Corner Cladding

[corsair231]

I was looking at the corner cladding on my Sy and something seems just a little off about mine. I know the Sy/Ty/ and SoGT all had different corners and I'm wondering if mine are correct for the Sy or if it may just be a "less than perfect" repair. How would you tell which corners are which? Our trucks are such rare creatures it's kind of hard to get two side by side to compare them. Anyone got photos they can post showing the differences? What I really would like to see is original Syclone fitment where the rear valance and the corners meet and the area just behind the rear wheel. Thanks.

 

[gmemony2]

 

[corsair231]

Thanks for the photos.

It seems your cladding doesn't fit all the way to the edge of the bed where the tailgate opening starts either. Is your other side the same? Mine has one side that goes all the way to the opening while the other one does not plus it seems like one comes farther out behind the tire and is maybe even just a hair taller. Just wondering if this is normal. Is it just a sign of bad quality control or inconsistencies in installation/truck builds or even the original molds not being identical side to side?

 

[gmemony2]

Mine looks the same on the other side too.
I'm not real good with the cladding on these trucks, but I do know that this cladding has never been off for any reason. As far as molds I'm not sure, my guess is more along the lines of installation issues or movement over time due to poor or worn out suspension components.

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

The three pieces to the rear of the doors on Syclone and Typhoon are not interchangeable. Not even close. So that's not your cause of poor fit.

There have been fibreglass reproductions available for over 20 years. Depending on who made them and when, fit and mounting quality varies a lot. Look at the back side. If you see GRP lamination, it's a reproduction.

 

[Goodgollyjosh]

Yep, I have that same gap. I always wondered about that. If it was stock or if the body shop just did a bad job aligning it or if I have aftermarket cladding. What does GRP lamination look like?

 

[QWERTYphoon]

WOW, your spare tire looks really good! Its fitment, every time I see someone try and fix this, they mess it up. Just leave it. It's a syclone that was probably finished on a Friday, it goes well with everything else that's not perfect. Call it decor.

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

. It's a syclone that was probably finished on a Friday,

I forget the exact number of Syclones, and for how long it went on for (at least 4 weeks), but the first Syclones were only produced on Mondays. They were in multiples of (I believe 9) because that's how many fit on a transporter. The early trucks were produced under direct supervision of management and PAS personnel. The PAS and management people could travel to Shreveport on Sunday, and be in the plant on Monday to supervise the line workers on the Syclone-specific operations.

After the workers were proficient at the tasks, Syclone production was performed on other days of the week, but always in batches. Syclone production was only for a few months, like January through April. I used to know this stuff by memory, but no longer really give a shit, so I've lost most of it.

Actually, this thread is about cladding fit. The cladding was installed at PAS, not Shreveport. So I guess "Friday" could be an excuse.

 

[Sy644]

Yep, I have that same gap. I always wondered about that. If it was stock or if the body shop just did a bad job aligning it or if I have aftermarket cladding. What does GRP lamination look like?
View attachment 1865215

Same shit as mine. Bet from sunlight or that’s what it is from factory?

 

[QWERTYphoon]

I guess I don't want to hi-jack this thread but there were 2,995 Syclones made. If you made 9 Syclones a day for 4 months (120) days you would get 1,080 Syclones. Which means if they only made them for 4 months you would need to make closer to 25 a day. You say the first month they only made 36? Just looking for info, not trying bust ones balls. Plus, rumor has it they first had to disassemble a brand new S-15 (only black), then put everything Syclone in it, not even including the cladding?

This thread: If you look at your third picture you can see that the corner piece is not aligned properly at the corner. Its fitment. If you look at one that is installed correctly you can see how to fix it, but I wouldn't. Its a not worth it.

 

[Timbo]

From the hundreds of trucks I've seen, factory cladding was very consistent in size and shape. Alignment is another thing altogether. If the piece is not a mirror image of the other side of the truck, one of them is probably not factory. If the pieces match, but the fitment is off, it could have potentially left PAS like that.

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

9 Syclones a day for 4 months (120) days you would get 1,080 Syclones. Which means if they only made them for 4 months you would need to make closer to 25 a day.

