I just entered the wonderful world of C3 corvettes! About a month ago, I purchased a 1972 convertible in Bryar blue with a blue interior and a stock 350. While this has potential to be a beautiful car, it needs a lot. Mainly interior and mechanical stuff, due to it basically sitting for over 20 years. I am getting up to speed with internet searches and you tube videos... Since I don't plan on repainting the car, I figured I would concentrate on the interior myself and hire out the mechanical stuff. The carpet was shot (basically gone) so I installed new carpet and put heat barrier under it. I got the bright idea to replace the shifter console with a new one. Since everything was broke off the old one and put together with duct and masking tape the heater control and the levers came right off because they weren't really attached anyway.

My problem now is this: I cant find a video or any real help installing the new one correctly. The bracket the heater control is attached to has to sit on top of the console and under the metal plate contains the shifter boot and ashtray assembly. I dont want to break anything, but for the life of me cant figure this out. I assume the heater control unit comes off the metal bracket and then somehow is supposed to be re-attached after the bracket?
Also, I know the new console is supposed to have the front reinforcement bracket riveted to it. It doesn't seem to match up at all... The old console was just fitted over the bracket.

Any help would be appreciated. I will be happy to add pictures when I take some...

 

Pictures will certainly help. Plus, look at a vendor's part catalog that identifies shift console pieces. You use the terms "heater control," "metal plate," "metal bracket." These descriptors are too ambigous. You did describe a "front reinforcement bracket" that's a good description, I know what you're talking about in this instance. Many people on the forum have spent many hours looking at vendor catalogs for parts and we're pretty familiar with the part name shown in the catalogs. I wish I didn't have to mention a particular vendor, but look a Paragon Reproductions catalog on pages 153, 159, and 163. They've got the proper descriptors for all these pieces.

I have nearly all repro interior pieces on my 70. The Parking Brake Console and the Shift Console Housing are repro and they appear to fit exactly. Chabged the interior from red to black.

 

It is probably a wise due to purchase a year specific Chevrolet Factory Service Manual, along with an AIM (factory assembly installation manual). They are readily available on EBay or from vendors listed here. Good Luck and have fun, this shouldn’t be a job.

 

Console
Ok, here is my problem in a nutshell. I cant get the "heater control unit" ( believe that is the right nomenclature) on top of the metal bracket (I really cant find the proper name for it). I took the heater control unit off the bracket so I could get the bracket on top of the console. The problem is that the heater control unit doesn't seem to have much "slack" if you will to manipulate it into the bracket. Believe me I know this should be easy and if there is a video on this please point me in the right direction. If there is a better way, someone please let me know. Also please have patience with me as I am learning all the proper names for stuff. Also, I have ordered every book imaginable on C3 corvettes. Mail delivery sucks right now.. I will get up to speed...

 

Basically, how in the world do I get the heater control unit ( I believe that is the proper nomenclature) on top of the metal bracket it sits on?? I tried to keep it attached to its bracket as a unit and get it to go on top of the console but it didn't want to fit. If someone can point me to a video or other tutorial, I would greatly appreciate it. Look, i get that this is supposed to fit fairly easily, thus the frustration.

 

Just did this yesterday!
The heater controls sit on top of that support bracket that is laying on top of your console edges. It screws from the top to that bracket in position against the left edge of the bracket opening. I have found that adding washer spacers where needed between the control and the bracket, at the holes, will give you a better height fit to the trim plate once you install that on top.
Tricky part is making sure all your wires and vac hoses are connected to the module and not pinched as you install it (try adding fiber optics front and rear like my '69!).
Also - don't forget to hook up the lighter hot lead and the ground to the top plate (at the front edge).

 

My problem is how to get the blasted heater control unit on top of the bracket! I cant get it to twist, turn, whatever to get on top of the bracket while it is positioned on the console as pictured. It seems to not want to move very much due to the wires and hoses. Do I have to disconnect all wires and hoses ( I hope the hell not!) because that would be a pain to get back together. I obviously got it off the first time due to the fact that the old console was broken.

 

On my '69, if I'm not mistaken, that control support bracket just lays on top of the console substrate ledges on top. I think it only secures when you screw down the module to IT (that far left side hole in your picture), and by the top trim plate in the upper front corners. It sandwiches between the console substrate and the controller & trim plate.

You should be able to take that bracket off temporarily to get access to the controller and make sure it's all ready to secure.
If you don't have sufficient slack in the wires and the hoses, check underneath that nothing is pinched or twisted that might make them shorter than needed.

