That’s what I was hoping someone would say, I feel like a shield and wrapping the exhaust would be sufficient. I’d hate to move all that stuff.
CK5
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I think my build has pics of me putting shielding around the fuel lines an I definitely think it is the way to go. I used a infrared thermometer to check it , and it made a huge difference. Definitely reduced my hard starts after I had a driven a little ways.
On second note, your roll bar looks great! One suggestion, tie in the main hoop to the b-pillar. It will strengthen everything. Even the OE 74-75 roll bars were tied into the b-pillar. If the stars align this summer and I get that far I'm going to do the same to my roll bar kit.
On second note, your roll bar looks great! One suggestion, tie in the main hoop to the b-pillar. It will strengthen everything. Even the OE 74-75 roll bars were tied into the b-pillar. If the stars align this summer and I get that far I'm going to do the same to my roll bar kit.
That’s encouraging to hear I’ll definitely do that then.
I thought about doing that but my roll bar sits kind of far back from the b pillar, there’s also a good bit of a gap between the roll bar and the bed side.
I still could do it but it would be a bit of a reach so I haven’t decided yet. It is very solid as is so I’m probably leaning towards not at the moment.
Yea on you roll bar from those pictures it would be hard to tie it in and it not look weird with those gaps. Hopefully you never really need it anyways.
Go to summit racing and search "DEI Heat Sheath". That should solve your problem. It has velcro and can be cut to fit, just wish it (and everything these days) was cheaper.
Go to summit racing and search "DEI Heat Sheath". That should solve your problem. It has velcro and can be cut to fit, just wish it (and everything these days) was cheaper.
Much appreciated I’ll look into it.
Only picture worthy progress lately, I refurbished a set of 73-76 door panel trim pieces: 
I picked up the set from friend for cheap. They weren’t in good enough condition to use imo, there was rust coming through the wood grain and the clear coat was cracking towards the top but I figured I could try to refurb them before buying a new set. I think they turned out really nice. I took them apart, sanded down the wood grain part which was beyond saving unfortunately, put a coat of body filler on them because the were covered in dents, primed them and then covered them with this peel and stick vinyl/wallpaper walnut wood grain stuff. The aluminum trim piece around the edge wasn’t looking great and no amount of sanding and polishing could make it look like I wanted so I ended up spraying them with an aluminum spray paint and repainted the black sections in the middles. I think it passes for aluminum. So much so that i did the same thing to my tailgate trim piece.
It had some dents and scrapes especially near the old letters. There was a spot at the bottom that was bent up and had a hole through it so I sanded the whole thing down and put seam sealer in the hole and put body filler over everything. After sanding there obviously wasn’t much body filler left. A little primer and aluminum paint plus the black paint around the edge and its looking much better.
At least useable. The new emblem really sets it off I think. I did satin clear coat on both the tailgate trim and the door panel trim. I hate to cover up real aluminum with paint but I think it turned out well enough that I can forgive myself.
I picked up the set from friend for cheap. They weren’t in good enough condition to use imo, there was rust coming through the wood grain and the clear coat was cracking towards the top but I figured I could try to refurb them before buying a new set. I think they turned out really nice. I took them apart, sanded down the wood grain part which was beyond saving unfortunately, put a coat of body filler on them because the were covered in dents, primed them and then covered them with this peel and stick vinyl/wallpaper walnut wood grain stuff. The aluminum trim piece around the edge wasn’t looking great and no amount of sanding and polishing could make it look like I wanted so I ended up spraying them with an aluminum spray paint and repainted the black sections in the middles. I think it passes for aluminum. So much so that i did the same thing to my tailgate trim piece.
It had some dents and scrapes especially near the old letters. There was a spot at the bottom that was bent up and had a hole through it so I sanded the whole thing down and put seam sealer in the hole and put body filler over everything. After sanding there obviously wasn’t much body filler left. A little primer and aluminum paint plus the black paint around the edge and its looking much better. At least useable. The new emblem really sets it off I think. I did satin clear coat on both the tailgate trim and the door panel trim. I hate to cover up real aluminum with paint but I think it turned out well enough that I can forgive myself.
