Just picked up a 00 ecsb z71. 5.3, 60e and 216,000 on it. Im in northern michigan so the body wont get touched until spring. Im going to start with bolt ons, nothing internal because i plan on swaping a 6.0 rather soon and just building off of that. The 60e will be a problem i know but its still tight so it will stay for now.

 

Rusty but trusty.

 

Pretty much. Being a 24 year old mechanic in a small town, i really can't afford to buy a nice truck and build it at the same time. I do however have a skill and knowledge that allow me to BUILD a nice truck. Plus i like the idea of bringing something up from nothing.

My plans are:

Exterior:
Fix rust and repaint in factory color
Tahoe Z71 front valance and fog lights
03+ rear tail lights
HID front lights
HD hood
Color match grill, handles, bumpers, and mirrors
New wheels and tires (unsure of brand and size)

Suspension:
Replace worn parts
Install leveling keys
Alignment
New shocks

Interior:
Interior is in good shape so it will get cleaned and just make sure everything works.

Drivetrain:
Rebuild diffs and add a detroit locker to the rear
Swap in a 6.0
Blackbear tune
Bolt ons and a cam swap
Keep 60e for now but add a corvette servo, shift kit, and a stall converter

That is a basic outline. Im leaving out small detail stuff. I will add pics as i go along.