Trailmaster trim pieces

[The_Blue_Devil]

Howdy y'all,

I'm currently in the process of restoring my grandfather's C1500. I plan on getting it repainted and the factory colors and before I send it in to paint I want to have all the new trim pieces and hand. I have everything except for the 2 front step side pads and the 4 trim pieces for the wheel arches in cab. I understand that trail Master did the up fit on this so the stock parts don't line up. For the wheel wells the trim goes from the front of the front wheel well all the way down to the back of the cab, and the rear one goes from the very front of the bed to the back of the rear wheel well.

Any links or advice would be greatly appreciated as these are the last few parts I need before sending the truck to be painted.

 

[Hipster]

Not sure what your exact question is because it looks complete but for lack of the bedside step. These pieces for the other side? There were multiple different kits made by multiple different manufacturers. Alot is NLA as the bodystyle hasn't been produced for 2 decades.

 

[The_Blue_Devil]

Sorry for the slight confusion, I'm trying to find replacements for them. My paint shop advised me that those almost always crack or break when they take them off to repaint and recommended to go ahead and get new ones. The truck is complete currently but I am worried that even with all the care in the world the plastic will just break because of its age.

 

[Caman96]

So your repainting that or are those old pictures? Looks pretty clean there!

 

[454cid]

That truck is beautiful.

 

[Hipster]

My paint shop advised me that those almost always crack or break when they take them off to repaint and recommended to go ahead and get new ones. The truck is complete currently but I am worried that even with all the care in the world the plastic will just break because of its age.

I'm not sure why they are telling you that unless they are in fact plasic. Most are fiberglass. These wheel flares were all the rage in the 90's and all I can say as a bodyguy is I have fixed and repaired/glassed them for collision repairs even when I had bits and missing sections to piece back together on both conversion vans and pickups. It wasn't easy to track down singular pieces in the 90's even when it was all being produced. You might be working on one that came from Mark III with co. "abc" effects package and the next would be co. "xyz" parts, or it was a dealer level add on.

No doubt in my mind I could strip any cracked peeling paint areas, reinforce any weak or cracked/missing areas, either re-gelcoat or polyester prime them, and when refinished would look nice. That's kind of a worst case scenario. In the pics yours look like they have faired better than most. Either they don't have the skills or upon further inspection they can't do it for the "estimated" price. More time calls for more money, Or are they reluctant at any price?

 

[The_Blue_Devil]

@Caman96 they were taken about a year ago right after I got it detailed and before a local car show. I'm going to have the whole truck redone, as the paint on the hood and roof are worn past the clear coat in pretty far into the paint itself. And of course we're going to keep the "stock" paint job!

@454cid Thanks! It's crazy what a truck can look like if you take care of it for 28 yrs!

@Hipster The flares are fiberglass but on the back left there is a little piece of the fiberglass flare missing from a little fender bender years ago. I'm just trying to find the little black plastic/rubber (not entirely sure which as they are 20+ years old and have hardened) moulding piece (or even a generic part) that's on the outer lip of the flare. As for the stepside front step, it is plastic and old and the clips that hold it to the bed/fender will probably break off. And after painting it, I want it to look like it just rolled off the assembly line so trying to find new/remade plastic parts.

 

[The_Blue_Devil]

Here's a little closer picture of what I'm talking about for the little black strip on the flare.

 

[The_Blue_Devil]

And to clarify, they are taking off the black plastic trim pieces, not the flares. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Hipster]

And to clarify, they are taking off the black plastic trim pieces, not the flares. Sorry for the confusion.

Used to be able to buy that stuff in rolls, alot of it was 2 sided stick on tape. I don't know whats available these days. New ones at the time would come with the stuff to be stuck on after paint.

personal opinion but I think it's a "cleaner" look without that trim on there but the edges of the flares need to be finished nice.