If it's anything like my 2005 Chevy SSR, there's a little more to it to disable the airbag. I follow the shop manual procedures for steering wheel R&R (probably done a dozen now) I haven't seen a Stingray shop manual, but that would be the place to find out exactly what the procedure is to disable the airbag before removing it.
That said, I seen them removed many time with only disconnecting the battery.
Personally, I'm not to fond of the idea of an airbag going off in my face. Not trying to scare anyone but I want to provoke some thought before just jumping in.