2017 LT front end swap in Cincinnati

SirenRed16 · July 27, 2017

I would have drove from California to do the swap!

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Really? Timeswelding offered we swap parts but I'm in California also and it would of been over 2300 miles for me to get there. I'd rather look some what local to trade with.

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DeepBlue17 · July 27, 2017

Really? Timeswelding offered we swap parts but I'm in California also and it would of been over 2300 miles for me to get there. I'd rather look some what local to trade with.

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I agree. I think that far of a trip outweighs the benefits. Maybe we need to start a swap finder thread for everyone.

SirenRed16 · July 27, 2017

I agree. I think that far of a trip outweighs the benefits. Maybe we need to start a swap finder thread for everyone.

Yeah that's a good idea. If it does go up I'll be checking frequently for some Siren Red parts lol

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KaptKyle · July 29, 2017

Anyone looking to get rid of their blue parts for chrome, I am interested.

03dyna · July 29, 2017

It took about 5 hours in my driveway with basic tools. Since we had the same color trucks we just swapped complete headlight assemblies to avoid the tedious task of removing the trim. I did take the time to cut apart the grill assemblies tho so he could keep his Z71 inner section. All in all very worth it.

Hi I was wondering how you went about swapping the chrome parts for painted on the grill assemblies.

DeepBlue17 · July 29, 2017

Hi I was wondering how you went about swapping the chrome parts for painted on the grill assemblies.[/quote

When you remove the grill and look at the back you will see a bunch of tabs sticking thru holding the pieces on. The tabs have a lip on one side and the other side is flat. The side with the lip locks over a tab on the inner grill piece. Then there us a plastic tab that puts pressure on the flat side to keep it from coming off. You just cut off those tabs that are against the flat side and then you can unclip the grill pieces. When you reassemble they will still snap over and hold tightly without issue.

Hope that makes sense.

03dyna · July 30, 2017

Hi I was wondering how you went about swapping the chrome parts for painted on the grill assemblies.[/quote

When you remove the grill and look at the back you will see a bunch of tabs sticking thru holding the pieces on. The tabs have a lip on one side and the other side is flat. The side with the lip locks over a tab on the inner grill piece. Then there us a plastic tab that puts pressure on the flat side to keep it from coming off. You just cut off those tabs that are against the flat side and then you can unclip the grill pieces. When you reassemble they will still snap over and hold tightly without issue.

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks that is a great help a friend of mine has a redline edition and I do not think he cares much for the chrome strips in his grill so we may do a swap with my z71 grill .

Chevytrk1 · August 1, 2017

I think BOTH trucks turned out looking great. I really like the subtle details of keeping the original grilles to each truck.

eboggs, Do you have a better photo from straight on? I really like that you kept the Z71 grille badge with this swap as well as the lower chrome bumper skid plate. I was thinking about adding the chrome bumper skid plate to my non-Z71 chrome front end.

Did you guys have to switch over the whole lower bumper valance or just swap over the chrome skid plate for that?

DeepBlue17 · August 1, 2017

I think BOTH trucks turned out looking great. I really like the subtle details of keeping the original grilles to each truck.

eboggs, Do you have a better photo from straight on? I really like that you kept the Z71 grille badge with this swap as well as the lower chrome bumper skid plate. I was thinking about adding the chrome bumper skid plate to my non-Z71 chrome front end.

Did you guys have to switch over the whole lower bumper valance or just swap over the chrome skid plate for that?

You have to swap the whole bumper filler and skid plate together. The skid plate looks very similar in shape to the indention in the non z71 filler but when placed side by side they aren't identical. As well it has tabs that snap into the filler piece on the correct filler. Other down side is that the Z71 filler has cut outs for tow hooks that our trucks don't have.

Static · August 2, 2017

Hi I was wondering how you went about swapping the chrome parts for painted on the grill assemblies.[/quote

When you remove the grill and look at the back you will see a bunch of tabs sticking thru holding the pieces on. The tabs have a lip on one side and the other side is flat. The side with the lip locks over a tab on the inner grill piece. Then there us a plastic tab that puts pressure on the flat side to keep it from coming off. You just cut off those tabs that are against the flat side and then you can unclip the grill pieces. When you reassemble they will still snap over and hold tightly without issue.

Hope that makes sense.

I didnt cut the tabs. we slid cut up credit cards as a wedge in the end and did it that way.

DeepBlue17 · August 2, 2017

Good idea.

dmorrisL86 · August 3, 2017

Thanks to EBOGGS and this awesome forum I now have the painted parts I wanted when I bought my truck. And he turned out with a better looking ride too. Took 5 hours but was totally worth the effort. I hope more of you guys have luck finding people to do chrome and paint swaps with.

Definitely improved the look of the truck! Love that color too. Sometimes I regret being boring and going for a black truck haha. What % tint do you have on your windshield?

DeepBlue17 · August 3, 2017

Definitely improved the look of the truck! Love that color too. Sometimes I regret being boring and going for a black truck haha. What % tint do you have on your windshield?

It's 55 over the whole windshield and 5% on the sunstrip. Front doors are 18% and back has 5% over the factory.

dmorrisL86 · August 3, 2017

It's 55 over the whole windshield and 5% on the sunstrip. Front doors are 18% and back has 5% over the factory.

Thanks! I have my fronts tinted to match the factory tint on the back doors and a 10% brow on the windshield. I want to tint the whole windshield. Worried about getting cited by the 5-0 though... Any issues thus far?

DeepBlue17 · August 3, 2017

Thanks! I have my fronts tinted to match the factory tint on the back doors and a 10% brow on the windshield. I want to tint the whole windshield. Worried about getting cited by the 5-0 though... Any issues thus far?

Nope. I've ran tinted windshields for years. Never had an issue. If I do get pulled over I just roll all my windows down and they usually don't say anything. Also by doing the dark sunstrip on top of tinting the whole windshield it kind of fools your eye into not being sure if it's tinted or not. Only issue is it kicks on the auto headlights alot. LOL