Source for NOS side trim 1973-1980?????

[Gary66]

I am looking for a source of NOS not reproduction side trim for these trucks- I am getting ready to tear into mine and would like to replace all side trim- with good ole USA made NOS!! anyone got a source??

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by gary66

i am looking for a source of nos not reproduction side trim for these trucks- i am getting ready to tear into mine and would like to replace all side trim- with good ole usa made nos!! Anyone got a source??

x2

[menace121978]

X3

[Gary66]

so any place Other than ebay?

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by Gary66

so any place Other than ebay?

ive been looking on ebay i havent found any

[menace121978]

you can also try the wreaking yard man. everytime i'm out there i look and try to find at least 1 perfect piece.

[N2TRUX]

There is no source for GM trim that I am aware of. Several suppliers sell reproduction trim.

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

There is no source for GM trim that I am aware of. Several suppliers sell reproduction trim.

has anyone used repo ones from brothers or LMC ???? also the wheel ach trim is the a black strip or not on 73-80???

[menace121978]

ive heard mixed reviews about the re-poo ones. some are happy some arent. 1 thing is for sure... they need quit a bit of work to make'em fit and look right.

the trim is black unless its a '77. then its yellow. my '78 had yellow underneath the black.

[N2TRUX]

I bought a couple of pieces from LMC. All I can say is it wasn't terrible. It will not match your OEM trim so plan on buying it all.

I bought it compare to the NOS trim that I have. It didn't look like it at all.

[78-5.3]

there are a few places that seam to sell it LMC, classicparts,brothers are a few ? are they made by the same company OS im sure???

[N2TRUX]

From what I have been told, there is only one company that manufacturers the trim. You are correct that several companies sell it, so make your best deal.

[Gary66]

several companies may sell it although there is only ONE NOS!!! and I guess I am going to have to keep searching ebay to find it!

[BIG V]

yep there is no supplyers of nos trim except those few luckey guys on e bay who bought out old dealerships of there nos stuff

[f.monroe]

I would look at boatpullers truck . I think I remem,ber him saying he used it. His truck looks great . I am sure you could tell GM from aftermarket if you tried to mix them . Use a complete trim set of repro and it will probably present OK . I see trim on Ebay all the time . You just have to be patient and do it like Johnny Cash, one piece at a time . I lucked up on a mis titled set og NOS GM trim for a long bed once . Got it for less than or about the same as repro .
Frank

[ray_mcavoy]

Hi Gary66, 78-5.3, menace121978, & others looking for NOS trim,

When my dad and I restored his 77 GMC we tried to use as many NOS and new GM parts as possible. I think we started collecting parts in '02 or so and back then a lot of the side trim was still available at the local GM dealer (although that's probably no longer the case). Even then, there were still a number of pieces that were discontinued. So I did some searching and turned up the following sources that deal in NOS parts:

(1) Automobile Archives (http://www.automobilearchives.com)
(2) Jody Anderson's Southside Automotive ... his old website was www.southsideautomotive.com and had a list of obsolete/NOS parts. I don't think he has that website anymore now that he's the owner/president of the National Impala Association. Looks like the list is now available on the NIA website at: http://www.nationalimpala.com/index....ete-parts.html

Even with the new GM / NOS trim, I noticed that the center accent stripe was somewhat inconsistent in width from piece to piece. Probably because the parts were from various different production runs. Some pieces were in the old paper wrappers while others were in the newer paper/plastic wrappers. The hardware also varied (some nuts took a 3/8 wrench, others 10mm metric. some phillips head screws, some torx). And the double-sided mounting tape on several of the pieces was dried out and no longer usable. To be on the safe side, I peeled the tape off all the pads and replaced it with pieces of new 3M mounting tape.

As menace121978 said, 77's had yellow (instead of black) accent striping on the trim. We couldn't find a whole lot of the yellow pieces so I ended up re-painting a lot of black ones for dad's 77. I used lacquer thinner to clean off the black paint and masked the pieces with fine line tape. It was quite a bit of work but the re-painting did allow me to correct the width inconsistencies that I mentioned.

[79gmcc15]

Wow, what a great first post! Great info! Welcome to the site btw!

[N2TRUX]

Welcome to the forum ray_mcavoy. You bring some very useful info with you.

As you can see from my pic posted above I have quite a few pieces of NOS trim. What you state is very true in that it does not all look the same. There is variances in the stripe width, as well as the sheen.

As mentioned, I feel the only way to get a complete matching set is to buy the aftermarket all at one time. It is not as nice as NOS, but will work fine for "most" people.

[menace121978]

Ray, welcome to the board and thank you for the info and links. very informative!

Ken, when you say the "sheen" is different are you talking about the finish of the metal itself?

i'm not too worried about the painted part because i plan to strip that off anyway and just have it solid chrome but if the finish is different then thats not gonna work out too well for me.

whats a bummer is the only reason need to replace alot of mine is my grandpa/dad used sheetmetal screws to hold it on after the tape wore off. makes me cringe everytime i think of it! i remember going back years ago when i took all the screws out, stripped off the paint, and used pop rivits...

[N2TRUX]

I tried once to get a picture of it but was unsuccessful.

Looking at the OEM stuff, there is a definite difference in stripe width, but that can be fixed. As Ray mentioned it can be repainted, or 3M stripe tape is another option.

I can detect a difference between some of the OEM pieces that I have. Some have a different sheen in the anodizing. It's hard to describe, but I can see it. Keep in mind I am very anal about these kind of things.

The difference between OEM and aftermarket is clear. It looks like brushed aluminum vs brushed stainless. It will not blend with your OEM trim, but then again the NOS pieces would not blend with used OEM pieces that have weathered.

I suggest you purchase the smallest piece of aftermarket you can and decide for yourself. I think in "most" cases if you bought a complete set of aftermarket you would be pleased.

[menace121978]

gotcha! thanks Ken. i'll probably end up trying the aftermarket stuff when the time comes. atleast now you guys have saved me for wasting time pulling misc. pieces from different years at the junk yard.

Ken, what's the worse that could happen???..... i end up not liking it and you end up with an offer you cant refuse for one of your complete sets!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by menace121978

...... what's the worse that could happen???..... i end up not liking it and you end up with an offer you cant refuse for one of your complete sets!

My philosophy is that everything at my house is for sale except my wife, my daughter, and the dog. There are days that my wife and the dog are questionable..

Bring lots of cash, we can talk.

[menace121978]

i'll def. let you know when its time!

[willett]

thats a nice looking rig Gary, where did you get those side-steps?

[Gary66]

Originally Posted by willett

thats a nice looking rig Gary, where did you get those side-steps?

Ebay- they are deezee- cost $160 delivered brand new in the box!!