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Help: Planning full interior swap tan to black

Torrent

PM 2021
Full Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
37
Location
Texas
Hey all,

I gave up trying to find exactly what I was looking for in a 13 green with black interior and bought one with tan interior. I'm planning on keeping this until the wheels fall off so I'm going to swap the interior to black. I know some have done similar and I'd like to know what to prepare for. I have a full garage of specialty tools and budget isn't an issue.

- I assume the headliner and midgate specific panels will have to come off of a salvage avalanche or similar
- I know I can use many Tahoe/Suburban parts, but is the rear seat Avy specific?
- Does anyone have the schematics where I could part by part before I start the project?
- Does anyone have a great source for interior parts? I'll also have a full tan interior to sell/trade
- What else should I be thinking about on the front end of this?

Thanks as always. This community is awesome.

- KTJ
 
I'd start shopping around on car-part.com for general scrap yard searching. You'll definitely find things you won't find elsewhere. If you get lucky, you might find an avalanche on the scrap yard with a half decent interior that they might let you go to town on. (Most places on that site do their own picking, but you might be able to work something out. Though, if money isn't an issue, you don't have to worry about that. )

This would certainly be the most affordable solution to do a color swap as long as you're willing to out forth double the labor for anything you're wanting to replace.

You can also just call your local yards and see if they have one lying around. Anything that involves plastic you need to be careful of to make sure the clips haven't been damaged in removal or from a prior accident. Last thing you want is something creaking after all this work.

The rear seat configuration I believe is limited to the avalanche and suburban ext. They fold in a non-traditional way. (The cushion swings towards the driver, then the seat back is folded down which has the plastic skid plate on it's backside) whereas the full size suburban and taho have more traditional stationary cushions that the seat back folds forward ontop of. These seats are removable for more storage and create a flat bed and have hook mounts rather than the steel brackets. Iirc
 
That’s good info. I worked my way through college at a custom car shop doing installs and was a sandblaster at a classic car shop in HS so the comments about plastic and clips brought some PTSD out :)

I had an 07, but I completely forgot about the plastic backing on the rear seats. Thank you.

Have you ever used any of the dyes or sprays? I was thinking I might be able to use that on some of the low touch items (fuse box cover etc.)
 
It really depends on how much of a completionist you are when it comes to some of those panels. I don't think you'll ever be happy with spraying the plastics, they'll never have the same texture as the originals and color matching might be difficult. When it comes to dyes especially, anything exposed to the sun will likely fade over time no matter how good they say it resists UV. I'd say that unless it's something that is otherwise a pain in the rear to remove and is also a low visibility item, I'd just get the part and swap it.

Fuse box covers are one of those things realistically no one really needs unless they break the clips off of theirs. So you can bet that nearly every avalanche in. A scrapyard has one.



Another choice for you is to visit sites like copart.com and look at the process of buying a truck on auction in order to buy a doner car. Going this route would let you swap parts at your leisure and in the end, you can just scrap what's left, it really depends on how lucky you get with something decent popping up. I know with the early model lifter problems, it's not uncommon for them to get mechanically totalled. Sometimes they're completely rebuild able if you were that eager. Some of these vehicles can be purchased direct by you, others need a licensed broker in your state. So you would need to find someone that cna bid for you and take delivery like a used car dealership.

Tbh, the number of rusted out 1st gens kind of makes me sick to see here in michigan. If I would have bought a 1500 I would have had a parts truck in an instant. They go for cheap even in running (deathtrap) condition.
 
That's all really great info. I think the ideal scenario would be to find one in a salvage yard that has a good interior and negotiate the buy the whole interior carpet and all. I'd honestly not hesitate to buy a donor vehicle, but in the suburbs of Dallas, space is at a premium. Not to mention angry HOA people if I left it in the driveway.

Thanks for talking me out of the spraying. It absolutely would bother me in the long run, but wasn't sure if that was a realistic route.
 
The copart auction may be the way to go. It might come out cheaper to rent a storage unit for a few weeks/months until I can make the full swap.

- Does anyone know if the LTZ multi adjust seats use a different connector harness under the driver/pass seats?
- If it's just a situation of some of the functions not working, that's ok, but if none of them work, that's a problem.

Thanks

- KTJ
 
That's all really great info. I think the ideal scenario would be to find one in a salvage yard that has a good interior and negotiate the buy the whole interior carpet and all. I'd honestly not hesitate to buy a donor vehicle, but in the suburbs of Dallas, space is at a premium. Not to mention angry HOA people if I left it in the driveway.

Thanks for talking me out of the spraying. It absolutely would bother me in the long run, but wasn't sure if that was a realistic route.
Yuck, well, depending on the condition of the chosen doner, you might be able to work something out with them. So long as it's not an eyesore, they might be able to allow leniency for a few weeks. Depends on how many book-thumping Karen's are on the board.


The copart auction may be the way to go. It might come out cheaper to rent a storage unit for a few weeks/months until I can make the full swap.

- Does anyone know if the LTZ multi adjust seats use a different connector harness under the driver/pass seats?
- If it's just a situation of some of the functions not working, that's ok, but if none of them work, that's a problem.

