How to Remove the C6 Corvette Shift Knob and Install the Southern Car Parts Shift Knob
The C6 Corvette Shift knob is kinda tricky to remove. Unlike most Shift Knobs, they simply unscrew. The Corvette C6 Shift knob comes off a little different, but once you know how to do it, it is really simple. See below for a quick and easy way to replace your shifter knob.
Tools Needed
T20 torx driver needed (2005-2007 and 2009)
Phillips Screwdriver (2008)
3mm hex key
Loctite (optional)
See Below IF YOUR SHIFTER BOOT HAS A CHROME RING
AT THE TOP (GENERLY 2008 AND UP)
Remove the OEM as shown below (if your boot has a chrome ring see below)
Install your new shift knob, give it a few hard twists while putting downward
pressure to seat the knob. This knob has a precision fit, it's critical to be sure
the knob hole is in alignment with the screw hole in the shifter or you may strip
the threads. The OEM screw has a starter stud in the front to help align the
screw. If you meet resistance installing the screw check alignment and try again.
Reinstall the OEM screw using loctite if you have it. Tighten firmly using a ΒΌ
ratchet if you have an adapter or as tight as you can if using a universal driver
handle. Slip the boot over the retainer ring working one side up and then the
other, you may have to twist the boot over the ring or use some Windex as a
lube.
2008 and up shift knob removal and installation
Remove the OEM knob by grasping the chrome ring and rotate it COUNTER CLOCK WISE until the ring drops down and exposes the screw
on the driver's side. Depending on the yr, you will either have a phillips or torx head screw. People have had problems removing the phillips
screw and most likely that is why GM switched to torx which is much less likely to have problems. To successfully remove the phillips, I
suggest the following. Use the best #2 phillips screw driver you have (do not use a power driver). Remove the screw when the car is hot
(after a good drive). Have someone hold the OEM knob and apply force from the passenger side as you apply pressure on the driver and
remove the screw.
Once you are happy with the ring fit, install the new bolt into the knob (loctite optional) making sure you are aligned with
the hole. Do not force the bolt in or you might strip the shifter. Using a 3mm hex key, make the bolt tight. the fit between the bolt and the ring
is very close and you must have the chrome ring positioned so the little tabs are facing front and back at the 12 and 6 positions. This will
give you the most clearance to install the bolt. Reinstall the chrome ring when you are done.
Corvette C6 DSVette Leather Sunvisor Installation
Down South Vettes Leather Sun Visor Installation
Instructions.
Adding a Down South Vette's Leather Sunvisor is a great way to upgrade the interior of your Corvette C6.
Difficulty: 3 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 30 minutes.
The tools used are:
A medium blade screw driver
A small flashlight may help get a better look at the work location as you start.
Let's get a look at the project. If you have a coupe, you may want to remove the roof. If
you have a convertible you may want to lower the top. This will both make maneuvering
the visor assembly easier but it will also provide you with better lighting in the cockpit for
your task.
Here are a few side by side comparison photos of the new Down South Vettes visor and how
it compares to the OEM unit you will be replacing.
The DSV unit starts with an OEM core and removes the fabric treatment and replaces it with
the same
The Down South Vette unit starts with an OEM core and removes the fabric treatment and replaces it with
the same high quality leather used in each of the other interior parts
The leather treatment to the sun visor will add a little bit of thickness to the unit.
Start the installation by tipping the sun visor down towards the windshield as if you were
trying to block out the sun while driving.
Next, unhook the sun visor from the latch up on the windshield frame. Once you have done
this it may be a good time to grab your flashlight and take a look at the steps that you will
be doing next. In the picture below you will see the screwdriver placed near the slot that
you will use to release the sun visor from the pillar.
