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Just starting a project to clean up the interior of my 72. I'm on a budget, so I'll be reusing as many parts as I can make work.
There is a lot of surface rust on all the metal surfaces on the inside of the interior components. What if anything should I do about this? I plan to disassemble and clean everything, so I could sand/paint/coat things as I go. I'll replace any electrical parts or connectors that are badly rusted, I'm just wondering about the structural pieces.
Also, I converted the car from auto to 5 speed, and I'm going to have a shift indicator plate made to replace the auto one. The indicator slider for the auto appears to have been epoxied in- I tapped it out from the back with a hammer. This can't be original- what's supposed to hold this in? Here's a closeup of the hole with the small lip around it. I could get my new plate to fit on that (hopefully) without falling through, but then what, glue it again?
Hi B,
It appears the automatic transmission dial indicator was originally held in place with 3 screws that were mounted from the back side of the shifter plate assembly.
On 4-speed cars that area wasn't cut open in the shifter plate, it was solid. The 4-speed pattern was on a separate small plate that was held in place with adhesive.
Do you need to start with a 4-speed shifter plate?
Regards,
Alan
Good morning Boston,
I notice that you say you have a 72 that you are restoring. The shifter plate you show is for a 69 -71. The 72 doesn't have fiber optics anymore. Might I suggest you check this seller on eBay? (glenn454) He has a lot of original parts that are very reasonably priced. Right now he has a few plates on his site for sale that you could get very reasonable and just refinish the black, add your shift pattern plate and your engine data plate. He has both auto and 4 speed plates up for sale. As Alan71 suggests it might be easier to get the 4 sp one to restore! I see your plate shows the slots for the vent *****, so it's a non air car, you'll want to make sure you check for those if you get one to restore!
Hope this helps,
Tooch
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
when you are ready to refurbish the gauges, take pictures before and as you undo the wires and remove the insulators. The more the better. You don't want to get the insulator and blades messed up. The gauge posts and blades should never touch the case or each other. And pay attention to the color of the inside of the housing. It may be light green or light blue and it makes a difference as to the glow of the gauges
when you are ready to refurbish the gauges, take pictures before and as you undo the wires and remove the insulators. The more the better. You don't want to get the insulator and blades messed up. The gauge posts and blades should never touch the case or each other. And pay attention to the color of the inside of the housing. It may be light green or light blue and it makes a difference as to the glow of the gauges
Rogers.. I got you guys covered...
I did some pictures on our tech site on how to assemble each gauge with the insulators and terminals.... basically because I get so many messages from customers that took the gauges apart and couldn't get them back together. These are step by step picture instructions to re-assemble.
Thanks guys, great info. It's looking like a few things were changed with this car over the years. It does have the fiber optics. It has the vent ***** operating the side vents, and it also has AC. Go figure. I think I can use this shifter plate, if it's just a matter of figuring a way to mount the new diagram.
The trouble I'm having now is getting my new shifter boot installed. I ordered a new one from Paragon, and I can't get it squeezed between the outside of the shifter opening and the ash tray mount. The new boot frame, with its layers of leather on both sides, is too thick to fit in the thin space. Anyone have this problem?
If the new shifter boot fits in the groove without the ashtray mount installed, can you clearance the side of the ashtray mount where there is interference?
The trouble I'm having now is getting my new shifter boot installed. I ordered a new one from Paragon, and I can't get it squeezed between the outside of the shifter opening and the ash tray mount. The new boot frame, with its layers of leather on both sides, is too thick to fit in the thin space. Anyone have this problem?
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The boot I bought was too tight to fit over the opening. I tried stretching as hard as I could, but it would not fit. Another example of repro items that do not fit like new.
Last edited by Griff2002; Apr 11, 2017 at 09:57 PM.
The trouble I'm having now is getting my new shifter boot installed. I ordered a new one from Paragon, and I can't get it squeezed between the outside of the shifter opening and the ash tray mount. The new boot frame, with its layers of leather on both sides, is too thick to fit in the thin space. Anyone have this problem?
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The boot I bought was too tight to fit over the opening. I tried stretching as hard as I could, but it would not fit. Another example of repro items that do not fit like new.
Well I'm not Paragon, but they are good people so I'll try to help you.
Put the boot on the top and start the screws in the top two holes.. then us an awe through the bottom of one hole and you should be able to pull it downward and onto the shifter plate. You'll have to tilt it upward to snag the hole in the boot but you should be able to do this with ease, the fulcrum of the awe will make pulling the boot down easier.
The issue is I don't sponsor a thread... If I did I'd be good to go on the sticky, but considering the changes they made on vendor post, I can only bump my sale threads ever 2 days which has cut about 20 percent into my traffic from the forum. That alone makes me not want to sponsor a thread... if one were open.
I'm not complaining, rules are rules and if I were sponsoring a thread and another vendor got a sticky, well I'd be upset too... so I see the reasoning, I just don't understand the bumping threads one time in two days.
If more people would just search my tech site, we'd get about 20 percent less phone calls for tech help... that one also miff's me.... We had a customer get angry with sales two days ago because they told him the info he needed was on the tech site... go figure. He didn't want to search the site he wanted his question answered on the phone.. What some don't realize is that me, Tommy and Kevin are the driving force on the tech site, Tommy is the GM, Kevin is in service and I like to play hooky whenever I can so I'm not there to answer phone calls on tech stuff.. But it's all good..
Ernie
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Apr 13, 2017 at 05:30 PM.
Thanks for jumping in. I'm not having the same issue as Griff2002, my new boot fits fine over the hole's frame. The trouble I'm having is that I can't squeeze the new boot between the outside of the shifter hole frame and the ash tray mount. It's about twice as thick as the space (see my pics above). The boot I got seems to have the metal ring embedded between two layers of leather- the instructions say to mark the screw holes and drill them (there are no holes now).
Originally Posted by Willcox Corvette
Well I'm not Paragon, but they are good people so I'll try to help you.
Put the boot on the top and start the screws in the top two holes.. then us an awe through the bottom of one hole and you should be able to pull it downward and onto the shifter plate. You'll have to tilt it upward to snag the hole in the boot but you should be able to do this with ease, the fulcrum of the awe will make pulling the boot down easier.
From what I can tell... it looks like someone has adapted a 4 speed shifter plate to work in an automatic car... 4 speed cars didn't use the part you see in your second picture, there was no need for it.
On a 4 speed plate this hole you have above the light retainer would have been solid cast and there would be no way for the light to get past it.... remove that part and see if your boot will fit over the boot lip. Can you post a picture of the backside of the entire plate?
This is the part you should remove.
Last edited by Willcox Corvette; Apr 14, 2017 at 11:49 AM.
Yep, I realized later that the light holder is not necessary, but it's not the part that's in the way. Here are a few more pics of the little gap and the too-wide boot. I'm happy to grind on the ash tray bracket if need be, but there's not much thickness to grind...
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Center console restoration
