What yr is this gauge bezel?

[jones9j]

Can anyone tell me what yr this gauge bezel is for. I would like to find one that had the chrome around the gauge holes.

[bigblock73]

That one is 84+

[jones9j]

Thanks, do you know where I can find one with the chrome that will fit in a 79?

[cfan10]

LMC/Ebay

[jones9j]

Do you know if they make one that will work for a 79 with the chrome. The later model won't work cause the wiper switch is on the dash and not the column

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by jones9j

Do you know if they make one that will work for a 79 with the chrome. The later model won't work cause the wiper switch is on the dash and not the column

Looking at the LMC catalog, it looks like they offer 3 styles of 78-80 bezels. Black, black & silver, and brushed aluminum. I don't see one with chrome for that year range. Some other vendors might possibly have them though.

LMC does offer 75-77 style bezels with the chrome accents around the gauge openings (#38-8043 w/o AC and #38-8046 with AC). Although the appearance is a little different, I believe the 75-77 bezels will fit right into a 78-80 truck. You will have to change to the matching lower steering column cover piece (those are different for 73-77 vs. 78-80).

The 81-83 bezels are still configured for the wiper switch on the dash but would not be a good choice because they'll leave a gap next to a 73-80 style dash pad. And you'll probably want to avoid 73-74 bezels as well since they have a narrower opening for the wiper switch.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by jones9j

Can anyone tell me what yr this gauge bezel is for. I would like to find one that had the chrome around the gauge holes.

That looks like my 86. I got mine from LMC.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by TKCR

That looks like my 86. I got mine from LMC.

Those look awfully bright. Mine is more "argent" in those areas with chrome just around the outer lip (original '87 bezel shown, unrestored).

Or is that a model year difference?

(sincerely confused).

K

[TKCR]

It's just chromed around the outer edges, like yours.

These are for 73-80. With or Without air. Chrome, Black or brushed aluminum (argent).
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=74

These are for the 81-83 and then 84-87. With or without air. These are Chromed edges.
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=76

[tucsonjwt]

Just a word of caution. That chrome paint is prone to fading/wearing off in the sunlight. Also, the "chrome" around the edges of the openings is really chrome hot stamp foil, which does flake off over time. So, if you plan on keeping the truck a long time you might not like the appearance of the bezel after a period of years. I replaced the chrome trimmed bezel on my 83 Silverado with a basic black one I bought on ebay for these reasons, but I do live in the sunny desert.

[TKCR]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

Just a word of caution. That chrome paint is prone to fading/wearing off in the sunlight. Also, the "chrome" around the edges of the openings is really chrome hot stamp foil, which does flake off over time. So, if you plan on keeping the truck a long time you might not like the appearance of the bezel after a period of years. I replaced the chrome trimmed bezel on my 83 Silverado with a basic black one I bought on ebay for these reasons, but I do live in the sunny desert.

It probably will flake or fade over time, just as anything will when its out in the sun.

I choose the chrome, because my truck stays in the garage when its not driven, so I felt it would be safe from flaking.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

Just a word of caution. That chrome paint is prone to fading/wearing off in the sunlight. Also, the "chrome" around the edges of the openings is really chrome hot stamp foil, which does flake off over time. So, if you plan on keeping the truck a long time you might not like the appearance of the bezel after a period of years. I replaced the chrome trimmed bezel on my 83 Silverado with a basic black one I bought on ebay for these reasons, but I do live in the sunny desert.

Agree; the one shown has 29 years of daily driver use in Detroit, Phoenix and Livingston MT.

I did have to touch up a couple spots of "chrome" and just used silver duplicolor paint in a bottle.

K

[tucsonjwt]

I think some are better than others regarding flaking. I worked in the Chevy parts plant where these were made in the 1970s. Getting the correct heat setting and a supplier who knew how to make good hot stamp foil was a real challenge. Some production runs were good, some were bad. The "chrome" paint inside the openings was also variable - some painters had the knack and some did not. Like everything else.

My 73 was completely shot, my 76 held up fairly well, my 83 was a disaster. I still like the look of basic black better, even in my Silverado.

[79 Silverado/454]

Originally Posted by jones9j

Can anyone tell me what yr this gauge bezel is for. I would like to find one that had the chrome around the gauge holes.

IMHO, this is an incorrect reproduction bezel for 81-87. I do not remember the bezels having chrome rings around the gauges after 77. IIRC in 78 they started painting the outer rings argent silver and kept it that way thru 87 on the mid to lower end trucks. On the 78-87 Silverado trucks the rings were chrome plated into the bezel itself... Not a separate chrome ring like 73-77.

Also like previously stated the plating would fade & wear off around the gauges & heater control openings.

Keith's pic of his black bezel looks to be correct and the way that I remember the black bezels being originaly produced.

[motornut]

like this?
78 bezel 89 pad

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

I think some are better than others regarding flaking. I worked in the Chevy parts plant where these were made in the 1970s. Getting the correct heat setting and a supplier who knew how to make good hot stamp foil was a real challenge. Some production runs were good, some were bad. The "chrome" paint inside the openings was also variable - some painters had the knack and some did not. Like everything else.

Tucsonjwt - where were those made?

K

[tucsonjwt]

They were made in the Chevrolet parts plant in Bay City, Michigan, in their plastic injection molding operation. It is now a Powertrain plant.

The plant was once a big operation (carburetors, zinc die casting, chrome plating, machined parts, etc.) It is now about 300 people making engine parts.

It became known for the "participative leadership" style of GM's first female plant manager, Pat Carrigan, which was popular in the 1980s, and was in a video by Tom Peters. (I am guessing that you were shown that video at GM, like most folks in corporate America. I think it was on PBS more than once.) She retried from the plant abruptly in 1990 amid stories about stock plan irregularities, but was still highly regarded in academic circles until her death in 2013:

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/12/bu...-gm-plant.html

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by tucsonjwt

They were made in the Chevrolet parts plant in Bay City, Michigan, in their plastic injection molding operation. It is now a Powertrain plant.

The plant was once a big operation (carburetors, zinc die casting, chrome plating, machined parts, etc.) It is now about 300 people making engine parts.

Thank you; I'm from Flint originally - I was wondering if they were perhaps made at Chevrolet Flint Manufacturing (Chevy "in the hole").

K

[tucsonjwt]

I am not sure about Flint Manufacturing. As you know, one characteristic of plastic injection molding is that the process yields a lot of parts quickly. So, it did not take very long to satisfy truck assembly demand, and the Bay City plant rented warehouse space for all of their plastic parts and stored them until needed (quite a logistics hassle.) So, I doubt that there would be a need to have a second source for bezel manufacturing.

Producing the bezels was not a problem - just the trimming of the parts hindered delivery. This was especially a problem for the fake wood grain trim which came from a company called Northern Engraving(along with the brushed aluminum decals.) Getting the decals centered on the bezel, relative to the mounting holes and gauge openings was a challenge.

The plant also made heater control assemblies, until they were out bid by a few cents per unit by another plant. I remember having decal issues with those also. One heater control assembly had a decal stamped with a blue-white-red sequence. The supplier furnished a decal with a red-white-blue sequence. We had to keep in stock for years the incorrectly oriented rolls of decals because the engineering specification did not indicate the roll orientation so they technically were compliant. The engineering did not specify which way the stock was rolled up on the cardboard tube -left or right - and the hot stamp machine only fed in one direction, so the stock could not be used.