Smashed Corvette Z06 to See Second Life in Epic Rebuild
Smashed Corvette Z06 to See Second Life in Epic Rebuild
Rescuing 2017 Corvette Z06 with only 518 miles on the odometer from the wrecking yard, these guys are prepared for the rebuild.
Most salvaged Corvettes we’ve seen usually end up becoming grown-up go-karts, built to destroy competitors one quarter-mile at a time. It’s fairly easy to strip a wrecked ‘Vette to its frame, cut-away the bashed bits, weld together a roll cage, and generally make it all a fun project with crazy potential. That’s definitely one way to go from the salvage yard.
But what if there was another way? What if, instead of going the Mad Max path, one were to restore a salvage Corvette to its former glory, if not better? That’s what the crew of YouTubers known as goonzquad are going to do.
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Following a two-hour trek from their home base, the crew arrive with a trailer to haul away their latest find from Copart, a black metallic 2017 Corvette Z06. A few minutes and one loader trip later, the blemished beauty is secured to the trailer for the ride to its new home.
Once home, the lads reveal what they’ve gotten themselves into: a Z06 with a seven-speed manual transmission and only 518 miles on the odometer. As they explain, the Z06 is fully broken in at 500, so whatever the previous owner did to wreck the ‘Vette, it may have been a result of finally being able to give the supercharged LT4 all of its 650 horses and 650 lb-ft of torque.
As for what all will need to be done to bring the Z06 back, they found that the front frame rails have a hairline crack, which means they’ll need to find “somebody with an aluminum welder, which shouldn’t be a problem.” The insurance company that totaled the Z06 did little to help the lads, having cut the wheelhouse panels to determine how much it would cost to repair the car. At least left them one headlight, though, saving the crew $1,200.
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Unfortunately, there will be more damage to the bank account than found on the Z06. The insurance company stated it would cost $5,291, but as they “took apart everything and didn’t leave [the new owners] nothing” to ease the costs of the rebuild, the budget will be much larger than necessary. But they’re excited to work on the project, and we can’t wait to see the Z06 be brought back to life.
