‘83 K5- seeking design and material ideas on bed side panels and compartments for storage

[BlazerBill]

‘83 K5 restoration: I’d like to hear what you all have done with the bed-sides as far as what rugged hard material (wood, metal, other) did you use and if and how you incorporated any compartments (hidden, hatches, locks, molle) inside the panels for storage of things (guns, tools, speakers, amp) while also considering what what may be mounting on the outside of the panels such as tie down rings, recovery gear, etc and the best place to mount a spare wheel. Would love to hear your ideas! On another note, I found this dimension sheet online for the side panels but letting you know it is not accurate for 2nd gen Blazers, perhaps for 1st Blazers so I made my own template for my ‘83 K5 and can provide dimensions and construction methods, if wanted.

 

[CountKrunk]

How wide of a space is that? Looks like 2-3", juice may not be worth the squeeze

 

[Jawzjeep]

I used wood paneling in my burb. It was flexible but rigid enough. Didn't make any pockets or shelf though. Just covered it with padding and wrapped it in some apolstry fabric that was close.

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[CountKrunk]

Very nice @Jawzjeep

aesthetically pleasing, but perhaps not worthwhile from a storage viewpoint.

Has anyone else stuffed something into that space? I think, maybe some guns or perhaps fishing rods might fit.

 

[Jawzjeep]

@CountKrunk Blazerbill asked about materials. And if storage was created. K5s and burbs are different in the back panel area. K5 shows the inside of the bedsides when you pull the side covers off, burb don't so there's no open space.

@BlazerBill we took a plastic bed cover and cut it down to fit into a blazer. Had to cut a little bit of the back off and the part that would normally go up against the cab side of the bed. We were able to drill holes and attach it on the sides where they side panels bolt on. Would be really easy to build small little Cubbies that open up in that material too. We thought about using the front of a glove box from a Jeep.

 

[peats]

Those bare inner bedsides are begging for some dynamat. Trust me, It will make a huge difference.

 

[Craig Nedrow]

Be aware that if the back is exposed to the weather, mats, wood hold moisture. When I pulled my matt from the pickup bed, had some bad rust. I will have to paint, scuff and use rhinoliner, bullhide or some such, as they won't trap H2o, and rust.