Car theft is a grim reality that auto enthusiasts hate to think about. As automotive YouTuber Danny Z points out, "in America every 37 seconds one vehicle is stolen, which is absolutely insane that equates to 800 to 900,000 vehicles". But what actually happens to these cars when they vanish from driveways and parking lots?While some are recovered intact, many are stripped down to their bare bones and dumped at salvage auctions. That's exactly where Danny Z found his latest project: a completely gutted 2017 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport 3LT (with a Z06 conversion in mind) that he snagged for $9,000. In a recent video on his channel, he documents the final, grueling stages of rebuilding this stolen carcass from the ground up.If you've ever wondered what it takes to resurrect a modern sports car from a bare chassis, grab your safety glasses. It's a bumpy, oil-soaked ride.The Cost of a Corvette ResurrectionBuilding a car from scratch isn't just a test of mechanical skill; it's a test of your wallet. Danny broke down the math to see if rebuilding a stolen, stripped Corvette actually makes financial sense.AdvertisementAdvertisementTo make one complete car, he actually had to buy two incomplete ones. His primary auction shell cost him $11,300 after shipping, and a secondary donor car set him back another $11,200. Throw in roughly $6,100 for various used and aftermarket parts—like a radiator stack, a fender, and headlights—and the grand total hovers around $28,000.So, is it worth it? Considering that a used 2017 Grand Sport 3LT currently commands top dollar, the math checks out. "If we're in the car for 30,000, we're still well below the $45 to 60 range," Danny notes.Of course, the financial savings are paid for in sweat and frustration. When piecing together an engine from a donor car, you're bound to run into gremlins. For Danny, it was a terrifying engine knock that threatened to derail the budget completely.After stressing over the misfire for a week, he traced the issue down to a shockingly simple culprit: a missing catch can that was letting unmetered air into the intake. "It's running perfect. Are you kidding me? After all this time, the problem was a massive vacuum leak on the manifold that caused it to misfire insanely bad," he says, breathing a massive sigh of relief. "I'm just happy we don't need a new engine".AdvertisementAdvertisementBut the relief was short-lived. Next up was the dreaded task of replacing leaking, damaged brake lines. Because Chevy doesn't sell pre-molded OEM brake lines for this application, Danny had to learn how to cut, flare, and bend his own copper lines using an Amazon kit. After hours of battling tight clearances around the torque tube, he managed to seal the system, declaring, "I genuinely never want to deal with brake lines ever again".Aftermarket Gambles and Triumphant DrivesWhen you're over budget, you have to get creative. Used OEM front bumpers for a C7 Corvette can easily fetch $1,500 on eBay. Danny opted for a $400 aftermarket bumper that arrived folded up in a cardboard box. After letting it sit in the Florida sun to regain its shape, the gamble paid off beautifully."Taking my chances with a cheaper aftermarket front bumper was totally worth it because this thing fits incredible," he admits. "Now I'm sure it's not as good as OEM, but it is darn close, and we saved a ton of money."After three months of wrenching, gluing fiberglass panels, and fighting electrical harnesses, the mismatched, multi-colored Corvette was finally ready to hit the pavement.AdvertisementAdvertisementWith his wife in the passenger seat (and a distinct lack of seatbelts), Danny took the C7 out for its first drive in over a year. Despite a brief scare where the temperature needle crept up to the 260-degree mark—requiring a quick pull-over to let the coolant settle—the stripped-down auction frame proved it still had the heart of a sports car."This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hardest project, the hardest challenge I've ever challenged myself with," Danny reflects at the end of the video. "It came off a forklift, just a frame, nothing on it. Now it's on the road, body panels are on, engine is on, subframe is on, everything is on. It drives perfectly, and that is unbelievable".It just goes to show that with enough patience, zip-ties, and 3M panel bond, even a stolen, stripped-to-the-bone chassis can get a second lease on life. Now, he just has to figure out what color to paint it.
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