Side moulding

[tanny]

I need to take off the decorative side moulding strips to paint the 240. How are they attached and are there preferred removal and reattachment techniques? Same question for the emblems. Thanks, Victor.

[ZmeFly]

by rivets. some like to leave them off as i do. i dont like the look they give the Z and prefer myself to leave them off.

i would put them on the way they came off with rivets.

what i did to remove mine was to first of course remove the rubber from the insets of the side molding then carefully use a drill to drill out the old rivets.

good luck

james

[Alfadog]

Decorative??

Youre talking about those fat rubber shopping-centre-parking-lot strips that run down the bodywork of the car, making it look like a granny drives it?

No thanks! :sick: Leave them off!!!

[tanny]

No, the thin stock strips(I think they're stock or dealer applied) along the side of the car that are black and chrome and maybe 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 inch high that run the length of the car at door handle height. Thanks, Victor.

[Alfadog]

Yea, that's what I'm talking about too. I thought they were bump strips so that if something large and square bumped into you it wouldn't damage your paint work?

[billcapp]

"I need to take off the decorative side moulding strips to paint the 240. How are they attached and are there preferred removal and reattachment techniques? Same question for the emblems."

The side molding is attached with double sided tape. Heat it a little with a heat gun and pull it off. Just buy new strips to replace with; it is available at parts stores and is cheap.

Some of the emblems are attached thru holes in the metal work with clips holding them on the backside. Just access them where you can and carefully squeeze the clips to remove them. (especially if you plan to reuse them...the pins are plastic and can break easily)

[tanny]

Thanks everyone. Victor.

[EScanlon]

Careful!

Not all the side moldings were attached with double stick tape. Some were riveted to the fenders and doors THROUGH the base metal piece, and the rivet is hidden by the vinyl insert.

On yet some other styles, they had a small clip that would be riveted to the body and then the metal strip would be clipped onto the top of the clip, followed by the vinyl insert.

Look at the end of your moulding. Don't just look at the end piece (the one that tapers into a point) as that one is most commonly double stick taped on. Look just past where the point and the molding connect. You should be able to readily spot whether it is tape or a rivet.

If tape, you can use Billcapp's method to ensure that you don't ruin the paint.. Or if you're already going for a repaint, and aren't worried about scratching the paint underneath, then just run a razor blade through the foam. Be careful. as sometimes these have been known to be attached by both double stick tape AND rivets.

If rivets just drill thorugh the head with a 1/8" drill bit. This method allows you reuse the original holes for replacing it. If on the other hand you're looking to fill the holes in, use a 9/64". This will bore the hole out just a tad bigger so that your solder has clean metal to grip on to.

To fill the holes, I use acid core solder just like if it were for plumbing. Using a 150 watt soldering iron, with the tip tapered down to a conical point, I heat the hole and sweat the solder in. By doing it immediately after removing the vinyl moulding, the metal is clean, and you don't have to worry about any rust having set in. You can then body work the area in a normal fashion.

2¢

[mperdue]

My side bumpers had caps at the end that popped right off. I was then able to slide the vinyl or rubber part out to the side (from the end of the rail), and low and behold found that mine were screwed in to the metal. So they were easy to remove from there.

Using solder to fill the holes is a great idea. I was going to try welding mine shut but I'd probably end up warping the body panels pretty bad.

[EScanlon]

Mike:

If they were attached with Sheet Metal Screws, and they probably were, do yourself a favor and do the following:

Using a flat dolly, support the back or inside section of the metal. You're looking to support, not push. Then get your 1" or 1-1/2" Flat Face hammer and tap squarely on the hole while allowing the dolly to absorb the "hit" but don't rebound onto the metal. We used to call this "smack away".

What you are doing is flattening the metal between the dolly and the hammer while absorbing the inertia / momentum of the hit in to the dolly.

This will allow you to smooth out the "thread" of the sheet metal screw.

FWIW

Enrique

[tanny]

One more question on the soldering: Do you have to clear some paint from around the hole to give the solder purchase, or is the thickness of the metal around the hole enough surface for the solder to adhere to? Never have done any bodywork at all except a few small clumps of bondo and spray paint.

[mperdue]

Thanks again Enrique! I checked it last night and I probably will need to straighten out the screw holes. It'll be hard to get to somem of them but if I just need something back there to hit against I should be able to do it. That reminds me - I need to buy my body work tools now. I'm getting the rotisserie that kmack built me this weekend, so I'll need them soon to work on those dented up floors. I can't wait to get this thing up and spin it around. Weee! Here's a pic of the stands. :classic:

Michael