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Good afternoon. I am a new member. Have owned a number of sports cars over the years but have always wanted a Corvette. I have been searching for a C5 or C6 coupe but so far nothing yet. I started my search for a C6 because of the reputation of the 6.2 and the upgraded interior. However, I am a sucker for the vintage look of the C5 just struggle a little with the interior. While not as bad as some seem to think. I would in any event install a Navigation system and probably back up camera. I read a lot about new seats but little else.
I have tried to search the forum for ideas, maybe I am not selecting the correct search parameters but am not finding much. Any insight into quality interior upgrades would be appreciated. Thanks.
C5 seats are not the best but if you use care and conditioner they hold up well. Also they have all the parts to fix things like the foam, covers and bushings.
Camera and Nav are up to the owner. I never use it in my truck as it is.
The C5 over all is easier and cheaper to maintain than the C6 that can get more expensive. The 6 is a bit more electronic and computerized.
While the interior is better it reeks of my 08 Malibu I have. Similar dash and same steering wheel. Very corporate bin feel.
There are good and bad to both. I was looking for a C6 originally but went C5 and no regrets. I found a lower mile better condition car for $15K less.
Welcome to the forum! Check out this thread: http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/...ol-screen.html
That's going to take care of your head unit. That will support any cameras that you want to use as well. There are a bunch of steering wheeel options out there. There are a ton of threads regarding that. Places like Apsis and VQCarbonCustoms can make you a fully custom wheel. RedlineGoods has some decent options as well. American Hydrocarbon and Apsis make high quality custom interior panels. There a million threads on seats. As mentioned, C6/C7/C8 seats can all be made to fit in the C5. You may need to do a C6 seatbelt swap to make it work. There are also a variety of aftermarket seat options as well. There's anything from some cheap Amazon seats (that many people really like), all the way up to Caravaggio. You can also just go to upholstery shop and get a custom job done. The stock carpet isn't bad if it's in good shape, but you can upgrade it. Lloyd's mats are typically considered to be the top quality in aftermarket floor mats. There are also LED lighting kits that can replace virtually all of your interior lighting. If you have the money, the sky is the limit. Good luck!
agree with everything mmwarlord said -- I went with a combination of the apsis seat, door panels and dash, and had a local upholsterer do the rest -- center console, passenger/driver knee area, and also had the same shop strip and custom cover C7 seats with matching leather / red stitching. You can spend a ton or not --- there's a lot to improve, and it's all really easy to pull and replace (except the dash, which wasn't).
It looks like a C7 steering wheel, are the seats original C5 and the center panel original, or are these adaapted?
Seats were rebuilt with new frame material, jute padding, new denser seat foam and new 100% leather option seat skins from Top Flight Automotive. Steering wheel is a flat bottom C5 version from Redline. Center console leather, shift ****/boot, e-brake handle/boot, and steering wheel airbag cover all from Apsis. Double din center console from Vette Nuts. Hydrocarbon finish and leather door panels are from local vendors.
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The inclusion of C7 seats into the C5 is becoming an increasingly popular mod. Check out the audio/electronics section for some ideas on radios/Nav units.
C6 has a cobalt steering wheel so other than camera / stereo isn't not a huge upgrade. Plenty of options out there to easily bring your C5 into the modern times. Compare an early 2000's exotic interior they aren't too much different in terms of quality.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
C5 Interior