To describe the task, you need to place your screw driver up in to this slot as shown here
Now, while pressing your screwdriver up in to this slot you need to press firmly with your
left hand and using your right hand, rotate the entire sun visor assembly counter-clockwise
(counter-clockwise for the driver side, clockwise for the passenger side) back towards you
as if you were moving the lowered sun visor from the windshield to the side window. It
should only take about a quarter of a revolution of the bezel as pictured above. This
quarter turn will translate to about 45 degrees of the sun visor relative to the windshie ld. If
the windshield is 0 degrees and the side window is 90 you should end up about halfway in
between. You will feel it when it unlocks. You will see that the bezel is no longer seated
against the roof. It will look like this:
Once the bezel and the assembly are unlocked from the car you will need to pull down on
the sun visor arm to remove it from the hole. You may need to work it back a forth slightly
to free it from the car. Don't pull down too hard. Firm is fine but be prepared for it to come
loose. Now that it is loose from the car you still have the connector assembly to contend
with. You may need to reach up inside the opening to free the connector. The connector
looks like this:
To disconnect the connector you will need your screwdriver again to free the clip from the
detent on the mating connector. You can see the slot for the detent pictured below. Insert
the screwdriver in the top righthand corner and gently pry forward until the clip is above the
height of the small tab. This will allow you to pull on the connector and free the visor.
Once you have the connector disconnected it should still have the bezel attached and look
like this:
Now you need to remove the bezel from the visor assembly. If you look down at the
connector end and bezel you will notice three locking tabs on the bezel that hold it on the
visor assembly.
Using one hand to hold the visor assembly near the arm, with your other hand you need to
pull out on the three tabs to free them from the locked position on the visor assembly.
Once the bezel is unlocked it will float freely on the visor arm.
To remove, align the triangle on the bezel with the triangle on the visor arm and you can
slide the bezel up and off the visor assembly. Now just free the connector from the bezel.
Pick up the new Down South Vettes visor and take note of the shape of the locking
mechanism at the connector end. You will notice three distinct shapes to the corners of the
connector triangle.
Each corner has a different radius and will match up with a radius on the bezel as pictured
here:
Match the shape on the bezel with the same size shape on the visor assembly and slide the
bezel over the connector and down onto the visor assembly. When you first slide it on it will
look like this:
While looking from the top down as pictured above, rotate the bezel clockwise and you will
feel it lock in to place on the visor assembly. Once locked it will look like this:
With one tab of the bezel now aligned with each tab of the visor assembly. You should also
notice that the base of the bezel as viewed from the side is now flush with base of the visor
connector mount. You are now ready to put your new visor back in the car.
Grab your screw driver as you will need to reverse the steps you took to get the visor out of
the car. Place the visor up on end in your lap and re-connect the visor electrical plug:
You now need to tuck the connector back up into the frame. Tuck it up in towards the
rearview mirror side.
It's time to push the visor assembly and bezel back up in to the frame. There is only one
way for it to go back up into the car. You may need to work it a little bit to find the location
but try to remember the angle at which the visor was at when you removed it. Once you
find the slot for the latch to go into, slide it up and press it firmly in place. You will need to
hold it in place and reach for your screw driver. It should look about like this:
All that's left to do is latch the assembly back in to place. You will need to use your
screwdriver and place it back in the slot like you did to remove it. This time, place the
screw driver to the right side of the visor arm (This is for the drivers side. In either case,
place it into the slot and have the shaft of the screwdriver on the rearview mirror side of the
visor arm.) While pressing up firmly on the screwdriver rotate the visor and bezel assembly
from the arm pressing against the screwdriver blade and this will cause the bezel to rotate
and latch into place on the car. Congratulations, you've just installed your new visors.
Corvette C6 Leather Console Cover Replacement
Another Modification for your C6 Corvette that takes 15 minutes and really makes the interior look like an exotic sports car.
You can find leather Corvette console covers all over the internet, but we are partial to the Down South Vette's leather console cover.
The quality is impeccable and the extra cushioning they put in it really makes a difference.
Difficulty: 1 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 5 minutes.
The tools used are:
A T15 Torx driver to take off the console cover screws.
A flashlight may help get a better look at the screw location as you start.
We are ready to install a Down South Vettes leather console cover.
The OEM cover to replace:
Open the cover to reveal the four T15 Torx screws that hold the cover in place
Remove the four Torx screws and then remove the console cover. Take caution as
you remove the last screw. The console cover can fall off and you don't want to
damage your cover or interior at this point. Remove the last screw with your left
hand while holding the top center of the cover with your right hand.
Here are the two covers side by side:
And a close up to get a look at the added padding in the DSVettes cover:
You simply need to reverse the process now to install the new DSVettes cover in
place of the old OEM cover.
