Welcome To 101 Corvette Projects

Welcome to my collection of Corvette C5, C6 and Z06 Projects. The whole purpose of this blog is to accumulate 101 DIY Corvette projects that the average shade tree mechanic can complete in their garage. Some projects were personally performed by myself while others where donated by other Corvette enthusiasts.

If you have documented a Corvette project and would like to share it with the Corvette community, please shoot me an email or post here with your project information. I would love to post it on the site for you.

Thanks,

Jim

jevose@bellsouth.net

Corvette C5 Headlight Gear Rebuild

Parts needed:

brass gear kit
10mm socket
13mm socket
1/4 drive ratchet
magnetic pick-up tool
phillips screwdriver

You also need a brass gear kit (you can get this from Rodney Dickman) at www.rodneydickman.com (yes I know he sells Fiero parts…trust me he sells the gears for the C5 headlights also) you can order online or call him. he is a super nice guy and ships the stuff Priority Mail..

Ok, lets get started. Turn the headlights on or manually crank up the bad light. If you turned the lights on you can unplug the bad light and turn the other light off so as not to kill the battery.

Remove the black plastic headlight surround, 3 Phillips head screws. Now look inside the opening and you will see there are basically 5 nuts/bolts that hold the assembly in place. the following pics show the locations.

After these bolts /nuts are removed lift the assembly out and you have this.

Turn the whole piece on its side and you will see the round cover which is secured with 3 little screws:

Remove these screws and take off the cover. You will probably see something that looks like this.

Make note of how you remove things and clean all that stuff out of there so it will look like this.

Now install the new gears and replace the cover.

Install is the reverse of removal. Plug everything back in and you should have this.

C5 Corvette LED Tailight Halo Mod

Parts needed:
- about 2′ of Small gauge wire (I used 24ga stranded thin)
- (4) 5-packs of 470 ohm .5 watt resistors ($4 at RadioShack)

Tools needed:
- Voltmeter
- Wire stripper
- Solder/solder gun
- Scissors
- Phillips head screwdriver
- black marker

Here’s the procedure for 1 light:

1. remove the light from the bumper
2. remove the rear panel from the light itself: remove the 4 phillips head screws and use scrape away the silicone seal from the panel on the back. NOTE: be gentle when removing the screws or you will damaged the plastic. Then slowly pry it loose with your hands (no extra leverage is necessary) It should look like this:

3. Cut the 2 white wires in the center as close to the circuit board as possible. One is positive and one is ground. To find out which is which, strip about 1/4″ off each, go back to the car and plug it back into the socket. Turn on the parking lights and use the voltmeter to identify the positive and ground. use the sharpie to label the ground wire.

4. You’ll see 4 wires going to the sides of the light: red, black, yellow and orange. each of the 4 LEDs gets its own pair of wires (there are 2 per side) Cut the wires on both sides as close to the circuit board as possible and strip 1/4″ insulation from them. The polarity is as follows:

red and orange are power wires
yellow and black are ground wires

twist the black and yellow ends together and solder. Install resistors on the ends of the orange and red wires. Use your 24ga wire to join the power wires on both sides and the ground wires for both sides. Then connect them to the main power/ground white wires you labeled earlier.

5. Make sure your connections are soldered and insulated with electrical tape then test. Make sure your socket is installed in the correct direction.

Created by Radio Flyer from the Corvette Forum

2010 Corvette Grand Sport: Wider, Sportier, Grander

Absent since the C4′s demise, the Corvette Grand Sport is back for 2010, this time sporting wider Z06 bodywork, larger brakes and the option of either a Coupe or Convertible. Another commemorative sticker package? Not-so-much.

We know what you’re probably thinking and to be perfectly honest, we were thinking it too. This is not another commemorative package, nor is it a sticker package, instead the 2010 Corvette Grand Sport is a bonafide performance package that will help to distinguish the different Corvette models even more so.

Chevrolet’s plan is to rid the lineup of the Z51 package Vettes, instead replacing it with a uniquely designed new Grand Sport model. Everything that you know and love about the Z51 will be here, but now, with the help of new Z06-derived bodywork you won’t be confused with those driving lesser base-model Vettes.

2010 Corvette Grand Sport Makes A Grand Return

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The 6.2-liter LS3 V8 remains, pumping out the same extremely capable 430 horsepower and 424 lb-ft or torque (436 horsepower and 428 lb-ft with the optional two-mode sport exhaust) and is easily manipulated to do your bidding through either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The Grand Sport’s calipers are distinguished by their silver with red lettering and the rotors have been enlarged to Z06-spec, 14-inch with six-piston calipers in front and 13.4-inch with four-piston grabbers in the rear. Also equipped are revised shock/spring settings and heavier duty stabilizer bars. The 2010 Grand Sport rides on unique 18-inch front and 19-inch rear wheels wrapped in sticky 275/35ZR18 and 325/30ZR19 tires, front and rear.

For those that opt to equip their Grand Sport with the six-speed manual transmission, Chevrolet will throw in a dry-sump oiling system, differential cooler and a rear-mounted battery. All-in-all, these improvements should net an enthusiastic 2010 Grand Sport driver with a 0.2-second improvement over the existing Z51-model.

