WEB EXCLUSIVE: Do-It-Yourself
Custom KW Door Window Trim
Give your Kenworth’s cab the chopped look by adding upper window trim panels
A popular customizing trend among KW owners is adding a painted trim piece to the top of the door window frame to give the cab a chopped look.
The trim fits along the door lip at the top of window without interrupting the window operation and there are a number of aftermarket stainless offerings available. (Prices range from $90-$120 pair.)
But if you are the do-it-yourself type, you might like to give a shot at making them yourself. The painted version makes the top look chopped, whereas the polished stainless variety provides more shine than slam.
The way customizers at Car Craft Truck Works, Elizabeth Truck Center’s customizing arm, build ‘em is to make a cardboard template of the side window trim. The template extends from the top of the inner door frame lip at the top of the window opening down to an imaginary line even with the front visor and rear roof split.
That template is then transferred to 3/32″ aluminum. The aluminum is cut and a 1/2″ lip is rolled along the bottom edge to 1) give the side visor rigidity and 2) a smooth, almost invisible custom edge.
The aluminum is then sanded, primered and painted to match the color of the truck. The window visor is installed using automotive/industrial double-sided sticky tape along the upper door lip to hold it in place. — Bruce W. Smith