Thanks

- KTJ
I suppose it all really depends on whether the truck runs or not. If it does, a 10x20 might serve you well enough to get it all done. Technically if you removed all of the seats before putting it in, you would have space to scoot around inside and grab what you need. Though there wont be a lot of room to get larger objects in and out of the doors without removing the truck from the unit. if your storage complex has a lot for RV's or a general parking lot, that would be ideal for your project so long as it could scoot along on it's own power. Or if you happen to have a places that have wider selections available like a 15x20 or better yet actual garage spaces available for a non-running choice. It all depends on what donor you can find, what spaces are available, and how much $$$ you want to spend.

we uh, had a guy try to hide a Ram 1500 from the bank inside one of our 10x20 storage units.. then he didn't pay his monthly rent going on three months so we went in to clean it out.. I was kind of shocked to see that thing squeezed in there. The place he owed money to took the truck back without so much as a thank you. My grandmother (who oversees the place still) is now paranoid about the guy storing a c8 'vette that always cuts it close on the payments.


As for the seat questions, i dont have a perfect answer for you. Technically speaking, you should be perfectly fine putting LT seats into an LTZ vehicle. You would lose any functions that it doesn't have on it, but the connectors itself should be similar (just missing pins). Going the other way around though can be tricky. If you dont care about the features you can probably use them in the exact same way. But if you want to use them, features that require switches located elsewhere on the body (door, center console, ect) such as heated seats, memory seats, ect. Will need their individual switches to also be swapped along with the body control module (BCM). Depending on how cheap GM had gotten with production over the years, individual wiring harnesses will have to be swapped to the fusebox(s) in order to plug the relays and fuses into them. By the time you take the flooring out. this will be pretty simple. But generally, a downgrade should be downright easy. You just will likely have error codes when you scan your avalanche because the BCM in an LTZ will think that certain features are acting up when they no longer exist. This wont trigger a light, it will just exist. The thing to be mindful of is if the second gen has seat based airbags. (i dont actually know) make for damn sure you remove the battery for at least 20 minutes before messing with these. and be super mindful of their existance if they added them in the middle of the generation. The lack of this existing in your truck will definitely light up the airbag light on your dash. All in all, make sure you look up the connector pinouts between your avalanche and the donor just to make sure things are lining up before installing to be on the safe side.
 
Yuck, well, depending on the condition of the chosen doner, you might be able to work something out with them. So long as it's not an eyesore, they might be able to allow leniency for a few weeks. Depends on how many book-thumping Karen's are on the board.
It's a brand new master planned community so you can bet they are out in force.

I suppose it all really depends on whether the truck runs or not. If it does, a 10x20 might serve you well enough to get it all done. Technically if you removed all of the seats before putting it in, you would have space to scoot around inside and grab what you need. Though there wont be a lot of room to get larger objects in and out of the doors without removing the truck from the unit. if your storage complex has a lot for RV's or a general parking lot, that would be ideal for your project so long as it could scoot along on it's own power. Or if you happen to have a places that have wider selections available like a 15x20 or better yet actual garage spaces available for a non-running choice. It all depends on what donor you can find, what spaces are available, and how much $$$ you want to spend.

we uh, had a guy try to hide a Ram 1500 from the bank inside one of our 10x20 storage units.. then he didn't pay his monthly rent going on three months so we went in to clean it out.. I was kind of shocked to see that thing squeezed in there. The place he owed money to took the truck back without so much as a thank you. My grandmother (who oversees the place still) is now paranoid about the guy storing a c8 'vette that always cuts it close on the payments.
Haha, what an incredible story. I'm going to shop around for a covered unit. The last thing I want is to get a donor vehicle and then split the dash in the TX summer sun.

As for the seat questions, i dont have a perfect answer for you. Technically speaking, you should be perfectly fine putting LT seats into an LTZ vehicle. You would lose any functions that it doesn't have on it, but the connectors itself should be similar (just missing pins). Going the other way around though can be tricky. If you dont care about the features you can probably use them in the exact same way. But if you want to use them, features that require switches located elsewhere on the body (door, center console, ect) such as heated seats, memory seats, ect. Will need their individual switches to also be swapped along with the body control module (BCM). Depending on how cheap GM had gotten with production over the years, individual wiring harnesses will have to be swapped to the fusebox(s) in order to plug the relays and fuses into them. By the time you take the flooring out. this will be pretty simple. But generally, a downgrade should be downright easy. You just will likely have error codes when you scan your avalanche because the BCM in an LTZ will think that certain features are acting up when they no longer exist. This wont trigger a light, it will just exist. The thing to be mindful of is if the second gen has seat based airbags. (i dont actually know) make for damn sure you remove the battery for at least 20 minutes before messing with these. and be super mindful of their existance if they added them in the middle of the generation. The lack of this existing in your truck will definitely light up the airbag light on your dash. All in all, make sure you look up the connector pinouts between your avalanche and the donor just to make sure things are lining up before installing to be on the safe side.