The Grand Sport can be equipped in either Coupe or Convertible body styles, but regardless of which you choose, you’ll be rewarded with a wider Z06-style front fascia with a Z06 lower lip spoiler, the only thing missing is the scoop on the nose. Z06-width front fenders replace the stock Vette’s with a Grand Sport badge sitting atop dual vertical gills. The rear fenders have been replaced with Z06 units with functional brake cooling ducts. You can have your Grand Sport in any available Corvette color as well as all four different available trim levels (1LT, 2LT, 3LT and 4LT). A heritage package is also available, adding a pair of dual stripes on the front fenders in either silver or red. The interior features special Grand Sport embroidery on the seat head rests.

The 2010 Corvette Grand Sport is publicly being announced at the 12th annual C5/C6 Corvette Birthday Bash at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky this weekend. Pricing is yet to be announced, but expect it to be somewhere around current Z51-package pricing. We’ll take ours in Coupe-spec painted in Le Mans Blue (Okay fine, Jet Stream Blue) with the red stripes please.

Corvette C6 Automatic Shift Knob Removal

A6 Shift Knob Removal

I recently installed a leather A6 shift knob (and other leather pieces) from DownSouth Vettes and

thought I would post a few pictures to help anyone else trying to remove their shift knob. The

other interior parts are similar to the M6.

 

The A6 knob can be a bear to remove if it is not aligned perfectly with the retaining ring and they

are easily damaged. One of the leather venders on the Forum told me he did not sell A6 shift

knobs because too many were damaged during removal.

As most of you already know, Gerardo’s work is superb and well worth the effort needed for

installation!

I had previously downloaded GM’s instructions for removing the A6 shift knob and thought I

was good-to-go when the new shift knob arrived.

 

A6 Shift Knob Removal from GM:

Control Boot Tip

• To remove, grasp boot near shift knob, rotate boot clockwise from 12:00 to 1:00 position. Pull

boot down off shift knob.

• To install, push boot onto shift knob. Rotate boot counter-clockwise from 1:00 to 12:00

position in order to secure boot to shift knob.

2 Shift Control Knob

Tip Pull knob up off shift lever. Considerable effort may be required to remove knob from shift

control lever.

 

The engineer who designed the A6 assembly was called more than a few choice names as I tried

to follow the removal instruction and nothing budged. I realized later that the A6 shift knob is

not difficult to remove if you know how the knob and retaining ring fit together. GM’s

instructions just need a few little “details” added when you try this the first time.

GM’s instructions were confusing because the OEM shift boot is attached to the shift knob

retaining ring AND the retaining ring should be rotated but NOT pulled down with the shift boot

IMO (YMMV). The shift boot on my 2008 A6 was attached to the retaining ring with a nylon tie

wrap. Unfortunately, you can’t see any of this with the parts installed.

The following pictures shows how the shift knob is locked to the shifter shaft and how it can be

removed:

The first picture shows the top of the shift knob retaining ring (shift boot fits over this ring).

If you look carefully you can see the interior posts that align the ring and the channels that allow

the shift knob to be removed.

A close- up picture looking from the bottom of the ring shows the two tapered channels cut into

the interior of the retaining ring in more detail. These channels allow the A6 shift knob to be

removed when the ring is rotated to the 1:00 position. The deepest channel cut is at the bottom of

the retaining ring.

This picture shows deep indentations at the base of the retaining ring where the ends of the

shifter prongs lock when rotated to the 12:00 position.

The next picture shows the two prongs on the shift knob that lock into the bottom indentations of

the retaining ring when it is rotated to the 12:00 position. When the ring is rotated to the 1:00

position the prongs align with the channels and the channels provide clearance for the prongs to

be pushed outward as the shift knob is removed by pulling upward. If you pull down on the

retaining ring the ends of the prongs are pulled from the deepest cut of the tapered

channels to the shallower ramp and they will not be able to flex outward and will not

release properly.

You can see the quality of Gerardo’s work in this picture.

This picture shows what happens when you pull down on the shifter boot and retaining ring and

apply “considerable effort” while pulling up on the shift knob as mentioned in the GM

instructions.

Along with the channels, the retaining ring and shift knob have posts and grooves respectively

that provide alignment. You can see the groove on the shift knob for the retaining ring post that

allows the ring to be rotated from the 12:00 position to the 1:00 position.

 

With the ring rotated to the 1:00 position and NOT PULLED DOWN, the shift knob can be

removed by pulling up with reasonable force. You will be rewarded with the welcome sight of

no A6 shift knob! Please note that you see the retaining ring installed in the shift boot in this

picture only because I wanted to see how it fit into the new DownSouth boot before I installed

the new knob.

Again, you can see the quality of Gerardo’s shift boot in this picture.

Installation is easy if you push the retaining ring back onto the knob at the 1:00 position and push

both down onto the shifter shaft. Rotate the ring back into the 12:00 position to lock the knob

and replace the boot on the ring. Be careful! The shift knob will also lock on the shaft when

reversed (button to the rear). You won’t like that although it will still operate.

This will at least help you visualize the parts that need to be removed.

Installation completed. I will try to post a new picture that shows the quality of Gerardo’s work

better. He uses a heavy grade of leather as used by BMW and the quality and stitching are

excellent.

You can now call Gerardo to order your new seat covers.

I installed a Kenwood DNX-7100 the same time as I installed the leather parts and it has a great

navigation system by Garmin. The system shows weather conditions and traffic reports on the

navigation map and you can look up conditions for cities along your route (also plays XM,

DVDs with great resolution and gives stock quotes. )