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C5 C6 Corvette: How to Wire C6 Seats to C5

Save yourself a ton of time and upgrade. Swap in a set of C6 seats to your C5.

By Nick Vaughn - March 4, 2015

This article applies to the C5 and C6 Corvette (1997-2013).

Has the foam and support in your C5 Corvette seats become weak? Maybe the leather has cracked and you are thinking about replacing them altogether? Or perhaps you're just wanting something new? The good news is, you can easily swap sixth generation seats into your C5. Most people aren't aware of how quickly this project can be completed and just how simple it can be to do. Read on as we walk you through this straightforward conversion.

Materials Needed

  • 15 mm socket and socket wrench
  • Small flat blade screwdriver
  • Small needle nose pliers

Step 1 – Remove the shoes

Move the seat back on the rails as far as it will go. This will give you the most room to work as well as best vision for the next step. The heavy plastic covers in front of the rails are called shoes. Holding the shoes in place is a brad and pin. Those need to come out. Gently pry the head away from the pin using the small screwdriver. Once the pin starts to come out, you can use the needle nose pliers to finish removing it. Once it is nearly or completely removed, you'll notice it fits within a plug; this also needs to be pulled out. The shoe can be nudged towards the front of the car and then lifted away, exposing a bolt.

Figure 1. Removing rear fastener with screwdriver.

Step 2 – Remove the bolts

Once you have removed the shoes and exposed the bolts, they are next to be removed. Using your 15 mm socket and wrench with an extender for additional reach, remove the bolts from the front of the rails. Once they have been removed, move the seat as far forward as possible, recline the seat forward as well. This will give you room to remove the rear rail bolts. Remove those, too.

Figure 2. Remove the front and back bolts with a 15mm socket.

Pro Tip

If you have a coupe or convertible, now would be a good time to remove the roof panel or drop the top. This will give you additional room for the next steps.

Step 3 – Disconnect wiring harnesses and lift seats

You will likely have at least one wiring harness that will need to be disconnected. The clip should be fairly straight forward. Release the clip and disconnect the wiring harness from the seat and the car. Once that is done you'll need to lift the seat out of the car. That's why removing the roof or dropping the top on a convertible is a good idea, giving you additional room to lift the seat out. Repeat the process for the seat on the other side.

  • Figure 3a. Use a screwdriver to help slide the harness apart.
  • Figure 3b. Slide the connector backward to unclip fully.

Step 4 – Install the new seats

The C6 seats fit literally right into the C5 without any additional modifications. All you have to do is literally reverse the process listed above.

Figure 4. Seats installed.

Additional Information

The wiring and harnesses from the C5 and the C6 Corvette, unfortunately, do not match. There are aftermarket harness modifications available for purchase that will help bring power from your existing C5 harness and C6 seats. Some people have installed the C5 power seat functions to the C6 seat. Others have done splice-jobs by tapping into existing power supplies. It's encouraged to read through several of the posts listed below for additional information.

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