This looks great! Is that the 3M vinyl you used? I've seen where a few companies make it and looks oh so close to OE. When (and I guess IF) I get to the interior I was going to have the upholstery shop use that vinyl to replicate the original bed panels. I've stock piled a few pictures of the early bed side panels from those years. Not many references left, that stuff didn't age well. Shoot those early Blazers/Jimmys didn't age well.
I think the result is really good.
It’s not 3M, I got it on amazon here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KQ47JKC?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_HEVQTYFR6BVRFXA93HF7
I bet 3M brand would be better quality but this stuff worked pretty well, It’s a lighter color than factory but I think it’s pretty close. I know what you’re talking about with those bed panels, I have some pictures saved on my phone for reference when I make mine, in case I want to try the wood grain instead of just all fabric. I need to figure out the aluminum pieces above and below the wood grain, not sure how I’d do that yet.
Thanks!
Well I’m no upholsterer but I think they turned out really nice, they’re a lot more work than they look. If you know what the factory panels looked like then you know what I was going for and I think it came out really close. Very happy with these. Only big thing left on my list is finding and refurbishing a center console, and then I can dive back into body filler….yay.
Got the center console finished up. 
I won’t go Into detail but I was very unhappy with the quality of the console I bought from Holley (brothers truck) it wasn’t as pictures on the website and was just very junky. You can see more details in this thread if you’re interested: https://ck5.com/forums/threads/let’s-talk-center-consoles.348335/
Anyway since there seem to be no better options online I got a stainless steel cup holder section and a factory style trim ring for the top edge, both had to be modified to fit and I obviously dyed it but overall it came out looking decent enough I think.
I won’t go Into detail but I was very unhappy with the quality of the console I bought from Holley (brothers truck) it wasn’t as pictures on the website and was just very junky. You can see more details in this thread if you’re interested: https://ck5.com/forums/threads/let’s-talk-center-consoles.348335/Anyway since there seem to be no better options online I got a stainless steel cup holder section and a factory style trim ring for the top edge, both had to be modified to fit and I obviously dyed it but overall it came out looking decent enough I think.
Little stuff like this is fun, I wish I had a true “before” picture but oh well. 
If you don’t recognize them these pieces trim out the slots where the rear seat latch locks down into the floor. One of them was very rusty on the bottom and both had small amounts of rust on the top as well as a few dings. First wire wheel, then 320, 600, and 1000 grit sandpaper. Finally some polishing wheels and buffing compound until they shone. Probably 2 hours of work but they sure turned out nice. I told myself when I was finished that it’s stuff like this that is making this project take so long. Overall I think the attention to detail will be worth it though.
If you don’t recognize them these pieces trim out the slots where the rear seat latch locks down into the floor. One of them was very rusty on the bottom and both had small amounts of rust on the top as well as a few dings. First wire wheel, then 320, 600, and 1000 grit sandpaper. Finally some polishing wheels and buffing compound until they shone. Probably 2 hours of work but they sure turned out nice. I told myself when I was finished that it’s stuff like this that is making this project take so long. Overall I think the attention to detail will be worth it though.
I thought those were chrome plated parts but were you able to wire wheel them and then do all that sanding and get that kind of finish? That's pretty impressive. I was just going to buy a new set or send them off with the other parts to the chrome shop. 2 hours is definitely worth what it would cost to having the chromed.
I figured they were chrome plated at first but after taking sand paper to them it didn’t seem like it, regardless if they’re steel they can be polished. The wire wheel really doesn’t scratch like you would think, but I’ll admit they polished up a lot nicer than I expected. I would definitely recommend trying to salvage them I’m not sure anyone makes them.
I found a set on eBay for around $30 new in box. I purchased them and the sale pended for at least 2 weeks maybe longer and then the seller randomly canceled it. Really stupid. I guess I'll tuck this information away as something I can do while my truck's in the paint shop.
Yeah they are stainless steel and they will polish up nicely
I didn't know this, but my dad was telling me there is certain grades/alloys of stainless that will rust a little. The real question now is how long before those trim rings start to turn again? Do you know if the 4x4 floor shifter rod is chrome or stainless? That would be a cool part to polish too.
