Ripper Install

The stock shifter
on the C5
Corvette is pretty good. It’s has a pretty short throw and it
feels comfortable and tight. With that in mind, it’s obvious that there
is plenty of room for improvement. The stock shifter does not
have a strong
positive centering mechanism. It’s throw is
longer than it needs to be
and the rubber insulator robs
crispness and reduces your chances of hitting
the right gate
under pressure. For a while, there was nothing you could
do to
improve this situation. A few months ago, B&M announced their Ripper
shifter for the C5 T56 and I put one on order right away.

My Ripper came from
C5 Concepts. I participated in one of their group purchases
and everything
worked great. B&M includes some photocopied
instructions with the shifter
and Chris at C5 Concepts has
published additional instructions on the
Internet. I found
both documents helpful. At the same time, both documents
omitted information that can save you time and hassle. The whole processes
is pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take more than an
hour.

To get started, get
plenty of light (taking of the
targa top helped a bunch) and put the parking
brake on. Clean
everything out of you center console and remove the ashtray.
You’ll need a Torx 15 screwdriver, a strong pair of needle nose pliers
or Vise Grips, a flatblade screwdriver and a socket wrench
with a 10mm
socket. First pop off the bolt covers at the rear
of the center console
storage area. Inside you’ll find two
10mm nuts that need to be removed.
Next pop off the piece of
console that has the Traction Control switch
(and the
adjustable suspension control if so equipped) and disconnect
all the electrical connector. Remove the two 10mm nuts and pull console
to the rear to remove. Before you pull it off completely,
disconnect the
12v power and fuel door release electrical
connectors. Next, open the
ashtray door and remove the two
Torx 15 screws inside. Then carefully
pop off the interior
temperature sensor cover to the left of the ignition.

Now the hard part.
Chevrolet must have had some reason to make the shift knob so
hard to
remove but I have no idea what it is. First pop off
the shift pattern
with a flatbed screwdriver. Next you need to
remove the T shaped pin which
holds the shift know in place.
It’s really wedged in and it’ll take some
effort to get it
out. I grabbed it with a pair of strong pliers and then
pried
up with the flatbed screwdriver. I was worried about damaging the
leather on the shift knob at first but all my efforts produced no ill
effects. Once you remove the pin, just unscrew the shift knob and put
it aside. Put the transmission into fourth gear and then remove the center
console trim. It should pop off pretty easily. Be sure to
remove the electrical
connection for the cigarette lighter
before you pull too hard.

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on photos to
enlarge