Seated in the driver's seat, hold the cover in place with your right hand and with one
of the screws in your left hand. Find the threaded hole and start the first screw.
Once the threads start, take out your driver with the Torx T15 insert and tighten the
screw most of the way. While still holding the cover, start one of the remaining four
screws with your left hand. When both of these are in tight, you can release your grip
on the console cover. Insert and tighten the remaining two screws and sit back and
enjoy your new console cover.
Once complete it will look like this:
Corvette C6 Leather Shift Boot Installation
The interior of the Corvette C6 is pretty top quality BUT you can make a few upgrades that will really set it apart from the crowd. A favorite is replacing the fake leather components used on the console lid, shift knob, shift boot, etc....with real leather pieces. This in the installation of the Down South Vette Leather Shift boot on a Corvette C6. Maybe a 30 min project, BUT it reaps beautiful results!
Difficulty: 2 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 30 minutes.
The tools used are:
A small blade screw driver to open the tabs that hold the ring into the console.
A T25 Torx driver to take off the shift knob
A flashlight to get a better look at where the tabs are located
Flat tweezers to reseat the new boot around the base of the shift knob
Common desktop stapler to reattach the new boot to the trim ring.
The original OEM shift boot to replace.
The shift knob comes off with a T25 torx screw. Just pull down the top of the old boot to expose
it.
Using your screw driver you will need to pry back the five tabs that hold the trim ring into the
console. These are located at roughly 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 5 o'clock, 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock.
Here is what the assembly looks like out of the car.
A side view.
The console location where the shift boot just came from.
Use your small blade screwdriver to pry up the staples. It is best to put the staple under the
boot and pry each side up and off the trim ring. Do this all the way around until all of the
staples are free.
Orient the new boot so that the notches in the leather line up with the tabs on the trim ring.
You want to make sure that your seams are in the center at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. Once you
are happy with your placement, start using your stapler to attach the new leather boot to the
trim ring. Start at 12 o'clock and work around the ring keeping an eye on your seams. Don't
worry, if you miss a staple or aren't happy with the placement, you can simply pry it out and
try again. You'll need to press firmly and slowly with the stapler to make sure the staple goes
in straight and reaches the trim ring through the leather. When you are done it should look
something like this.
The new boot mounted and ready to be installed.
Now comes the hardest part. Putting the trim ring and the new boot back into the console. It
is best to start with the bottom of the trim ring and get it seated in the console location. You
will literally need to work your way around clockwise, deforming the ring towards the shift lever
and pressing down to seat it into the console. Keep an eye the leather to make sure that it is
not bunching up around the outside at any one location. Keeping working around and pressing
down until you can fully seat the ring and feel the five tabs return to their original positions
flush with the console locations. Gently pull up on the leather to make sure it looks even
around the console edge.
Once you have the trim ring back in place in the console you will need to replace the shift knob.
To do this you will need to compress the leather boot quite a bit more than you did with the
OEM part as the new boot is a bit thicker. Place the knob on top of the shifter. Compress the
boot with your right hand and try to insert the torx screw back into the hole with your left hand.
The next step is to get the boot seated around the base of shift knob. Using your tweezers in
between the boot and the lip at the base of the knob, slide the boot up the tweezers and get it
over the lip on the base of the knob, now rotate the boot counterclockwise and leave the
tweezers in between use this as a slide to get the boot around the base. Once you are about
halfway around you can take out the tweezers and just keep working the boot up and rotating
counterclockwise. This twisting motion will allow the boot to seat on the lip. Once the boot is
seated, twist to align the seams to center
The finished product back in the car and ready to go.
Down South Vette Corvette C6 Emergency Brake Handle Installation
Difficulty: 3 out of 5.
Time: Plan on about 20 minutes.
The tools used are:
A small blade screw driver or flat tweezers to reseat the new boot around
the base of the e-brake handle.
T15 Torx driver to take off the console cover.
Phillips head screwdriver to remove the e-brake handle.
flashlight may help get a better look at the screw location as you start.
The original OEM boot and handle to replace.
The first step will be to remove the center console cover so you have access to
the screw that holds on the e-brake handle. Open the center console to expose 4
T15 Torx screws. Now, remove the center console cover.
