installing trim on bed, tailgate, and fender

[RADustin]

Guys,

On my '76 project I have a base model fender without trim holes, GMC tailgate without trim holes, and bedside panels without trim holes. My cab, doors, and other front fender are original to the truck and already have the holes.

Is there a drawing or procedure out there for locating and drilling all the side trim holes? I want to run the full upper and lower trim all the way around with wheel well moldings, everything.

On the topic, is only the lower tailgate trim piece remade? Is the upper not sold?

Thanks

[ray_mcavoy]

Here is a sketch I made several years ago when working on Dad's 77. This sketch doesn't show ALL of the factory hole locations because we chose to substitute extra plastic stick-on clips in many locations (especially on the front fenders) to reduce the number of holes we had to drill into the new body panels.



Since your other front fender is original with the holes, you should be able to measure the hole locations off that and mirror them over to the replacement fender.

The tailgate trim is the same upper & lower. The lower one is oriented with the accent stripe near the top and the upper one is flipped around with the accent stripe near the bottom. Both were attached from the factory with several plastic stick-on clips along the center. And if I remember correctly, the outer ends of the lower piece were secured with metal snap-in clips while the outer ends of the upper piece used metal clips with studs on them and were secured with nuts (accessible with the tailgate open).

[RADustin]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Here is a sketch I made several years ago

this is helpful! thanks

do you have anymore info on the sticky clips? I've seen them used in pictures but can't find any info on them.

[ray_mcavoy]

You're welcome!

The stick-on clips are basically just a little chunk of plastic that's roughly 1-1/4" square and just thick enough to fit snugly into the groove on the back side of the aluminum trim. The side facing the truck is flat and has a piece of 3M double-sided molding tape that's about 1" square.

Dad bought new GM trim (back when most of it was still available from the dealer) and that came with the plastic stick-on clips already installed in the factory locations. I think the new reproduction trim comes with them too. To add more of the stick-on clips (in place of metal clips that require holes in the body), we salvaged good used ones off some old junk trim, cleaned up the plastic, and put on some new 3M tape. I can't remember the exact thickness of 3M tape we used but you want some that is relatively thin so the trim fits up close to the body without a gap.

[stanski]

I don't use the clips as the 3M tape seems to come loose after a while. Instead I put a dab of windshield urethane on the backside of the trim then tape the piece tightly to the body for a day. Never comes loose.

[blazer2007]

Originally Posted by stanski

I don't use the clips as the 3M tape seems to come loose after a while. Instead I put a dab of windshield urethane on the backside of the trim then tape the piece tightly to the body for a day. Never comes loose.

How easy is that stuff to remove if you have to

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by blazer2007

How easy is that stuff to remove if you have to

Based on my experience with urethane mounted windshields, it can be some very tough stuff to remove.

So far, the 3M tape we used on Dad's 77 (done about 12 years ago) is still holding strong. Of course, we did use new fresh tape, made sure the surfaces were absolutely clean, and used some adhesion promoter on the plastic clips.

We probably would have had problems with it coming un-stuck if we had simply used the tape that came pre-installed though. That's because some of the trim had probably been sitting around in a warehouse for quite some time and the tape looked pretty old and the backing was hard to peel off.

[stanski]

Originally Posted by blazer2007

How easy is that stuff to remove if you have to

No problem removing trim after using urethane. I slip a thin putty knife behind the trim, then gently tap it till it cuts through the urethane as it never becomes rock hard once its cured.. If you're going to reinstall that piece just trim back the blob on the trim and check how well the other half is adhered to the body. If its good, leave it, put a thin film of urethane back on the trim side and stick it back on. The stuff sticks to itself as well as to metal.

[RADustin]

I think I'm just going to drill all the holes and bolt it all up. The tape/glue is interesting though.

[stanski]

Originally Posted by RADustin

I think I'm just going to drill all the holes and bolt it all up. The tape/glue is interesting though.

Drilling holes and using screws is required and works the best, but those are used only at the ends. In between you use the plastic pads with 3M, which I find loose adhesion over time. That's why I replaced the tabs with a dab of urethane.

[RADustin]

Originally Posted by stanski

Drilling holes and using screws is required and works the best, but those are used only at the ends. In between you use the plastic pads with 3M, which I find loose adhesion over time. That's why I replaced the tabs with a dab of urethane.

then I'm confused. I thought it all bolted on.

Is this just on the bed? the use of the 3m tape?

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by RADustin

then I'm confused. I thought it all bolted on.

Is this just on the bed? the use of the 3m tape?

The factory used a combination of metal stud clips with nuts, snap-in metal clips, screws, and stick-on clips to attach the 73-80 side trim.

If I remember correctly, the LMC catalog has a diagram showing the side trim that has various symbols (squares, triangles, circles, etc) to indicate the type of clip or fastener used at each location.

[RADustin]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

The factory used a combination of metal stud clips with nuts, snap-in metal clips, screws, and stick-on clips to attach the 73-80 side trim.

If I remember correctly, the LMC catalog has a diagram showing the side trim that has various symbols (squares, triangles, circles, etc) to indicate the type of clip or fastener used at each location.

that was all chinese to me before. but I am starting to understand.

Thanks!!

[andyh1956]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Here is a sketch I made several years ago when working on Dad's 77. This sketch doesn't show ALL of the factory hole locations because we chose to substitute extra plastic stick-on clips in many locations (especially on the front fenders) to reduce the number of holes we had to drill into the new body panels.



Since your other front fender is original with the holes, you should be able to measure the hole locations off that and mirror them over to the replacement fender.

The tailgate trim is the same upper & lower. The lower one is oriented with the accent stripe near the top and the upper one is flipped around with the accent stripe near the bottom. Both were attached from the factory with several plastic stick-on clips along the center. And if I remember correctly, the outer ends of the lower piece were secured with metal snap-in clips while the outer ends of the upper piece used metal clips with studs on them and were secured with nuts (accessible with the tailgate open).

The truck in your drawing has straighter body panels than most my trucks do!

[stanski]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

The factory used a combination of metal stud clips with nuts, snap-in metal clips, screws, and stick-on clips to attach the 73-80 side trim.

If I remember correctly, the LMC catalog has a diagram showing the side trim that has various symbols (squares, triangles, circles, etc) to indicate the type of clip or fastener used at each location.

As Ray so aptly describes. You use the clips with nuts, snap-in clips, screws and stick-on pads as described. My suggestion is to scrap the stick-on pads and use urethane instead.

[1774btcrew]

Don't drill holes in your trim. I just got back from the c10s in the park show and saw beautifully restored trucks with new trim installed that had holes drilled to mount trim. Basically the ends of the trim are hard mounted with either screws or speednuts and studs. The center pieces are double sided tape. I feel if you use 3M tape and the paint is fully cured with all of the solvents out of it, you should be good for a whole lot of years