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Sales@VetteEssentials.com
248-852-9030 (Office) 248-396-4173 (Cell) 1810 Star Batt Dr Rochester Hills, MI 48309 www.vetteessentials.com |
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Here's our tools, from left to right:
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| Step 1: The basic stock console lid. Say goodbye, as soon it will be much nicer looking! |  |
| Step 2: Console lid assembly removal. Open the console and above the hinges you will see four torx head screws as identified in the photo. Remove each of these four screws. Upon removal of the fourth screw, the lid assembly will then be free from the hinge and can be taken to a work surface for the next steps. |  |
| Step 3: Console lid assembly separation. Position the protective cloth (or bubble wrap) on a work surface and then position the stock lid upside down on the protective cloth so you have access to the surface shown in the photo. The console lid is a two-part assembly: (1) the underside, which is black plastic; and (2) the upper side, which you will be replacing with a custom leather version from Vette Essentials! There are seven torx screws shown in the photo, and they retain the two parts of the assembly together. Remove each of these seven screws. Once the seven screws are removed, you may need to pull the latching mechanism away from the lid in the direction shown and then the upper side should easily pull away from the underside. The upper side that is wrapped with factory vinyl is the core that you are to return to us; Vette Essentials recommends that you soon wrap it in bubble wrap or a suitable protective covering so that you may protect it for shipment back to Vette Essentials. Lastly, note that there are two alignment tabs that also provide alignment of the underside and upper side components. |  |
| Step 4a: Latching mechanism removal. The latching mechanism has pivots at its ends and is shown in the picture. The following steps are for safely removing it from the old assembly and installing it into the new assembly. |  |
| Step 4b: Before proceeding, various items are shown with respect to the latching mechanism after it has been removed, which you will be doing below. Each pivot fits into a corresponding retaining hole, and one end of the spring fits into a spring hole shown near the right retaining hole. Note also that a thick tab is identified because this is the area where you will be prying to remove the latching mechanism |  |
| Step 4c: (Best performed in a warmer environment, such as over 75 degrees). In this step you are going to bend against a plastic tab; in this regard, there is a reduced chance of breakage if you perform this step when the tab is warm -- do not, however, use a heat gun. Now looking to the actual tab and the step, use your hand to push the mechanism to what is the right upper corner shown in the photo, and insert the tip of the small screwdriver so that it fits between the thick tab and the nearby pivot. You might even be able to accomplish this step with your fingers and without the use of a screwdriver. If using the screwdriver, note that the screwdriver tip does not directly contact the thin tab portion, which has the hole that receives the pivot. This is to reduce the chance of breaking that more vulnerable thin tab. Once the screwdriver is in this position, pry very slightly and carefully by moving the screwdriver handle to the lower left corner in the picture so that the thick tab moves away from the pivot, and at the same time lift the pivot upward until that lifted pivot end of the latching mechanism frees itself from the corresponding thin tab. Be very careful with this step as Vette Essentials is sorry but it does not and cannot assume responsibility for replacement of the underside of the console should it break during your installation. |  |
| Step 5a: New upper side assembly. Place the new Vette Essentials' custom upper side piece leather-side down so you can access the tabs so as to re-insert the latching mechanism pivots into those tabs. Insert the metal tip of the spring into the tiny hole that is located just inside of the right tab while at the same time aligning the right pivot into the corresponding hole of the retaining tab. Once the right pivot is in place, move the left pivot so that it is above the left retaining tab, then push the assembly downward so that the left pivot snaps downward and into the corresponding retaining tab hole. |  |
Step 5b: Coupling of two-piece lid assembly. With the new Vette Essentials' lid still in the same position, hold the latching mechanism down and away from the assembly while inserting the underside black plastic bottom piece on top of the leather-covered upper side lid as shown, and at the same time align the screw holes as well as the alignment tabs between the upper side and underside pieces as was shown in step 3. Re-insert the seven torx screws from step 3. |  |
| Step 6: Re-installation into interior. Take the entire assembly and return to your car. Orient the hinge in the console upward so you can align its four screw holes with the corresponding screw holes in the lid assembly. You also may want to disengage your emergency brake to keep it out of the way during this step. Of course, if your car is a 6-speed, make sure the car is in gear when you disengage the emergency brake so that the car does not roll. Once at least one of the hinge holes is aligned with a lid hole, then re-insert the corresponding torx screw and tighten it part of the way. Repeat with the remaining three screws, ultimately tightening each of them to an appropriate degree, and do not overtighten since you are affixing these screws to plastic and you do not want to strip that plastic. |  |
| Step 7: Stop and admire your work. Next, ask yourself what else you need from Vette Essentials to further enhance your Vette!! |  |
