I decided upgrade my shifter, shift boot and shift knob.  For the shifter I decided to go with a B&M 45044 precision sport shifter. The shift boot & knob are OEM two tone cobalt red & ebony.

First things first. If you decide to swap out your stock shifter here are the tools you’ll need:  3/8 &  7/16 hex head socket bits & T-25 torx bit. You’ll also need drivers for the hex and Torx bits as well as a pair of pliers. Optional but also recommend: some high density flame retardant foam and pair of scissors.

Shift knobs come and go. The stock shift knob has a great feel, but I felt like the throw was too long and didn’t particularly care for the color on the gear pictograph. I swapped to a ball knob last year -which has the effect of lowering the shift knob thus reducing the throw- and I liked that okay, but when I saw the red & black boot and shift knob I knew it was time to swap again. One one little issue: the new knob was for a 2008+ Vette and I have a 2007.

I have actually had a B&M short shifter for a year or so, I just never bothered to put it in since it wasn’t compatible with my ball knob. I had originally considered the B&M shifter and a Hurst shifter, but chose the B&M model because it seemed to have a better design (more closely resembling the stock Z06 shifter).

In any event, I was determined to get the OEM 2008 red & black knob onto my B&M shifter… B&M makes a 2008+ shifter model but no one was able to tell me if the shifter itself was compatible with my 2007 Vette (the transmission was changed on the 2008 Vette so it’s possible the shifters would be incompatible). I did the only thing I could think of- I bought the 2008 B&M shifter and swapped the shafts. Now I have a B&M shifter that I know will fit a 2007 Corvette and will take a 2008 shift knob (visually there did appear to be a slight difference between the two shifters).

Swapping out the shift boot is cake. It’s easiest if you remove the Corvette center console (which you have to do anyway to swap shifters). The leather boot is attached to a plastic ring with tabs. From underneath you just pop out the tabs from the console. Then pop in your new shift boot. Oh two tone shift boot, how did I live without you?

Swapping out shifters is also pretty painless. Once the console if off it should only take about 10 minutes. Just pull off the yellow rubber cover and unscrew the four bolts (3/8) and move aside the black rubber seal (your car isn’t going to have the wires coming out from the transmission- these are for my wideband). Next remove the 4 screws that hold down the stock shifter (3/8).

The stock shifter just pulls right out (put the car in neutral while you make the swap). You need to take the black plastic cap off the stock shifter (pliers) and then pop it on the B&M. Next bolt down (7/16) the B&M where the old shifter was (I left the stock gasket) and put your black seal back on. There are a number of other steps you might need to take if you’re working with a C5 Vette but they are documented in the instructions. Shift through your gears to make sure things are working okay. Since the B&M doesn’t seal quite as well as the stock shifter I used foam to make a sound dampener.

Make sure everything is nice and tight, shifts well and is put back together correctly. Then you can reassemble your console and admire your work [One side note that I didn’t document with any pics- the shifter screw included with the B&M kit is a T-25 and the head was so large I had to grind it down a ton get it to fit over the boot collar]. Personally I love how the new shift boot & knob match the seats and door handle wraps.

B&M 45044 precision sport shifter (Corvette) Review

Now that I’ve used the shifter for a few days I have to say that I’m pretty impressed. The shifts with the B&M are short and crisp. The shifter centers tightly making it much easier to get into third gear, as well. It takes a little more effort to move through the gears but the shorter throw makes up for this hands down. In fact, there’s almost something appealing about the extra force that’s required (especially when using an OEM shift knob). There’s no extra noise from the B&M and vibrations are about on par with my old stock shifter (in other words, very minimal). The stock Z06 shifter is very easy to move, but it always felt spongy and it was too easy to miss-shift. The B&M has and does everything I felt was missing and really makes the car more fun to drive. I would recommend the 45044 to anyone who’s considering it.

Posted by Cam, September 24, 2011

The other day I decided to really clean my car’s exterior. I gave it a quick wash and did a thorough inspection of the body to look for scratches, bonded containments and stains. There were actually quite a few, so I decided to make a quick pit stop at AutoZone. I generally use supplies from a company called Meguiar’s and overall I’m really pleased with their cleaning products (no one has paid me to say this- I wish!). Here’s what I used for my project:

1. Meguiar’s Smooth Surface Clay
2. Meguiar’s Quick Detailer spray
3. Meguiar’s Scratch X 

4. Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax
5. Lots of microfiber towels! You can use cotton terry cloth if you want too, but I don’t care for it personally.
The last picture in the sequence below is actually a reflection. I took the picture with my iPhone pointed and the car to show the finished results. Just for the sake of science I also took pictures in the reflection of my freshly waxed black truck (very little prep work and a different wax though).  No comparison; the rich glossiness of my Vette is unreal.

For the car wash I just go to the local Pay ‘n Spray (that’s not what it’s actually called) and I use their water & soap. I don’t feel like I need to spend big bucks to spray off the road dirt. After the rinse I toweled  off my car and got to work.

