just curious. while i wait for room in the shop for the whole body, i figure i might as well get doors finished. i've got half a mind to just mask over them because the metal is good there anyway, but it would be pretty freakin obvious if i did. so here goes. how do i get that trim off? the factory manual wasn't too helpful with that at all. any help, as always, is appreciated.
Which trim in particular? If it's the stainless trim around the windshield and back glass it goes in the rubber and locks in before the rubber is installed...but you said on the doors...if it's the small (1/2" or so) trim on the door frames around the windows it is held on by tiny clips that are usually rusty and break....If it's like a chevy just figure out a combination of screwdrivers and putty knives or whatever, and gently pry it up until the clips pop loose....if there's paint on the doors wrap the ends of the tools with masking tape... Brian
old beet, it's a 50 pontiac. as soon as i checked the post again i thought i ought to clarify which trim i was talking about. it's not the windshield or rear window trim, it's more the trim that circles around where the roof meets the body, and around onto the doors below the windows. i think brian's thinking of what i was talking about. so are these clips the kind that twist and unlock, or do you just pop em off? and if they break, where can ya get new ones? as careful as i could ever be, i might as well use a hammer because something will get broken, regardless. thanks, by the way, guys.
very VERY carefully!! really. i just removed a bunch of trim from Donzie's 50 Chev today. it's kinda hard to describe but check inside to see if there are any nuts to remove. sometimes they will be just near the ends and sometimes the whole thing will be held on this way. there are different types of clips on different cars too and in different locations on the car. the tricky ones on Don's car had a piece that was screwed straight into the side of the car and then the stainless just snaps over it when installed. now to remove it you need to get the stainless to come off the piece that is scred to the car (cause the stainless is covering the screws you can't get to them until the stainless is removed). it is a tricky and tedious thing with a screw driver or two carefully prying and wiggling untill is gradualy starts to come off a little at a time. take your time and don't force it or you will damage the stainless. wish i could be more helpfull. good luck...
yers should be like the Chevy for the most part.. just as i described. you'll have to get in the trucnkand remove all the nuts and funny washers along with the rubber washer under that. get them all. then when that part (around the back under the windows) is loose start at the front of the piece (at the rear of the door opening). gently pry up and try to see if you can get a look at what is going on under there. then if it looks like a long strip screwed to the body that the stainless is snapped onto then do like i said in my last post. be carefull. work the bottom for a couple inches then try to wiggle it and get the top part to come loose. then the bottom a little more, then the top. TAKE YOUR TIME. being in a hurry will not be good. if you get flustered, quite for a while. that trim is not easy to find nor cheap. i had wanted to run Pontiac trim on my 50 Chevy and could'nt find any after months of hunting Ebay for it.
Ok, I know what you are talking about now...beltline trim. It's a******. The door pieces are held on with clips, maybe a bolt through clip on the ends. Remove it with the "pry and wiggle and cuss" method. The one that runs around the front of the windshield is held on by clips with a stud that bolts through the cowl, and the wiper stanchions have to be removed as well. The one that runs around the back of the car is the worst. On two drs, there is a flat piece that bolts onto each quarter under the trim with sheetmetal screws, and the stainless snaps over it. The rest is held on by clips with studs that you remove by laying upside down in the trunk, and reaching your arms around inside the quarters though the trunk opening. I think 4-drs only have the bolt-thru clips on the rear.... Brian
Ya! What K B said. If you can get one end loose, try twisting while prying. I somtimes use a plastic bone(like glass guys have) as it dosen't scratch or dent. I just did the trim on a 51 Chev H T, some of them clips are a pain.......OLDBEET
ah man, if you guys promise not to tell anybody, i think i'll just be masking this stuff off i dunno, i'll look at the body tomorrow. my priorities are to be a menace to society sometime this spring, so i might just not worry about it to ease up all the stuff i have yet to do.
If you're just shooting for "prime it and drive it for a while" that'll work....but if it's getting paint definitely pull it, especailly the quarter piece...they are bad to hold moisture under there which turns to RUST.... Brian
i'll be using blitz black, so might try to take that stuff off. i'll see tomorrow for sure. the car was in great shape for the most part, but there might actually be paint coming off around the beltline trim in a few spots if memory serves. hopefully it isn't a big deal to fix. any idea on where to get new clips if mine break like i figure they will?
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