Mine is a LT, and thinking through it makes me want to get a donor thats match for match. While it would be nice to get an extra feature set like cooled seats since I'm swapping the entire door panel out anyways, I don't think it will be worth the trouble.

I'm pretty sure the Gen 2s have airbags in the side panels and seats, but I'll need to double check when I pick it up tomorrow. Past experience in a shop and I'd much rather work on a Hybrid with 220 running through it than have an airbag to deal with every few minutes.

Should be a fun project. I'm going to mat the floor roof and doors while I'm doing it. It will never be a better time.

I got setup on Copart yesterday and hopefully can grab a donor for less than 3, but it looks like I can get one for sure under 4. Based on pricing out salvage parts, I think I'd be close to that at a junkyard for an interior.
 
It's a brand new master planned community so you can bet they are out in force.


Haha, what an incredible story. I'm going to shop around for a covered unit. The last thing I want is to get a donor vehicle and then split the dash in the TX summer sun.



Mine is a LT, and thinking through it makes me want to get a donor thats match for match. While it would be nice to get an extra feature set like cooled seats since I'm swapping the entire door panel out anyways, I don't think it will be worth the trouble.

I'm pretty sure the Gen 2s have airbags in the side panels and seats, but I'll need to double check when I pick it up tomorrow. Past experience in a shop and I'd much rather work on a Hybrid with 220 running through it than have an airbag to deal with every few minutes.

Should be a fun project. I'm going to mat the floor roof and doors while I'm doing it. It will never be a better time.

I got setup on Copart yesterday and hopefully can grab a donor for less than 3, but it looks like I can get one for sure under 4. Based on pricing out salvage parts, I think I'd be close to that at a junkyard for an interior.
Probably pretty close, yeah. Plus, this way youmight end up with spare wheels, tires, body panels, bed panels, and general parts ontop of it depending on condition.

Honestly the difficulty on "upgrading" the interior to an LTZ probably isnt too complicated by the time you go as far as you're planning. I believe the BCM is right under the dash, and presuming that you're bringing most of the dash and steering wheel along for the ride, it's likely to be straightforward. Most of the specific switches and wires will be coming with the individual parts that you're swapping already.

If you dont mind either way, id just keep your eyes out for a great donor and just go with whatever you get a fantastic deal on. Bite the bullet and try for the upgrade to an ltz if you find a good one, or do a 1:1 lt swap. Or something in between. Who knows, you might find the odd trim with an upgraded seat.
 
Probably pretty close, yeah. Plus, this way youmight end up with spare wheels, tires, body panels, bed panels, and general parts ontop of it depending on condition.

Honestly the difficulty on "upgrading" the interior to an LTZ probably isnt too complicated by the time you go as far as you're planning. I believe the BCM is right under the dash, and presuming that you're bringing most of the dash and steering wheel along for the ride, it's likely to be straightforward. Most of the specific switches and wires will be coming with the individual parts that you're swapping already.

If you dont mind either way, id just keep your eyes out for a great donor and just go with whatever you get a fantastic deal on. Bite the bullet and try for the upgrade to an ltz if you find a good one, or do a 1:1 lt swap. Or something in between. Who knows, you might find the odd trim with an upgraded seat.
I bought this 2013 Fairway Metallic with a Z71 package because it is just so incredibly rare so I'm wanting to keep the Z71 aspects of the interior so it wouldn't really be a LTZ conversion either way. I honestly don't care about those upgrades and just want the green on black look for the long haul.
 
I bought this 2013 Fairway Metallic with a Z71 package because it is just so incredibly rare so I'm wanting to keep the Z71 aspects of the interior so it wouldn't really be a LTZ conversion either way. I honestly don't care about those upgrades and just want the green on black look for the long haul.
Well, that will make your life easy then! Just nab whatever you can grab. I commend you on taking on such a project, be sure to post plenty of updates!
 
Well, that will make your life easy then! Just nab whatever you can grab. I commend you on taking on such a project, be sure to post plenty of updates!
I certainly will. She made the 13 hour trip home from Iowa yesterday. Thread may go dark for a bit while I get a storage unit and donor vehicle, but I'll absolutely post pics when we get this project started. Thanks again for all of the help.IMG-1854.jpg
 
Well guys, a bit of a saga occurred with this. I'll update everyone, and then we can close this thread.

I bought a donor car from copart that had ebony interior, looked great, and was exactly what I needed for this truck. Everything went fine, right up until the tow truck dropped off a monstrosity in my driveway. The vehicle had been vandalized after the auction photos were taken, and more importantly, almost every interior panel and seat had been damaged in some way. The guy driving the truck said it's pretty common when a car is repod that people will break in to get their stuff and destroy the car in the process (awesome).

Incredibly frustrated, I called and had the vehicle picked up for a write-off.

By 100% chance, I happened to see one for sale nearby that was identical to the one I bought in Iowa, only this one had ebony interior. Perfect! As these trucks have continued to skyrocket in value, I actually ended up with a swap and some money back in the exact truck that I want.

Sorry that there won't be any project photos to go with this, but this story ended well for me. Thank you all for those that provided insight, and I look forward to working with you on future projects.

Thanks all
 
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