Once the center console cover is off, pull down the e-brake boot to reveal a
Phillips head screw which holds the e-brake handle in place.
Once you remove the Phillips head screw, the only thing holding the handle in
place at this point is the brake release button at the top. The button is held in
place with a friction fit and a detent in a notch. To remove (easiest from the
passenger side), grip the OEM handle firmly and pull (slide) the handle off which
will "pop" the brake release button off the top of the handle. You can now slide
the handle off with ease.
Now that the handle is off you need to remove the OEM brake boot. Take a
minute to examine the new Down South Vettes boot. This will give you a better
understanding of the four attachment points on the OEM boot.
The boot is held in place by two press to fit clips on the driver's side and two
angled clamps on the passenger side. Start at the front and lift up and towards
the windshield and the front two clamps will come out. The rear clamps are a
little harder to get. Next pull up near the rear press fit on the driver's side. Last,
pull the boot up over the handle to get the metal frame underneath back to level
and work to pull up and forward to unseat the last clamp. Once this is complete
the boot will lift off of the brake handle.
Take the new Down South Vettes brake boot and place it over the top of the
handle set at a convenient angle. Through a combination of movements the
object is to get the frame and leather boot over the handle and back to level so
that you can press it into the four retaining points on the console. Snap
everything firmly into place.
Now we need to get the handle back on. Your new shift boot is considerably
thicker than the OEM boot and as such it is difficult to screw the handle back into
place. Move back to the drivers side of the car and get the handle, the Phillips
head screw and your screw driver ready in the open console.
Using your right hand, compress the boot as far down as you can and see if you
can get a clear view of the hole on the side where the screw needs to go. You
may need to twist and maneuver the boot a bit to get it compressed enough to
allow the screw to be reinserted. This will take some effort but it will go. Once
you are comfortable that you can compress the boot, hold the boot down and
place the handle back on the arm. Now use the handle to hold the boot down in
place with your right hand and try to start the screw with your left. Once you
get it started, use the screw driver and tighten screw to a stop. Be careful not to
drop the screw into the boot as you will need to remove the boot to retrieve it
and start over again. Once the handle is screwed back in place press fit the
silver brake button over the black cap and down into the hole on the emergency
brake handle. Press it down well and it will snap back into place.
Now it is time to get the boot reseated on the base of the handle. Using both
hands work the boot around the base starting in the back (or top) as pictured
below. Once the boot is started you can twist counter clockwise while pressing
the boot up into place. This will allow the boot to seat the rest of the way
around the base of the handle.
Now all that's left is to put the console cover back on using the four T15 Torx
screws, sit back and enjoy the look of your new leather.
DSVette Corvette Leather Interior Installation
Down South Vettes Custom leather interior
Would you like to really spruce up the interior of your Corvette C6? The Down South Vette leather interior is one of those Corvette Parts that you cannot resist!! This article will show you how to completely tear down the center stack and install the Down South Vette Console Lid, DSVette Shift Boot, DSVette Brake Handle, Ebrake boot, Down South Vette radio bezel, and the DSVette Center console base. The installation is on an Automatic transmission.
Before picture. Completely stock Corvette C6 interior.
After picture.
All of the parts going on in this batch. Center console base, console lid, center dash, shift knob, shift boot, brake knob, and brake boot.
I cut this piece of foam drawer liner to line the center console with.
In this picture you can see the shift knob is removed. To remove put the car in neutral, set parking brake, and turn off car. Then you twist the plastic ring shown in the picture (ring at top of the leather boot). Twist it clockwise from about 12 to 2 position. Now pull up on the shift knob and at the same time pull down on the ring. I'd same more pulling up on the knob than anything. It should pop off and you are left with the above picture.
Remove console cover. 4 Torx screws.
Remove brake knob. Phillips screw show here. Just slide the boot down and out of the way.
Now that the screw is removed just pull off the knob. To remove the brake boot just pull it off. There are 2 pressure pins and 2 notched pins.
Brake knob and boot removed.
Remove these two hex head screws.
The center dash peice is all pressure fit. It will pull back easily, start at the bottom and work your way to the top. Don't pull too far, there are a lot of cables attached. There are a ton of things to unplug so I'll attempt to point them out. This is drivers side heated seat. I'm going to show all of the wire plugs, it might help to see them when you are feeling around behind the bezel to unplug them.
