I know all three years have basically the same interior but i hane heard that the 94 and 95 models have a different kind of plastic. A plastic which wont get scraped or peel as easily. I know in my 93's interior you can run your fingernail across the black plastic and it will leave a scrape. Is it possible to switch out all those black plastic pieces with the newer model kind? THink it would be worth it?? THanks for your time.


-Jeff

 

the plastic on the 95-95 is bumpy if i remember correctly. i personally like the 93 interior better but it does scratch easily

 

I wouldn't see a problem with trading out the interior panels....but why change it out exactly.

 

If you're serious about changing your interior, I've got a 94 with near perfect interior, and might be willing to trade with you if your interior is in decent shape. I prefer the 93 interior due to the smooth texture, and plan to do a swap (piece by piece if necessary) at some point in the future. Let me know if you're interested.

Patrick

 

All FDs have a matt finish coating on the interior plastic panels in the earlier (93) cars it was very thin and scratched off very easily. in 94 the changed the coating to make it more durable( But it still was prone to scratching) and later still (94<>95) it was changed again to a much thicker coating that has a noticable "Bumpy" or "Grained" texture.
The only reason to replace the panels is to get the textured finish otherwise just strip the old panels and paint them.

 

the only reason i want to swap out the interior is because i would prefer a bumpy texture to a smooth but scratched up interior. I was just wondering if it would be worth it and possible. could you buy the parts from Mazda?

 

yes, you can buy the 94+ interior pieces from mazda. the h/v/a/c and shifter panels are around $80 each but the gauge cluster cover is somewhere just under $300 i think. i think the interior door plastic pieces are quite expensive as well. it will be cheaper to just refinish them, which is what i did. i had my interior panels repainted with autobody paint and it's held up very well.

 

Potatobbq
What Band and Color paint did you use - It looks real close to what I have in mind or my fd.

 

Potatobbq, please let me know which autobody shop u took urs to. thank you

i'm in so cal also

 

maxpesce:

To be honest, I'm not even sure what exact color the body shop used... I originally tried to paint the panels myself using Tamiya Gun Metal (TS-38) spray paint but the paint didn't really hold up very well so I took it to the body shop and told them to match that color and spray it with clear coat.


legendr35:

I had it done at Laguna Auto Collision in Laguna Hills for $200, but I think they could have done a better job... I had to bring the passenger interior door handle back because of some imperfections. Any decent body shop should be able to do it though.


If either of you guys need help taking the interior apart, suggestions, etc. I'm potatoBBQ on aol im.

 

potatobbq your panels are sweet. I may get into doing something similar once my body work is done.

 

thanks, it was quite the pain in the *** to take it all apart the first time but i've gotten pretty good at it... fortunately ( heh, or unfortunately ). lemme know if i can be of any help if u decide you want to do it.

 

Wow, the panels look awesome! How long does it take to get all of the dash peices off?

 

the first time i took them apart, i would just say "several" hours... the gauge cluster is definately the hardest part; everything else is fairly straight forward, it's just a matter of finding all the screws and clips. if i had to guess, i'd say 3 hours the first time where i was being extremely careful, but now i could probably do it all in 1 hour since i know where all the screws and clips are.

 

SanJoRX7,
I am definitely interested in swapping interior pieces with you. I already Pm'd you. Just PM me back about it or email me at jeff104665@aol.com -Jeff