13 ZL1 conversion

[Buschman]

Morning all,
I have a 15 1LE and am thinking about swapping front bumper and headlights from a 13 ZL1. Has anyone done similar? Did a search and found a few threads about swapping to the 6th gen ZL1 style but not 5th gen.

I’m assuming all mounting points should be the same for both bumper and headlights, is the wiring close or would I have to make some custom harnesses?

[Speeddmn]

Id assume it isnt much different than the guys that swap early gen 5’s to zl1. Couple youtube videos out there that explain it. To run all the lights I believe there is one harness you have to buy or make.

[InFiD3ViL]

It really shouldn't be too much different since the 2015 ZL1 has the exact same front end as the early ZL1s. The 2014/2015 did not get a refreshed front end. You mentioned headlights, which will obviously need to be changed, but other than that I think it should be straight forward.

Only other major difference that I can think of is the cowl on the earlier cars was narrower. So you may want to research if the 2014/15 ZL1 cars used the narrow or wider cowl hood, since the cowl body lines also carry onto the front bumper cover. This is easily fixable by a body shop to match your current hood. Some aftermarket bumper swap companies can also send you a corrected ZL1 bumper to match your newer hood. Another option is to change to an early SS or ZL1 hood to match those lines.

I have also seen some people not even bother trying to match as it's not obvious if you aren't looking for it.

[Buschman]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

It really shouldn't be too much different since the 2015 ZL1 has the exact same front end as the early ZL1s. The 2014/2015 did not get a refreshed front end. You mentioned headlights, which will obviously need to be changed, but other than that I think it should be straight forward.

Only other major difference that I can think of is the cowl on the earlier cars was narrower. So you may want to research if the 2014/15 ZL1 cars used the narrow or wider cowl hood, since the cowl body lines also carry onto the front bumper cover. This is easily fixable by a body shop to match your current hood. Some aftermarket bumper swap companies can also send you a corrected ZL1 bumper to match your newer hood. Another option is to change to an early SS or ZL1 hood to match those lines.

I have also seen some people not even bother trying to match as it's not obvious if you aren't looking for it.

Thanks. Have an Anderson’s Composites cowl hood already, has the 13 cowl lines. That’s one of the reasons I want to do the conversion. The other is increased air flow to the procharger race intercooler.

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Buschman

Thanks. Have an Anderson’s Composites cowl hood already, has the 13 cowl lines. That’s one of the reasons I want to do the conversion. The other is increased air flow to the procharger race intercooler.

Sweet! That's going to look awesome.The other thing to consider depending on where you get the bumper from or if it's a kit, is that when installing on an earlier 5th gen Camaro (2010-2013), you usually will reuse the OEM DRLs or fog lights (if an LS/LT) that the car came with for the upper fogs/drls on the ZL1 bumper. The kits almost always come with the correct lower ZL1 projector fogs though.

Also, I am not sure if the bumper absorber between model years would be the same or if any trimming would need to be done to the steel impact bar. I have seen a few people that had to do some minor cutting on those to get the bumper cover to fully seat, but that might have been on aftermarket ZL1 covers.

I haven't done this conversion yet, but I have done some research as it's one of my most wanted mods.

Not sure about the headlights or if any of the supports/brackets would need swapping out.

[Buschman]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

Sweet! That's going to look awesome.The other thing to consider depending on where you get the bumper from or if it's a kit, is that when installing on an earlier 5th gen Camaro (2010-2013), you usually will reuse the OEM DRLs or fog lights (if an LS/LT) that the car came with for the upper fogs/drls on the ZL1 bumper. The kits almost always come with the correct lower ZL1 projector fogs though.

Also, I am not sure if the bumper absorber between model years would be the same or if any trimming would need to be done to the steel impact bar. I have seen a few people that had to do some minor cutting on those to get the bumper cover to fully seat, but that might have been on aftermarket ZL1 covers.

I haven't done this conversion yet, but I have done some research as it's one of my most wanted mods.

Not sure about the headlights or if any of the supports/brackets would need swapping out.

Thanks don’t much care about the DRL’s just need headlights. My impact bar has been changed to a light weight chromoly bar, absorber is gone. It’s a race car.

[Batmanntexas]

Originally Posted by Buschman

Thanks don’t much care about the DRL’s just need headlights. My impact bar has been changed to a light weight chromoly bar, absorber is gone. It’s a race car.

Nice setup....car, too!!