Buckeye guy

Just tell people in your family you want these after market items for Christmas or your birthday. I'm getting matching door handles for my b-day next month.

CorvettePartsBob

This is Bob at Fichtner Chevrolet,

We have sold quite a few of these kits so far and as all of you can see they are great. We have them at GM wholesale pricing and takes about a week to get. If you have any questions about the kit or any other GM accessories give us a call at 800-234-5284 or email me at parts@fichtnerchevrolet.com

Bob

Bunker

Here are a couple photos of the completed project - the instrument panel cluster now installed also.

Tom/99

Nice!

EHS

Now, that's an interior!

Pay attention, GM styling and Bob Stempel's tailor.

Eddy C

That rocks!

stanleyp

Ditto.

Burple_X

Any chance GM will add a carbon fiber kit to their line up for those of us with black on black?

Gene@FredBeans

We have sold a few of these as well. We sell them for the least expensive price in the U.S. shipped...

Gene

Jim91Vert

Looks good! Nice job.

Bunker

Sorry for the delay on installation comments everyone but other events took my time. Anyway, here goes. First I need to say that I did not approach this project with the intent of creating a "how to" article so I did not take step-by-step pictures, etc. I thought it would be a relatively easy project as instructions are included and they make it sound easy...my mistake. On to what I learned:

Good news - Illustrated instructions are included with the interior kit (which consists of the console piece and instrument panel piece). It can be done by the owner as I'm proof of that and I consider myself moderately informed on these type of projects. Not a novice but not an expert.

Bad news - The instructions are not detailed, the illustrations are basic/lacking, and there are omissions. I'll attempt to point out the problems but again, I didn't approach this project with this in mind. Hopefully someone that follows can take this info and use it to create a photographed, detailed how to article.

Console comments:
These comments are designed to be used in addition to the instructions provided, not as a replacement. To detail/repeat both would make this post way too long! The instructions often refer to disconnecting electrical connections. Unfortunately no details are provided and there are several different types of connectors present. Some of these connections were, in my opinion, a much bigger pain in the a** to unlatch than expected or encountered before. Space is limited which makes it more challenging. It can be very frustrating. Putting everything back was easier though.

The instructions do not indicate to remove any part of the center storage compartment, etc. It might not be necessary but I found it much easier to remove the compartment lid as doing so provided more room to move the console piece and lessened the chance of damage. There are four screws holding the cover to the hinged bracket. The four screws are easily removed and there is no adjustment needed when reinstalling later - it's fast, easy and makes things easier so I recommend taking the cover off.

The instructions do not mention removing two screws that are under the leather cover of the parking brake. My console would not come out without doing this step. If yours is the same then pull up on the leather cover - it is held in place by pressure fittings and pops-up pretty easy. Pull the leather all the way up to the brake handle so that it is covering the handle but inside out. This not only gets it out of the way but the inside out boot serves to protect the brake handle (and leather boot itself) from being scratched, etc. Under the boot are two black screws (10mm bolt heads) that go into the console side. I removed both and then the console removed easier.

The instructions do not mention removing the gear shift **** (I have a manual tranny). It makes things easier and it's easy to do - there is a single screw on the driver's side, hidden just under the top of the leather boot. Pull the boot down a little, remove the screw, slide **** right off the shaft. I can't comment on the automatics as I don't know how they are set up in this area. You may be able to skip this step as there are tabs holding the shift boot to the console that could be released, like the electrical connections, and then leave the assembly in place. The instructions say nothing about it - your choice to experiment with.

It helps to use the new console as a reference while removing the old. Looking at the reverse side of the new console shows you where the mounting clips are, etc. BTW, much more sound/heat insulation here than in the C5 and more items are attached to the console as opposed to being just covered by it.

Instrument Panel Cluster comments:
Again, use the new piece as a reference for knowing where the mounting points are that need to be "released" when removing the old. ***Be careful when removing as the "pods" have a plastic post on the reverse that fits into the dash. These can not be seen on the new piece as they are on the parts that are transferred over during installation. Picture in your mind a pinky sized post that extends back from each pod (HUD buttons and DIC buttons) on the instrument panel. If you twist/turn the panel too much to during removal you can break one or both of these posts off. Trust me on this, I learned the hard way. If it happens it sounds worse than it is but who in their right mind wants this to happen? Anyway, be mindful of these as the instructions do not show these nor mention them.

There is a black vinyl shroud on the bottom of the panel that covers the top of the steering wheel column. After removing the panel it becomes obvious that in order to transfer this over to the new piece you must carefully remove 7 push on type nuts/fittings and then "melt" the top of the post they push onto in order to insure they stay on. Once you look at the two panels together, after removal and during transfer of items before install of new, you can see this easily but the instructions say nothing about melting the posts to mushroom the top to prevent the push nuts from sliding off but it's obvious that was done on the factory piece. I simply heated a small, flat screwdriver tip over a candle flame and pressed it against a post. I'm sure there are other ways to do this but it was actually pretty simple.

Again, the electrical connections can be a real pain to disconnect...be patient and think small fingers/tools!

Be mindful of those posts on the reverse of the control pods during installation!

There is probably more to say but this post is already long enough. I hope that I didn't scare anyone off...I would do it again and, of course, be much better at it. Despite the hazards I made it, the two panels are installed without any scratches or damage (except that da** post I mentioned - but it was repairable). If you are about to tackle this project and want more info feel free to email me at gs884@charter.net and I'd be happy to answer questions or provide my phone number to talk about it.

Hope this helps a little at least!

Pete

offshore

Very cool

James Shearer

I'm ordering mine next week (same color combo car as yours) Sounds alittle scary-but thanks for the info and email address. Looks great!
James

racinghotroddave

very nice looks really good with the cashmere interior

TRAYC7

Looks great...

Oilpatch

That looks very sharp. Thanks for the follow up instructions.

rwpatte

Minarets

there was a DSOM/Cashmere C6 at the OKC show, and it was outstanding. that interior looks soooooo much better over the stock option.

about the car, pictures do not do this color justice. it looks so much better in person, the color really does not come through on film (or digital media) like it does in person. absolutly love DSOM.

now, if i could only find a few thousand dollars

THECORVETTEMANN

Please post the part number & price of the carbon fiber kit. Is this a GM part? It is not listed anywhere in the parts catalogue I've seen.

whompus

where do you buy this? I cant find it anywhere...