Chevy Forum: Injured 2017 Silverado Z71 Build Project
 

Picked up a project truck. Was looking around at insurance auctions and saw this thing. 2017 Silverado Z71 with 700 miles. It was in San Diego with AZ title, thats usually a bit fishy but it seemed like a good risk to take. Seems like someone bought this new in AZ and drove to San diego and crashed it and the insurance company didnt see like it was financially smart to tow it back to AZ to try and fix it and instead just decided to salvage the truck and sell it where it crashed, thats just my guess. For insurance to see if they can repair it, first they would have to tow it back to AZ, then take it to a shop to estimate the repair and see if its worth repairing? Well anyways, seems like i got a great deal on this thing at $16,800 for a $45-50k truck, the only reason i think it didnt go for more is because of the AZ title in CA.

The goal is to repair this thing, and bring it to a driving condition, then start planning upgrade for it, such as exhaust, lift, wheels, tires, tune etc etc... Enjoy the build guys, ill try to keep it fun and interesting if i can

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dz4i6xxqe2...%20AM.jpg?dl=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/axbln9fezf...%20AM.jpg?dl=1

The 2017 Silverado Z71 project arriving home, Will have a good look over at things and see how bad she really is, so far things are looking promising, so rta start and runs/rolls lol ..

Taking a look at the damage a bit closer to see how bad it is and what parts ill be replacing.

After a quick wash it looks a little better and can see the damage better. The suspension is less damaged than i expected, the body is still pretty bad, will be looking for black painted fender and black doors if possible to find.

The upper control arm arrived and it was time to install it with my little helped guy.

Upper control arm was installed, everything was checked and double checked and shes now on the ground and ready to roll.

It was time to do a little test drive around the yard with the little baby mechanic, to make sure it rolls around fine and turns fine with no issues etc.

It was time to remove the side steps, never liked the look of them anyways. Little helped was there once again helping out.

It was time to remove the headliner and those annoying blown airbags. The headliner is such a pain, maybe ill just strip the interior and remove all 4 doors and drive it like a jeep lol. AFter that was done it was time to drive to to an alignment shop and get everything checked out and adjust what needs adjusting.

Baby Mechanic and I removed the front silly chrome mustache from the truck, well mostly because it was damaged, but it does in fact look like a freaken mustache and i would love to find one just all black, anyone know why some get the chrome mustang and some just get the black lip valance even tho the models seem to be identical?

Seat Air bag arrived the other day from another silverado that was getting parted out, At the dealer side airbag is around $750 or so, this one i got a pretty good deal on it at $235, the install was fairly simple and it just plugs right in. Now gotta get the seat cover off and take it to get sowed up at an upholstery shop

Seat belts have arrived, it was time to replace both sides for them to be fully functional. Have a few more parts on the way, roof bags, rear door and fender etc..

Just did the best cheapest upgrade or a downgrade if you will lol ... but anyways, found some wheels with tires on craigslist for $100 and the guy even delivered them to my house because he didnt need them. I was going to list the wheels that came with the truck anyways so i figured might as well downgrade to these cheaper wheels while im working on the truck and not putting more miles on them. I do eventually want to get 35s, just havent decided if i want 20x10 or 18x9, thats for another day :)

time to remove the seat cover take it to get repaired. Have a buddy who does this kinda work, let's see how well he does. He said I can bring the seat he will do it for $100 or remove the seat cover myself and he will do It for $50. Never removed seat covers, time to learn something new lol

Got the Seat cover back, it turned out really good, i wish everything always went so well haha. Another update coming hopefully tomorrow or so. Really cant wait to finish this truck. Found a shop guy who will repair my bottom rail section, i just now have to find the section and take it over to him to get it done, but thats the last major thing i need to do.

The black door and black fender have arrived. Took a while but found them in black in great shape. These are straight from the factory with some defects here and there, they were also painted at the factory. These are surplus panels, meaning they were never installed on the truck because of some defect, such as a ding, a scratch, or a paint run, could be anything that doesnt pass inspection. I list all most costs in the description section to keep track of all of my costs so you guys have an idea of how much im paying for things and how much total so far.

