drivers side that includes the fuse cover and vent for the door airvents. the idiot wasn't careful when he removed it so just about all the clips are broken off.

The next major trim issue is the center console. Again the idiot decided after he couldn't get in the dash to install his stereo above the cupholder where the cd holder and ashtray is (was). As a result the whole cd and ashtray part of the center console is just sort of sitting there. I can't seem to actually snap it back in without rendering the cupholder cover completely useless. Is there a secret to this or something to look for to see if it's broken and requiring a replacement? The Riviera has the popular aftermarket complete wood kit so if possible I would like to avoid having to buy a completely new dash kit to make a replacement match. To add to the console issues is the fact that the rear heat vent trim piece is completely missing and the seam running through the middle of the console above where the trim piece is is cracked. Would it just be simpler to replace the whole center console?

The dash and the center console are the main issues that are driving me insane right now. I don't really know where to start. I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction as far as finding replacement parts or giving me some tips on how to repair these issues. I couldn't resist buying it even with these issues. The rest of the vehicle is in excellent shape. Anyway, thanks guys for the help and for letting me vent my frustrations instead of strangling the dumbass who decided to attempt a stereo install.

I would look for interior parts used in good condition. The problem is finding an interior your color! When you talk about the dash trim, do you mean the flat part that lays horizontally on top of the whole works, or are you talking about the lower part that faces the pass/driver with the vents and gauges in it?

There are 6 little pushpin thingys along the bottom edge of the upper (flat) trim, plus a couple of screws - IIRC the front piece has to come off before the upper piece.

The center console - sounds like it's also easier to try and find a used one. Hopefully you can reuse the section above the cupholder if the clips aren't all broken off the back of it. It should have 4 horizontal spade-type clips on the back that snap it into the console. To remove it you just pull, but they can be brittle.

There's a guy named Ed Morad who made a business out of parting out 3800 vehicles. Mostly he does Grand Prixs and Regals, but he will occasionally part out a Riv. look up moradpartsco - their website doesn't really say much about their inventory, you need to call and talk to someone there. They sell most of their stuff through paypal/ebay but the Riv stuff tends to not make it to ebay...

deekster_caddy wrote:

I would look for interior parts used in good condition. The problem is finding an interior your color! When you talk about the dash trim, do you mean the flat part that lays horizontally on top of the whole works, or are you talking about the lower part that faces the pass/driver with the vents and gauges in it?

There are 6 little pushpin thingys along the bottom edge of the upper (flat) trim, plus a couple of screws - IIRC the front piece has to come off before the upper piece.

The center console - sounds like it's also easier to try and find a used one. Hopefully you can reuse the section above the cupholder if the clips aren't all broken off the back of it. It should have 4 horizontal spade-type clips on the back that snap it into the console. To remove it you just pull, but they can be brittle.

There's a guy named Ed Morad who made a business out of parting out 3800 vehicles. Mostly he does Grand Prixs and Regals, but he will occasionally part out a Riv. look up moradpartsco - their website doesn't really say much about their inventory, you need to call and talk to someone there. They sell most of their stuff through paypal/ebay but the Riv stuff tends to not make it to ebay...

Thanks for the reply. Below you"ll find pictures of what I actually need for trim pieces. It's easier to just post the pictures than to try and explain. I finally acquired a decent camera (nikon d40x that I got for $50) so I'm able to take pictures with something other than a cell phone. The center console I'm going to definitely be replacing. Just too many little things that need to be fixed to bother trying to resuscitate it.

Below is the drivers side dash trim piece with fuse panel that I was talking about:


Below is what the dumbass did to the dash. It's seperated from the rest of the dash and all the clips are missing that attach it to the black "sunshade" thing. IDK if I can just use some screws or makeshift clips to secure it back down or just get a completely new dash cover.


Below is the ashtray cover that is missing in the back. Not a big deal but something that will drive me insane.


Below is the seat control area on the passenger side that seems to have come undone along with a missing trim piece that goes to the lumbar control. Possibly the control set can be put back in, but it doesn't seem to what to stay attached. If I could get a complete replacement with the lumber control lever attached that would be ideal.


Below is the cover for the middle console power outlet. It's completely missing and is nowhere to be found either.


Below you'll see the black cowl that has only one foglight left. Ideally I'd like to replace the whole black part and do away with the ugly aftermarket lights altogether.


And of course the bent antenna. I may just shove it back down and disable it from automatically coming up. I don't really listen to the radio. I have Sirius XM and CDs I listen to mainly.


If you could help me locate replacement parts or suggest ways to fix these issues it would be much appreciated. I'm going to post this in the Parts wanted section as well if that's ok.

Here's one final picture of the car in full. As you can see the hood needs repainting and there's a slight rust spot that needs repairing, but my girlfriends father runs a body shop and is going to take care of all the exterior issues.



Thanks Guys.

Also I did actually find Ed Morad's ebay store when I did a quick search for parts on ebay. I think I may give him a call when I am able to dedicate more time to the search.

Email Ed at: gtped@msn.com

Either he or Erik will be able to help you out. They are great with finding parts.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

Email Ed at: gtped@msn.com

Either he or Erik will be able to help you out. They are great with finding parts.

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'll send him an email and give him a call. I truly appreciate all the help guys. I also gave a guy from ebay a link to this thread. He said he may have some parts available.

Based on the pictures I see you'll definitely need a new upper cover. All those parts should be accessible through junkyards etc.

The upper dash trim is held in by these funny little pins - they are easy to use, but misunderstood. To remove the pin, you push the middle 'in' or 'up'. To reset the pin and use it again you pop the center out or down, put the pin in place and then push the pin back to flush. When you get the new trim, try to get new pins along with it. If not I had to buy a 10-pack to get 2 new ones, so I have a few extras...

deekster_caddy wrote:

Based on the pictures I see you'll definitely need a new upper cover. All those parts should be accessible through junkyards etc.