 

Doing the same thing on mine. Here are some photos. Hopefully it helps. Just a suggestion - take lots of photos during disassembly. Might just be me but you'll be surprised at how fast steps get confused in the disassemble and the reassembly process. Bag and label all screws with as much detail as you can. Label wires and connections as you go, along with photos of each step. I use blue painters tape and a sharpie marker to label wires.

 

I’m in the same boat, my entire center console and e brake cover was broken in multiple pieces so it all fell apart after taking out the side screws leaving no good way to see how it should go back together. I can’t find a video of this online either after searching everywhere. The heater control doesn’t have any slack once all wires, hoses, and defrost cable is attached. So no way to get it on top of it’s bracket that also holds the driver and passenger vent levers/cables. I also have a 1972 w/ 350 I bought 3 months ago and have started this process as well. The manuals I have show parts but no tips or tricks that I’ve found for reassembly. I’m still waiting on one to arrive though, hard to believe no one has ever made a video about this but I can’t find one.

 

My two Cents. The entire HVAC Control with wires/vac tubes, needs to be brought up through the metal rectangular suspension plate (do this at an angle once you have enough slack). You will not have enough slack in the wires/vac lines/hot cold cable, if they are pinched by the plastic heater vent (almost is touching carpet). Try moving all the items going to the HVAC Control toward the drivers side. BE Gentile as you are dealing with old components. On my 73 the wires/tubes have to be
loose or there wont be enough slack to allow the HVAC Control to lay flat on the rectangular support.
Try and figure out which of the items going to the HVAC Control is not allowing you the need slack.

 

Seems like everything doesn’t allow for slack, how much slack should I be getting? From what I read elsewhere I need the cables going to the vent doors disconnected to allow you to attach them to center console, do you find that true since you have to attach those from the bottom?

 

I am sorry my car has Air Conditioning so there are no right / left kick panel vent doors. I cant tell if your car has AC? As you get further into this HOBBY, it best to give the particulars of your car when seeking help. For example, My car is 73 Convertible, SB (small block engine), Manual Tranny, AC, PB, PS.

 

I just looked at your picture, and strongly recommend that you remove the console before proceeding any further. The console is attached with screws under small plastic triangular plates on each side of the console, also one screw on ach side near the seats. Make sure to bag, label, and photograph all the parts as you remove them. Under the radio you will feel a right and left threaded shafts with nuts attached. These nuts need to be removed/loosed so the console can be removed. You should try using Google for pictures showing how the console is attached. Once you get some of the vendor catalogs, the various sub assemblies will be a great deal easier to understand.

 

The side vent cables should allow you enough slack to get the control head over the top of the bracket. There are clips that help route the cable over the steering column on the left and to the lower dash support or heater box on the right side. You may be able to cheat some slack my working the cable to your favor through those clips.
While you're at it, those cables have a turn-buckle type of adjuster that could improve the operation of the vent doors with the console levers. Just be sure to keep them routed as straight as possible and without kinks or pinches, because they tend to bind quite easily.

 

If you're going to remove the center gauge bezel from the console, a good tip would be to replace the existing nuts on the studs with these Coupling Nuts (or something similar).
They'll make the install and later removal (believe me, this won't be the first and only time you pull this apart!) so much easier.
These will allow you to get a deep well socket on the nut from underneath as you fit it all back together.

Just Payin' It Forward, from Mr. Been-There/Done-That!

 

Thanks for the advice, seems like I need to get some slack so I might be taking the new radio out to find some. I’m not the original poster for this thread but have the same issue. 1972 coup SB, no AC, no PW, no Power Locks. Headlights converted to electric and hood is a 73 so no wiper vacuum system. Looks like I’m 3rd owner, I’m going to go get me a couple of those nuts today since that seems like a great idea.

 

Right in the middle of the same process on my 71. I can’t vouch for this in practice, but I wonder if removing the metal bracket, working the hvac controls through and attaching them to the bracket before bringing the entire assembly back up will get around the slack issues. That’s the way I took mine off, so I figure it may help. Will be putting this in practice in the next few days to reassemble mine, so I look forward to your experience!

 

The nuts don't need to be tightened too much. That gauge cluster bezel unit is the last thing that ties all the surrounding parts together, so it ends up absorbing all the tolerances.
Add that to the sensitivity of that pot-metal bezel to crack under stress (especially in the thin side sections to either side of the center cross bar (A/C Vent or "Corvette" plate), and you'll want to leave yourself a little room to breathe.

 

(Quoted the wrong post!)



Just sharing another thought I ran across which was to use wing nuts on the studs from the shifter console to the gauge cluster. Not professing superiority, but makes sense to not have to snake a wrench up there next time.