April 13, 2024
While attempting to repair my power antenna I needed to remove the cargo shade to gain access to the rubber grommet through which the power and COAX cable pass through the body of the car.
The problem was that I couldn't figure out how to remove the cargo shade.
After doing some research on the CorvetteForum.com I had a general idea of how to remove the cargo shade but nothing specific. I tried several of the suggestions I found and finally I was able to remove the cargo shade. Unfortunately I was completely unfamiliar with how the cargo shade was attached to the car body and I was very concerned that I was going to break something while prying the cargo shade loose.
So, to help other C4 owners in the same predicament here are some pictures:
Above are a couple of shots of the cargo shade mounts in the car body (I've highlited the mounts with a white outline.) The mounts are simply half-circle shaped sockets into which the cargo shade ends are inserted. The driver side mount is pretty badly scratched as this was the side I was trying to dislodge with a various tools.
Above are some shots of the cargo shade ends which are inserted into the body mount sockets. The cargo shade ends are spring loaded which allows the cargo shade's roller length to be shortened by compressing the ends (much like a toilet paper holder.) Once compressed, the shade can be placed into position and allowed to expand, which locks the shade into the body of the car.
The cargo shade roller springs (which retract the cargo shade) are pre-tensioned and remain tensioned (unlike those of a household window shade) even when the cargo shade is removed from the car. You do not have to be concerned with re-tensioning the roller springs when removing and re-installing the cargo shade.
I can't offer any advice on what tool to use to pry the cargo shade out of the body mount sockets. All I can say is use whatever tool works for you. But I hope that seeing some pictures of what you will be dealing with before attempting to extract the cargo shade will be helpful.
Good luck!