The upper dash trim is held in by these funny little pins - they are easy to use, but misunderstood. To remove the pin, you push the middle 'in' or 'up'. To reset the pin and use it again you pop the center out or down, put the pin in place and then push the pin back to flush. When you get the new trim, try to get new pins along with it. If not I had to buy a 10-pack to get 2 new ones, so I have a few extras...

So there is definitely no way to just get new pins and reuse the current dash pad?

I'm not sure how he got that thing off... it looks like the holes where the retaining pins go are too large. I don't have anything to compare it to right now...

deekster_caddy wrote:

I'm not sure how he got that thing off... it looks like the holes where the retaining pins go are too large. I don't have anything to compare it to right now...

So if I'm reading you right, the top part (tan main part) is attached to the lower black part via retaining clips and the black part holds the whole thing to the rest of the dash?

Ummm... I have talked myself into a hole. I'll have to go reference my car to see for sure. I'll try to grab a pic in the morning.

deekster_caddy wrote:

Ummm... I have talked myself into a hole. I'll have to go reference my car to see for sure. I'll try to grab a pic in the morning.

haha, alright. I'll be awaiting the picture.

I actually fixed some of the interior stuff today. I found the ashtray cover under the rear seat, along with a brand new headlight control switch complete in box. No Idea why that was there. It was like a treasure hunt.

I also fixed some of the center console. I'm not sure if it'll be completely fixed until I get it all back together. I'm definitely going to clean it up before putting it back together. The previous owner apparently smoked and had a short haired black dog. So as you can imagine it's fairly dirty. I managed to get the door to the ashtray and what used to be the cd changer surround to work properly and actually fit. Although there is still a hole where the cd changer used to fit.

Now all I really need for the center console is the rear trim piece that has the rear air vents. I also need the trim piece covering the black air vent and the right vane control tan trim piece. Other than that I was able to salvage most of it from the last owner's botched stereo install attempt.

GMFreak8 wrote:

deekster_caddy wrote:

Ummm... I have talked myself into a hole. I'll have to go reference my car to see for sure. I'll try to grab a pic in the morning.

haha, alright. I'll be awaiting the picture.

I actually fixed some of the interior stuff today. I found the ashtray cover under the rear seat, along with a brand new headlight control switch complete in box. No Idea why that was there. It was like a treasure hunt.

I also fixed some of the center console. I'm not sure if it'll be completely fixed until I get it all back together. I'm definitely going to clean it up before putting it back together. The previous owner apparently smoked and had a short haired black dog. So as you can imagine it's fairly dirty. I managed to get the door to the ashtray and what used to be the cd changer surround to work properly and actually fit. Although there is still a hole where the cd changer used to fit.

Now all I really need for the center console is the rear trim piece that has the rear air vents. I also need the trim piece covering the black air vent and the right vane control tan trim piece. Other than that I was able to salvage most of it from the last owner's botched stereo install attempt.

About the stuff under the rear seat - probably fell under while the PO was playing tonsil hockey with someone in the back seat... just kidding...

The '98s did not have a CD Changer in teh dash as standard, they had a CD storage contraption. When you call Ed Morad, ask for one. Same for those rear air vents. If the trip pieces are the wrong color you can usually get them repainted, paint with gray primer first then the interior color. If a GM bodyshop is near you maybe you can get them to do it when they are painting someone else's interior the same color (there are not that many interior colors).

Albertj

albertj wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

deekster_caddy wrote:

Ummm... I have talked myself into a hole. I'll have to go reference my car to see for sure. I'll try to grab a pic in the morning.

haha, alright. I'll be awaiting the picture.

I actually fixed some of the interior stuff today. I found the ashtray cover under the rear seat, along with a brand new headlight control switch complete in box. No Idea why that was there. It was like a treasure hunt.

I also fixed some of the center console. I'm not sure if it'll be completely fixed until I get it all back together. I'm definitely going to clean it up before putting it back together. The previous owner apparently smoked and had a short haired black dog. So as you can imagine it's fairly dirty. I managed to get the door to the ashtray and what used to be the cd changer surround to work properly and actually fit. Although there is still a hole where the cd changer used to fit.

Now all I really need for the center console is the rear trim piece that has the rear air vents. I also need the trim piece covering the black air vent and the right vane control tan trim piece. Other than that I was able to salvage most of it from the last owner's botched stereo install attempt.

About the stuff under the rear seat - probably fell under while the PO was playing tonsil hockey with someone in the back seat... just kidding...

The '98s did not have a CD Changer in teh dash as standard, they had a CD storage contraption. When you call Ed Morad, ask for one. Same for those rear air vents. If the trip pieces are the wrong color you can usually get them repainted, paint with gray primer first then the interior color. If a GM bodyshop is near you maybe you can get them to do it when they are painting someone else's interior the same color (there are not that many interior colors).

Albertj

There is actually a whip behind the ashtray cover for what I assume to be a CD Changer. Possibly was ordered as an option. I think I may see what I can come up with for an equalizer mount where the cd changer was at one point. I'm an audiophile at heart, so an equalizer would make a perfect fill in for the missing cd holder. Ed emailed me back and I sent a reply asking about the rear console trim piece. We'll see what he has to say. Another guy I talked to is also looking for some parts and has found some for me already. It's not nearly as bad as I thought when I first began. Major thing now is the dash and getting that back together. Oh yeah, and the little issue I caused with the gauges and HVAC controls when I was trying to reprogram a remote....