Read. I never said "9 a day". I said: "They were in multiples of (I believe 9) because that's how many fit on a transporter." Ie, 27, 36, 90, etc. They were only built on Monday for almost 8 weeks.

Anyway, here's a breakdown of how many on what day, and the date. I wasn't too far off other than production went into June. Note that the number per day is very close to multiples of 9.

1/7/1991 Monday Black 28
1/14/1991 Monday Black 65
1/21/1991 Monday Black 88
2/11/1991 Monday Black 146
2/18/1991 Monday Black 146
2/25/1991 Monday Black 41
2/26/1991 Tuesday Black 40
2/27/1991 Wednesday Black 41
2/28/1991 Thursday Black 38
3/1/1991 Friday Black 41
3/4/1991 Monday Black 96
3/5/1991 Tuesday Black 48
3/6/1991 Wednesday Black 48
3/7/1991 Thursday Black 48
3/18/1991 Monday Black 96
3/19/1991 Tuesday Black 48
3/21/1991 Thursday Black 49
3/22/1991 Friday Black 48
3/25/1991 Monday Black 93
3/26/1991 Tuesday Black 48
3/27/1991 Wednesday Black 49
4/1/1991 Monday Black 3
4/2/1991 Tuesday Black 48
4/3/1991 Wednesday Black 48
4/4/1991 Thursday Black 49
4/5/1991 Friday Black 48
4/8/1991 Monday Black 44
4/9/1991 Tuesday Black 48
4/10/1991 Wednesday Black 48
4/11/1991 Thursday Black 47
4/12/1991 Friday Black 24
4/15/1991 Monday Black 35
4/16/1991 Tuesday Black 28
4/17/1991 Wednesday Black 28
4/18/1991 Thursday Black 27
4/19/1991 Friday Black 28
4/22/1991 Monday Black 53
4/23/1991 Tuesday Black 30
4/24/1991 Wednesday Black 28
4/25/1991 Thursday Black 28
4/29/1991 Monday Black 45
4/30/1991 Tuesday Black 28
5/1/1991 Wednesday Black 28
5/2/1991 Thursday Black 28
5/3/1991 Friday Black 27
5/6/1991 Monday Black 9
5/7/1991 Tuesday Black 32
5/8/1991 Wednesday Black 29
5/9/1991 Thursday Black 29
5/10/1991 Friday Black 27
5/13/1991 Monday Black 2
5/24/1991 Friday Black 4
5/28/1991 Tuesday Black 28
5/29/1991 Wednesday Black 28
5/30/1991 Thursday Black 28
5/31/1991 Friday Black 25
6/3/1991 Monday Black 57
6/5/1991 Wednesday Black 30
6/6/1991 Thursday Black 30
6/7/1991 Friday Black 28
6/10/1991 Monday Black 30
6/11/1991 Tuesday Black 30
6/12/1991 Wednesday Black 29
6/13/1991 Thursday Black 30
6/14/1991 Friday Black 21
6/17/1991 Monday Black 30
6/18/1991 Tuesday Black 30
6/19/1991 Wednesday Black 29
6/20/1991 Thursday Black 28
6/21/1991 Friday Black 27
6/24/1991 Monday Black 18
6/25/1991 Tuesday Black 30
6/26/1991 Wednesday Black 28
6/28/1991 Friday Black 56
Friday,

 

[Goodgollyjosh]

That's pretty cool info to have. I used that Comp Nine Vin decoder, that I think Dave P recommended a few months back and I came up with a build date of 6.13.91, which shows 30 built on that date. I'm probably the only nut that celebrates my truck's birthday with a cake.

 

[Slyclone]

My Syclone just says 3/91 on the door decal. I could of sworn there was day info on typhoon door jamb decal.

About the gap, there's a tab that meets to lower corner and locks it into place. I've handled a few of them. I've noticed that debris also gets stuck back in those crevasses and can push the cladding actually out. Not saying that's the problem but it's a possibility. Also it's could not have the tab in place correct. Maybe the tab is broke off? Causing it to appear out of place. I believe the tab indexes it and keeps it in place. At this point in time they are very brittle and touchy. The sun UV also can damage them, just like every other thing.