Help with Z71 Decal Placement on ‘99 Two-Door Tahoe

[kyleholland]

Hi everyone,

My name is Kyle Holland, I just joined and am excited to be part of this forum. I’m reaching out to ask for some help with a small, but important detail on my ’99 two-door Tahoe.

I recently had it repainted, but during the process, the painter removed the Z71 decals from the quarter panels. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to measure their original placement beforehand. Now, I’m looking to invest in OEM decals, and I’d really prefer to position them using accurate measurements rather than relying on photos.

If anyone here owns a similar model and wouldn’t mind measuring the exact location of the Z71 decals on the quarter panels, I’d truly appreciate it!

Thank you in advance for your time and help!

Cheers,
Kyle

 

[east302]

On a Tahoe with the Z71 RPO, the decals would have been dealer or otherwise non-factory additions. I measured them on my son’s 98 pickup when we considered repainting it. That’s probably what a dealer would have based it on so maybe it will help.

Driver Bottom is level with the bottom cutout for the taillight.





Passenger side was probably supposed to be the same but was applied about 3/8” above the level with the taillight cutout.




Edit: it occurs to me that the above wouldn’t fit due to the gas tank lid and wheel opening. Most that I’ve seen either line them up toward the top of the tail light or center them on it.

 

[kyleholland]

Thanks so much, @east302! When I look at photos of my truck before it was repainted, it looks like the Z71 decals were positioned much higher on the quarter panels than the ones on your son's pickup. This generally seems to be the case for the decals on the Tahoes vs. the Silverados for some reason. You don't happen to have the decals on your Tahoe do you?

 

[east302]

No, mine didn’t come with the decals though I do kind of like the way they look on these. They’re too long to fit in the same spot as the pickups, so I guess there’s some flexibility in where you replace them. Check out the Tahoe listings on bringatrailer.com for some ideas.

Dare I ask how much the paint job was? The clear on my roof is gone and I’m sure the rest will follow, lol.

 

[kyleholland]

No, mine didn’t come with the decals though I do kind of like the way they look on these. They’re too long to fit in the same spot as the pickups, so I guess there’s some flexibility in where you replace them. Check out the Tahoe listings on bringatrailer.com for some ideas.

Dare I ask how much the paint job was? The clear on my roof is gone and I’m sure the rest will follow, lol.

I go back and forth on whether I like my truck better with or without the decals, but I’m in a mood where I really want to put them back on right now. Thanks for the Bring a Trailer suggestion! I’ve kept a couple of their listings open in my browser for quite a while, but it was mostly to see how different makes and models of tires looked on stock wheels.

Yeah, the clear on my roof was in bad shape too, so bad that the paint itself was starting to come off and I wanted to avoid having any rust start to form. And, just like you said, the clear was starting to come off on my passenger-side quarter panel too so I decided to have the whole truck painted.

The total cost came out to around $5,000. The original estimate was $4,200, but he charged me an extra $200 to remove and paint the fender flares, $500 to order and put on the side molding, and $100 to order and put on the emblems/decals. He was supposed to order and put on the Z71 decals, but he kept my truck for so long and I wanted it back so bad that I let that go.

 

[east302]

Well that’s not too bad of a price then. Around 2019, I priced a paint job on my truck. The clear is peeling off and looks pretty bad. Maaco style jobs were $3k and two body shops said $8-10k. There wasn’t much middle ground that I could find and I gave up on it. One of these days…

 

[kyleholland]

Well that’s not too bad of a price then. Around 2019, I priced a paint job on my truck. The clear is peeling off and looks pretty bad. Maaco style jobs were $3k and two body shops said $8-10k. There wasn’t much middle ground that I could find and I gave up on it. One of these days…
View attachment 446187

Yeah, that was around the time that I was looking to have my truck repainted. I’m in Tuscaloosa and there weren’t many body shops to choose from, but my fiancé’s dad used to run a body shop by himself in upstate New York and I found someone around here that ran a similar business—just one guy doing all the work by himself, which I’m sure is why it took so long. I recommend it for the price point, but I’m sure it’ll always take longer than it would at a body shop that employs more people, especially when it isn’t insurance work.

Despite the clear peeling off, I think your truck looks good. I always wanted an OBS GM pickup in addition to my Tahoe. I’ve always thought they look good no matter what condition they’re in.