If you go to an aftermarket floor shifter it will come with a cable style linkage and you would just eliminate the column linkage..at least that's what I did. I didn't wanna she'll out the $$$$ for a floor shift column so I just whacked the linkage nub off the column, ground down the nub where the shifter was on the column, filled and smoothed it, scuffed and painted. Now it looks like a floor shift column......the only issue is if the bell part on the column moves clockwise the car won't start because it "thinks" the selector is in reverse, drive, etc. I just always checked it by spinning it counterclockwise to ensure the column was in the "park" selection and basically fool the safety switch.
Ok. If I may chime in? First off, I had a column shifted cutlass that I converted to floor shift(auto) and I kept the stock linkage in place so the column will turn with the movement of the floor shifter and you can retain your neutral safety and reverse light electrical without any wiring mods. Problem is when you shift, you will see the column move. I had a 78' Camaro that was floor shift(obviously) and the column rotated when you selected a gear. So I didn't mind on either car. About the seats, that pillow top is separate from the inner cushions (brougham?) so once you remove your upholstery, you should have cushions that mount to the factory frame. If you have the coin, find a local upholstery shop or a small place that will fit covers for you. When I redid the seats in my 56' chevy, I had a local woman here that did chairs for the Hershey hotel and was doing hot rods on the side. She did my front seats that were from an 04' Buick and the rear seat (factory) and my console for $300. So look around, and you may find somebody who likes to work and doesn't necessarily need the money. I got lucky in my opinion.
Here ya go man, I personally think the white letter tires look better on our cars with the rally wheels. When I bought mine back in 2001 it had whitewall, just looked a little "old" for me. Personal preference that's all.
A buddy of mine back in hs had an 80' cutlass with a chevy 355, turbo 400 short tail and 3:73 gears. He wore the original rallye wheels and white wall tires and also ran a sneaky Pete nitrous kit. This car looked so sleeper and would stomp 3/4's of what was on the street. You would take one look at that car and think,"yeah right." It's all about the overall look. I personally do not like white wall or raised letter but that's just me. The white lettering actually does look good on those cars though.
Thats the way a sleeper should be lol! Roll up with granny whitewall (just kidding, they fit the bill on some cars) and bust some tail. Those bfg's on my pic are old, cracked, and worn out....just using them until my resto gets done. I swapped to 15" centerline years ago and have normal blackwalls which just look cleaner...and sold them off to my brother earlier this year for his s10 so I could get bigger wheels. Now just need tires but not sure if I want to change the color on my wheels before I mount rubber which will have aggressive treads.
