Rebuild console

[67stingray]

What are the mechanics on installing the repair kit on a midyear console. Want to make sure I know what to do before digging in. Thanks if anybody knows. Don

[stepinwolf]

Originally Posted by 67stingray

What are the mechanics on installing the repair kit on a midyear console. Want to make sure I know what to do before digging in. Thanks if anybody knows. Don

The biggest pain in the ass is removing the it. Once on the work bench, all you need to do is pop a few rivet heads, clean everything up, and re-assemble it with a total of one ( 1 ) screw. Not exactly the toughest thing you will tackle on your Corvette.

Stepinwolf

[67stingray]

Originally Posted by stepinwolf

The biggest pain in the ass is removing the it. Once on the work bench, all you need to do is pop a few rivet heads, clean everything up, and re-assemble it with a total of one ( 1 ) screw. Not exactly the toughest thing you will tackle on your Corvette.

Stepinwolf

I completly dismanteled this car and built it but never knew how to change that plate with shift pattern. Yeah I remember wrestling the console when I did the R&R. I guess on a "nothing better to do day" I will get into it. Its not in that bad of shape, just needs to be nicer. Thanks for note. Don

[stepinwolf]

Originally Posted by 67stingray

I completly dismanteled this car and built it but never knew how to change that plate with shift pattern. Yeah I remember wrestling the console when I did the R&R. I guess on a "nothing better to do day" I will get into it. Its not in that bad of shape, just needs to be nicer. Thanks for note. Don

The shift panel just peels off, it's was glued on originally

Stepinwolf

[alps66]

I did mine a couple of weeks ago. With the console removed, I used a heat gun on the underside to loosen the adhesive. I then lifted the shift pattern and the shift surround with a razor blade and a scrap of thin sheet metal. Be careful when you buy the repair kit if you're going for an original look. I got mine from Corvette America and the numbers on the shift pattern looked nothing like the originals. In addition the brushed finish wasn't even close. I ended up salvaging my original shift pattern and refinishing the new surround to make it look correct. What a bunch of unnecessary work. Good luck!
Jeff

[67stingray]

Originally Posted by alps66

I did mine a couple of weeks ago. With the console removed, I used a heat gun on the underside to loosen the adhesive. I then lifted the shift pattern and the shift surround with a razor blade and a scrap of thin sheet metal. Be careful when you buy the repair kit if you're going for an original look. I got mine from Corvette America and the numbers on the shift pattern looked nothing like the originals. In addition the brushed finish wasn't even close. I ended up salvaging my original shift pattern and refinishing the new surround to make it look correct. What a bunch of unnecessary work. Good luck!
Jeff

Jeff

I was concerned about that issue of being correct looking. There is no way I would subject myself to that effort with those results. Your experience is why I will wait till something better is available. I'll bet you were P..... off. Did you send it back to Corvette America or eat it? I thought it would be obvious to a company that markets parts for these cars that originality,or close to it is most important . Did Corvette America move to India also ? That would explan it.


Don

[paul67]

The lettering is different/larger but I must admit that I did not notice it until I read a thread on this subject elsewhere.

[67stingray]

Good pics. Looks close to me. Need to see close up of a manual kit, Thanks
Don

[alps66]

Originally Posted by 67stingray

Jeff
I was concerned about that issue of being correct looking. There is no way I would subject myself to that effort with those results. Your experience is why I will wait till something better is available. I'll bet you were P..... off. Did you send it back to Corvette America or eat it? I thought it would be obvious to a company that markets parts for these cars that originality,or close to it is most important . Did Corvette America move to India also ? That would explan it.
Don

Don,
Not knowing whether anyone out there had any acceptable console or glove box door repair kits, I decided to keep the ones I got (albeit, with great disappointment...) and refinish them myself to the correct luster. I practiced on some sheet aluminum before I attacked the 'good' ones. I started with 180 sandpaper and finished with to 400. I then progressed down to 0000 steel wool. I coated the glove box door with several (around eight) thin coats of Krylon clear then buffed that down with steel wool until I was satisfied. It's not exact, but it's a whole lot closer than the repops.

Here are some photos of the console pieces from my '66 manual.

Boot surround. Note the difference in the luster (I have not yet refinished the repro on left). Also some minor dimensional differences on the thin areas.


Shift pattern. The numbers are noticeably different and the repro (left) is shorter by a 64th or so. I refinished the original (right), but haven't clear coated it yet. It had one scratch that I was able to buff out without affecting the recessed numbers. If I hadn't been able to do that, everything would have gone back as I couldn't do anything about the inaccurate numbers.


Ash tray cover. The one on the left is as I received it from CA. I still need to polish it out.


Good luck with whatever you decide!
Jeff

[67stingray]

Jeff,
This is a great comparison and answers my questions on redoing or not. I hope others will see this as it leaves little to question. Not sure if I am as tolarant as you is this endeavor. My problem is small dings that would have to be taped out from back side if at all possible Getting it right would probably be tough.
Is the Krylon durable enough or may it chip or flake. Thanks Don

[alps66]

Originally Posted by 67stingray

Jeff,

Is the Krylon durable enough or may it chip or flake.

Don,
Good point. Guess I'll find out on the glove box. The thin coats should hold up, but who knows? Maybe I shouldn't clear coat the boot surround or the shift pattern. On the other hand, the buffed clearcoat on the glovebox panel helped me achieve the 'look.' At least I didn't glue it in place, so I should be able to remove it pretty easily if I ever have to deal with this again. And if I do, I'll hand pick a nice sheet of aluminum and make my own.
Cheers!
Jeff

[Ron Miller]

Originally Posted by 67stingray

Good pics. Looks close to me. Need to see close up of a manual kit, Thanks
Don

Not even close!! Here's a pic of the one Paul is referring to in his post. It's one I bought about 20 years ago, was so far off I refused to put it in, put it on the shelf. Probably looks good enough for anybody not familiar with how the originals looked, but anybody familiar with these old cars knows immediately it's not correct. Can't speak to the 4-speed, however, but I suspect they suffer from the same affliction.

[67stingray]

Wow! not even close. Again, I can't understand why going thru all the effort of material and jigging that it would be so far off. Is there patent or copywrite on the letters or stamps ?? Don

[alps66]

I was thumbing through the Paragon catalog and it appears as though the numerals on their manual shift pattern are accurate. Those for the automatic, on the other hand, are too thick and look like Ron's example. And then there's the issue of the accuracy of the finish. Who knows what that looks like... Ask lots of questions if you plan on ordering.
See p116 on their website for details.
http://www.corvette-paragon.com/members/downloads/v31-c2.pdf

Cheers
Jeff

[Ron Miller]

Originally Posted by alps66

I was thumbing through the Paragon catalog and it appears as though the numerals on their manual shift pattern are accurate. Those for the automatic, on the other hand, are too thick and look like Ron's example. And then there's the issue of the accuracy of the finish. Who knows what that looks like... Ask lots of questions if you plan on ordering.
See p116 on their website for details.
http://www.corvette-paragon.com/members/downloads/v31-c2.pdf

Cheers
Jeff

The 4-speed on Paragon's site does look relatively close, hard to tell exactly from the photo. The "4" could be closed a little more than the original, but again, hard to tell from the scale shown. The auto is way off, it's obvious. And as you say, there's still the issue of the finish . . . .