I scoured the car for light scratches, stains (bird poop is nasty stuff- it can leave residue that will not wash off), and scuffing. Scratch-X is perfect for this kind of light damage. Just put a bit on the affected spot and buff away.

After the Scratch-X I moved on to the clay. You need to make sure the area you’re working on is lightly lubricated. I sprayed on some Quick Detailer and then rubbed the clay over the misted areas. Clay is cool stuff- it will actually pull out any little particles that have bonded to your car (the stuff that washing won’t get rid of). People may not realize it, but the surface of your car should be perfectly smooth to the touch. If there are any tiny little bumps or any kind of grittiness to your finish the clay will remove them.

After the clay it was time to wax. I like to wax my car by hand and listed to music- I find it very therapeutic.  This was my first time using liquid wax and I thought it was pretty convenient and it applied easily. What I really like about Ultimate Liquid Wax is that it rubs on nearly clear (in other words, it didn’t leave that yellow goo in the cracks of my car). When I went to polish off the wax I got a shock- it took a lot of extra effort beyond what I’m used to. I had to buff it hard in order to get maximum consistency and gloss. Taking it off was more work than putting it on!

But the finished results were well worth it. Proper preparation is essential to achieve the best results.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen my car look this good. But now I have to detail the wheels, engine bay and interior! It must be love.

Posted by Cam, September 10, 2011

I have been meaning to make this post forever! When I was putting in my stereo I had to take out my center console about four times over the course of the installation. And then I had to take it out twice for the new clutch. During one of the removals I snapped some pictures. A  few of them turned out blurry so I’ll redo them next time remove the console (which might be this year- I have a few stereo tweaks that I want to do).

There are tons of reasons you may need to pull of your center console: Access to your stereo, climate controls, shifter, internal wiring, etc. If you want to try it yourself  just follow the instructions below (these are specifically for the C6 Z06 but should also work for coupes and convertibles). You’ll need a T15 Torx bit and driver as well as  9/32 & 10mm hex head socket bits andand  additional driver.  Also recommended is a small flat head screw driver. Be sure to keep all the small parts together (your bits, the removes screws, etc).

I recommend taking off the console cover. It makes it easier to get at some of the screws later and it’s nice to have it out of the way while you work. Unscrew the four Torx screws (Torx T-15) and set the cover aside. Next remove the shift knob (also Torx -15). If your shift knob is stock then just remove the Torx screw as show  and pull the knob off (f you have an automatic there’s nothing you need to do-  the console simply lifts off over the shifter)

You will need to remove three hex nuts on the console. The first two are near the rear of the console.  Simply pop off the plastic covers with a flat head screwdriver and uncrew the nuts (10mm bit). [If you’re not pulling out the main part of the center console you do not have to do this step!]

The third hex nut is under the middle potion of the console. Use your thumb to apply pressure on the plastic cover and pop it out (it’s held in by two clips). Remove the third nut as shown. Now you need to remove the two smaller hex screws (9/32 bit) as shown. The white cord you see is for my iPod- you probably won’t have anything hanging out here.

The next step is to carefully pull up the hand break boot. Grasp the boot carefully but firmly and pull it up.  The clips that hold it on will release with relative ease. Move the boot out of the way (it won’t come all the way off).

There are two more hex screws (9/32 bit). When these screws are gone you can start removing the piece of trim that runs along the bottom of the console.

Carefully pull the trim out (you can rock this piece downward a little). Near the glovebox the trim is secured by two clips. You should be able to get a good view of them- they’re pretty sturdy so don’t worry too much about breaking them when you pop the peice out. With the trim removed,  slide your hand behind the main console and pull. This whole center piece simply pops out (again secured by clips). Try and work your hand around the console head and pry it out little by little (you don’t want to apply too much pressure to any one area or it could crack).

Once the head piece has been pulled out don’t try and lift it off yet! You now have to disconnect the the wiring harnesses. This can be fairly tricky and I confess that I don’t have pictures  that show the details of this process. Most of the harnesses have a tab that needs to be pushed down allowing the two halves of the harness to separate. There’s limited room to work but your flat head screw driver should come in handy here (and hey, when you get eveything apart take a moment to bask in your awesomeness).  In all there can be up to six harnesses that you need to unhook. 1) Hazard lights 2) Heated seats (two of them, if applicable) 3) Two cigarette lighters, 4) traction control button.

And that’s about it. Once everything is disconnected carefully lift off the whole console (it helps to have your shifter in neutral). And when you’re ready you can put it back on in the opposite order of the way you pulled it off. Remember to hook everything back up (it sucks to forget something). If anyone has any questions or needs clarification on a certain step please feel free to let me know and I’ll be happy to help. Again, next time I do this project I’ll try and replace the fuzzy pictures and even try and get some close-ups of the wiring harnesses. Best of luck!

Posted by Cam, September 5th, 2011