Got lucky and one of my friends bought a rolled over Sierra Duramax, He bought a cab from canada that he will use so he doesnt need this one, so he let me cut off the bottom rocker panel, it awesome that its in black also. I never did this a huge chop job because so i wasnt sure how long it would take, but gotta do what i gotta do, broke a bunch of cutting blades, but i need this section for my truck so gotta get it done !!!

After breaking a bunch of blades, i couldnt finish the chop job, had to pick up better blades and come back to finish the cut because i had to run to work and had to drop off truck and the rocker panel at the frame shop for them to fit it in perfectly.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1u0rko219g...81%29.jpg?dl=1

Have been getting lots of questions about how much I got it for and how much will cost to fix. Decided to make a list of things I have done and purchased so far. Got lucky and found 4 major panels painted already factory black. Fender, doors and rocker panel. -
Here is the cost so far:
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•Truck $16,800
•Auction fee: $700
•Dealer fee: $150
•Towing $500
•Upper control arm $60
•Front Axle $100
•New tire and mount $300
•Smog test $50
•Brake and light inspect $40
•Truck scales $10
•Alignment $50
•Seat air bag $235
•Seat belts x2 $150
•Different Wheels/Tires $100
•Seat cover repair $50
•Fender black $350
•Rear door black $350
•Freight cost $100
•Rocker panel $200
•Front door $350
•Freight cost $150
•Rocker panel install $750
•Roof airbags $1,100
•Sold wheels - $1,600
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Current Total: $21,045
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I sold the fuel wheels that came with the truck for $1,600 so that puts me at Total of $21,045. I don't need to buy anything else major at the moment, feel really blessed with this truck. Once it's 100% completed I'll start doing upgrades to the truck to make it exactly how i have it pictured in my mind.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram if you like
http://www.instagram.com/fixitnickt

The rocker panel that i cut off another black silverado has been installed, thus allowing me to put on new fender and new doors, finally its looking really good and exciting.

The blacked out grill with the chrome on the bottom is part of the Z 71 trim

good to know, i hate the chrome mustache lol, ill be ordering one from a non Z71 to be all black, it looks much better i think

Got to transfer all of the front components from the damaged original door into the new door shell, all the locks, sliders, window and wiring harness etc. Everything closes like new and nothing is misaligned. Time to do the rear door.

Got a chance to finally finish both front and rear door internal guts swap, what a pain!! But both doors are finally finished and installed and fit perfectly. Im so glad i didnt have to paint anything yet, fender or doors. The bed and the rocker panel will be painted, but thats something i cant go around. Getting so close! cant wait to finish and start doing upgrades!

Finally me and my boy got a chance to install the roof airbags into the truck, i have a CHP inspection coming up, so these little pillows have to be in and no air bag light should be on to show that its safe to drive to mister officer

I had a dirty problem with the truck about a month ago, i thought i had resolved the issue that i thought would last a big longer than it did, but sadly the bandaid lasted less than expected. So i had to tackle it once again and fix it right so it doesnt come back again, it sucks, but it is what it is :(

My truck didnt come with a factory garage door opener, I looked around and found a used one for $60, it was a different cover, but i figured id give it a shot to see if it will work, came with a wiring harness and everything else. well it was worth the $60, it was a plug and play, now just gotta program it to the garage receiver itself.

I see why the jeep guys love this feature, it's actually pretty fun lol , removed all 4 doors enjoying the weather. Getting the side painted hopefully Monday. Might keep doors off till it starts raining here lol

Sure might be a little silly looking but so much fun driving it, the looks I get is priceless lol. Got the door jamb resprayed and then he side of the bed repainted as well. Sadly the rains are here now and I won't get to enjoy it as long as I wanted and have to install doors on STAT!

Installed all the doors back on because it was starting to get cold and raining, so the jeep life will have to wait till next year lol. Also picked up a set of new tires 35s and wheels 20x9 with -12mm offset.

My truck has a 2.5" leveling kit, picked up these wheels and tires for a good price and wanted to install on one side to see how it looks, obviously a lift is needed, but i was curious how tight they would be with a 2.5" lift. Will be installing a 6.5" Lift on the truck.