CHEAP fixes make BIG difference with my C5 Corvette! 

The controls weren’t falling apart they were making themselves lighter…..that’s what performance cars do 😂

Just bought my 1999 FRC 2 months ago w only 18k miles. Garage kept and the last owner only drove it about 750 miles in 6 1/2 years. Definitely a garage queen. All the FRC’s in 99 and 2000 came standard with manual HVAC controls. I love them. Super easy to use and nothing to break. As far as the shifter knob goes mine isn’t soft and works wonderfully. Love it.

No notice from screw tube.

I’ve had a few short shifters in my 2002 Z06. Don’t like them. Makes the notchy T56 thing even worse. I cut most of the threads off of the stock C5 shifter and re-threaded the remaining shaft with a 9/16-18 die. Now it’s very short. I topped it with various round balls. The first ones were pool table balls. I currently have a 2 inch polished chrome steel ball with the recess for the reverse lockout for C2s and C3’s. It works great. The recess hides the custom jam nut which really is no longer necessary. I recently replaced it with a C6 shifter to which I did the same. I honestly don’t feel a difference between a C5 and a C6 shifter. I like the way both feel compared to the original set up.

I am glad you like that shift knob...I think it is awful....but your car/money/happiness so more power to ya Jake!

Glad you like the lights! They look awesome!

Zipped through that shifter like a pro! Exactly what you needed, the "free" short shifter mod.

Good stuff Jake. I know it's only a standard C5 but I absolutely love that car. Wish we had more of them here in the UK 😞

You wanted serious knob action? Well, this is Jake at his absolute knobiest.

1st mod I did when I got my “new” car was remove the aftermarket tint from the side windows,it was almost impossible to drive at night with it on. The glass Honda used already had some tint in it AND UV protection.

Not bad, in Ma. they would charge you $350 just to take the tint off the hatch.

"There's this thing in the shifter" it's been known as the "demon key" for two decades. And now you know why. Two flathead scree drivers at both sides just pry with equal pressure and it slides right out.

a great video. Nothing like the last Corvette iteration with headlight doors. So cool. In glorious California we can't have anything on the front windows at all. And we also can't pass emissions test with any lights on in the dash. ZERO.

If memory serves, Been a while since I worked in a shop, that climate control is vacuum operated, defaults to heat when broken, may need the control switch, vacuum line broken under hood or from firewall to switch, or the vacuum connector at switch. But check the vacuum motor at blend door too. GM lacks a "Silver Bullet" on these as any part of these can break. A Mityvac tool for testing is a must.

15% would’ve been better and usually cops leave you alone bc cops around my area do

Small details make a huge difference

That air bag light may be caused by the connector under the seat that is not tight. I zip tied mine tight.

Thanks for the video

Ok cool you cut it. Fits nice but what about all the damn metal shavings 😮 why not put something down to catch them

NJ doesn't allow any tint on front side windows.

Great job my man you got right to the point keep up the good work

Nothing is dumb on a Corvette - you had it right in the begining - its just cheap. The HVAC controls are straight out my same era Astro van

"Every little bit that it gets shorter, it just feels a little better.".

6:37 that's what he said

Should be a zip tie securing that leather boot. Just put a new one on to keep it from falling down so far.

When shifting from 3rd to 4th, your palm should face to the passenger seat. When shifting from 3rd to second, your palm should face to the driver seat. Mis-shift problems averted.

I hope you can get at the blend actuator. I had to replace one of the vacuum pots on my 85 300d. By taking the glove box out, I was able to get at it. Barely. When my Volvo system went bad, I said the heck with it. That was a dash out job. I really like those black side markers. Can you get black ones for the front? Can you get a new leather boot for the shifter that maybe has a tie off at top so it comes right up to the nob?

Air bag light will stay on if you turn off pass side w/key.....Or if you unplug air bag console light.

Getcha a C6 shifter and knob. Tons better than that upside-down hoof for a knob.

Nice key hole

Best intro on RU-vid

Spyhunter 2.0

all this info is available in the public domain. Why the eff did you buy it, if it annoys yoyu?

How is a supercharger not your first mod! 😂

Things that annoy me = tTAM. Sounds like an idea for a whole new channel.

Get a c6 shifter

If your poor, why would you buy the biggest money pit C5 on the planet? These cars are nothing but problems. They were nothing but problems even new.

1

Taking out the shifter ? Nope. Putting a blanket in the interior to catch the lovely metal flakes? Nope. Just Jake rawdogging the shifter with the sawsall. My god !

I've changed shift knobs on several GM manuals. You will end up hating that metal shift knob. Burns your hand in the summer and freezes it off in the winter.

I have seen a lot of C5’s, I have never seen one with the manual HVAC controls. Really cool to see!

You need a longer saws all blade you weren’t cutting all your neighbors grass

I don't remember if it was that way in your vintage C5, but many GM vehicles will set a fault and light up the airbag light if the passenger airbag on/off status light is burnt out. It's related the the car's ability to sense if someone is actually sitting in the passenger seat and how heavy they are. The airbag module then uses that information to decide if the passenger airbag needs to be deployed in a crash and also how hard. They usually have two squibs, one larger than the other, and it can fire the big one, the little one, or both depending on a bunch of different data that it gathers, including the weight of the passenger. That might be your problem. I can also tell you that you most definitely have a bad HVAC actuator. That's a dirt common failure in most GM cars made in the last 20ish years. Source: 20 years as a GM tech.