This is passenger side heated seat. Just squeeze the bottom middle and it pops out.
Ash try cigarette lighter.
Emergency flasher button.
Center console cigarette lighter plug.
Traction control button.
Here is a picture with everything out.
The boot needs the shift ring taken out by cutting the zip tie. The plastic ring around the shift position indicator is glued in so it needs the leather pulled away.
The leather boot is cut for the position indicator, but I think it really needs glued in.
Here is the boot with the plastic position indicator glued in. I glued it back in similar to how the factory boot was glued into it. I used some leather/fabric glue. You apply to the leather and plastic, wait a few minutes, and then both are tacky.
The center ring just slips right into the new boot. It's a pressure fit.
The position indicator ring snaps back in, the boot slips over the entire shifter base, the center ring slips back on, with light pressure push the shift knob back on, turn the center ring from 2 counter clockwise back to 12. You can see the shift position indicator is just sitting on; with some light pressure it will go back into place.
I hate to say put everything back together in reverse, but that is what you do. Put the console base on first (if you took it off to install a new one). Then snap the radio bezel back in place starting at the top. You'll probably have some trouble on the passenger side. It's all a tight fit because the new leather is a thicker product than the factory stuff. The brake boot goes on next, then the brake handle, and finally console cover.
Corvette C5 Hatch Mechanism Repair
I have a 99 Coupe with the two hatch mechanisms (things that pop the rear hatch) So I don't know if this will work with newer vette that just have the one. My driver side mechanism would make an awful squeal/screech when I used it and eventually stopped working all together (would make the noise but not release the hatch. So I bought two (left and right) used ones off the forum.
The whole thing took me less than 30 minutes (mostly because I was taking pictures as I went) and on a scale of 1 to 10 1 being changing the oil and 10 being porting your own heads with a Dremmel and a prayer this is a 1.
You will need
1. New working Mechanism
2. 10MM socket and socket driver.
3. Screwdriver (Phillips or flathead doesn't matter)
Step one: use the manual release cable to get your hatch open (I had attached a piece of rope to mine and ran it to behind the driver seat)
Step 2: Remove the little black piece that you connect the cargo net to. You may also need to remove the cover for the little Cargo bin on that side, I removed mine to get to the socket set I keep in my car I have never tried it with it on so not sure if it is a must. 
Now the entire panel was more or less held on by that plastic piece. Make sure to pop the little deal the holds the targa in place in the rear of the car forward. So working from the top pop the panel out making sure to get it clear of that little thing that hold the Targa in.
Note: It has a light on it so don't try to remove it completely just pop it out and let it lean forward.
Step 3: Disconnect the two Electrical connectors that power the unit. If you have ever worked on a Corvette before you will notice GM doesn't use the same type of connector in close proximity here is no exception so it is basically idiot proof to get them Re-Connected. On the bottom where the yellow and black wire lead to a connector It is head in place by a gray clip, Just slide the connector of the clip (in my case towards the outside of the car but it is on a swivel so yours might be different) 
Once you have the lower of the two connectors free frame the mechanism frame Disconnect the, The lower one you'll need to pull up on the Tab On the upper connector which is actually part of the drive motor you'll use the screw driver to push in the tab and pull out the male end of the connector. 
Step 4: Using the 10MM Socket and driver remove the three Bolts that hold the Mechanism to the frame. Make sure to keep a hand on the mechanisms once these three bolts are off there is nothing holding it in place.
Bolt the New working Mechanism on, replace the bolts, replace the connectors, then hit the hatch open button you should hear a slight noise coming from both sides. Put the Panel back on and eyeball the alignment, it should be pretty dead on the Three bolts once secured don't have much room to move around. If everything looks good Re secure the panel, close your hatch and see if it opens.
As with any DIY your mileage may vary. It took me ten minutes of head scratching and 20 minutes of labor to do mine it really is a simple job. I probably could have taken more pictures but I think it should be pretty clear what you need to do just from looking at it. I had a bit of a hangup disconnecting the wires but luckily the spare I bought off the forum had the wiring still connected so I figured that out on my own.