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the black center plastic moldings that separates the exterior bodypanels on my 1986 C4 has a few bumps in them and i was thinking of switching them out if possible. does anyone know if that is at all possible or do i have to buy all new body panels?.
You will have to look for some of them in the used parts market. I have always wondered if the bumps are caused by rust forming where the nuts are attaching it to the body and causing the belt line to lift off the brackets.
If you take one apart there is a small metal stainless looking strip that has the studs pressed in. They are screwed into the plastic with little screws. The plastic that the screws go into becomes brittle and breaks, causing the plastic to come apart from the strip.. The metal strip goes the full length of the molding.
if you're looking for OEM, about half of the 13 pieces are discontinued, the other half is still available from GM - for how long, it's anybody's guess. seems like the missing pieces are available as reproduction. not sure about the fit and finish though.
if the nuts are frozen on the studs, good luck getting them off without destroying the part. if you just want to replace them with used, there are plenty of folks here on the forum selling used. ebay is another source for used, but NOS doesn't seem to come up too often.