I agree, blacked out lights are usually tacky and ugly. Those are quite nice.

when I bought my explorer back in 15, I had them put 3m ceramic on the front doors. and I will always advise people to get it. it's just fantastic and still looks good as new 8 years later and never garaged.

Ditch the fugly wagon wheels

Bruh, go buy a grinder. Why are you using a sawzall inside your Corvette? So many things could go wrong.

Dammit how did I get all these damn metal shavings in my ass cheeks? All I did was go for a ride in Jakes corvette... what the hell?

I am also Jake. lol I have my red 2001 Z06 being shipped to me in California, this coming week. I am binge watching C5 videos.

Happy Tuesday Jake

slick Tint and marker light improvements. Technically, you're supposed to keep the markers reflective i though, but nobody will bother you about it.

Jeez, that shift knob is gonna' brand you in the summer.....

For a minute I thought you would install the automatic dual AC control unit instead of replacing the knobs

Demon Key is the old interwebz name for the locking key in the shift knob. I also like my B&M Ripper shifter. Favorite shifter is such an owner choice thing. Z06s have dual zone standard. I miss the manual AC of my FRC. Some have "upgraded" the knobs with some amazon round dials on the manual AC. I have not viewed the knobs in person.

Great thumbnail title for a Corvette video😂😂😂

Great job, Jake. Only one downside I can see to that side marker. It eliminates the reflector function of the side marker. Other than that, it does look better. I've never been a fan of window tint. I've had two cars that had it. Not very dark at all on either. It had faded badly on the 79 Thunderbird, so it wasn't terrible. It was still functioning on the 88 Grand Marquis. I got fed up with having to open the window to see when it was very dark. Nice job on the heater controls. I also hate climate control, so that is the system I would have had. Quite common for the air distribution to be vacuum. Works well until it doesn't work at all. Surprised that the temperature blend door is not a simple cable. That is the easy way. Still, looks like a very neat car and great fun.

Great video bro! I love your every man approach to shit.. I mean we're not all pro social media money bags that can spend thousands on an old sports car.. Thanks for the videos

Is it possible to actually fix *all* the things that annoy you :-)

That's the same cheap-ass radio found in my `00 Chevy S10. What the...???

Ouch! Look at those metal shavings everywhere.

Everything annoys me. I wake up annoyed.

OMG that shifter looked horrible glad you replaced it

Mgw with a c6 knob is worth every penny

If you decided to sell the car let me know.

C6 shifter much better than an MGW

just heatshrink the shifta threads.

The bulging disc vette

Just trade it Karen!!

Nice video

Have to pull the whole dash you need to change blend door actuator have fun with that.

I would be very interested in your thoughts on comparing the NC Miata with the C5... i know horsepower wise, there is no comparison, but handing both back roads and highway, noise, ride comfort, etc... i currently have an NC Miata myself, but I have always wanted a Corvette....

The US cars don't have rear fog lights, that's why the fuse (and probably a relay) aren't there. Same thing on my trailblazer. And from a quick search, they look like a hideous after-though.

I love the Corvette. The radio is the same I had in my 2002 Z28 Camaro and 1999 Chevy Lumina. I had the short Hurst Shifter. It had an option of shifting from 1st to 6th. I miss that car. Good luck with the progress with the Corvette and the rest of the fleet. Glad to see the Miata in your main driveway.

The sawzaw is a good go to item, i cut up an 08 mercury milan with one to crap it, and a pontiac something back in 2004, and the parts fit nicely in my ford ranger to scrap them. I saved anything worth selling, and the rest is gone. The vet looks better with the face lift. G-d bless ya brother.

What a coincidence. I just chopped about 4” off the shifter on my Scion. I think you should remove the locknut, cut some more threads off and just bury the shiftball on the shaft.

What else would you call the spike/wedge in the shift knob @100percentjake ???

Must be nice. Iowa limits to 70% on the fronts

I regret to inform you I didn't win the yellow Corvette 😢. It's ok, means I'm not middle age yet 🤣

Your videos are so relaxing to watch.

Hi, good video. Please let me know if the fuse fixes the blend actuator issue

Yeah, did the simple stuff first on my c5 vert. Feel good stuff.

Man, what a pleasure to see a Jake video where you wrench on a BMW

It's called "The devils key" and for good reason.

I cringed when the Sawzall came out. Ouch!

should have put a chtone sleeve under the shift knob

I like the side marker lights. Sleek and effective

Jake not getting notice of your drops anymore

I have that same Milwaukee saw and I love it

Glad to see yours is a manual as well!

Man GM makes OEM+ achievable

Metal sawdust is called swarf.

Glad you are feeling better :-)

And then the storm came!

Do the anti venom mod to reduce the "notched" shifting issue

Jake, you are a breath of fresh air in the types of vehicle you work on and the approach you take. It’s nice watching RU-vidrs fix up supercars, but you are down to earth.

MEK (methyl ethyl ketone, butanone) is usually a better option than super glue. Very small amounts applied with a needle and syringe will weld most plastic parts along the fracture.

Don't feel bad for using a sawzall on a Corvette. The junk plastic interior befits the crudest tool usage to upgrade that garbage.

You should trademark GMASMR