Belt Trim Installation

[Koopman]

Hi Everyone.
For those who are not 100% purists. I have for a while been thinking of how to install belt moldings on my 1967 2000cs and after many unsuccessful
ideas I have come up with what I feel would be the best for paint protection and the least costly.I used smallm plastic mollies found in any hardware store. Since the top may be a slight bigger that the slot that the clip normally would go, I squeezed the mollie with pliers to make the top oval instead of round,grabbed the mollie with pliers and slid it down the slotted channel. In my case the mollies I used were smaller than the holes in the car so I bought plastic nuts and thightened them on. To furthur protect the paint I used narrow masking tape on both edges of the belt trim being careful so not to let the tape be exposed after installation. I am very pleased with the outcome. Total cost approx.$15.00,more importantly is the paint protection. In this case should we really care about OEM parts or better ways for paint protection?
Please let me know your feelings about this method.
Thanks for reading this.
Koopman
Koopman

 

[glenn in encinitas]

Forgive me, but what are "Mollies"?? Also, Carl Nelson had (has?) nylon thingadoowickies that were placed between the trim and the paint for what appears to be a similar purpose.

 

[jmackro]

I am guessing that a "mollie" is a plastic fastener that allows the beltline trim to be snapped in place, rather than bolted.

and, speaking of the Carl Nelson nylon thingadoowickies:

When I had my coupe repainted a couple of years ago, I discussed the procedure of using a spacer behind the belt line trim with my bodyman. He chuckled, and said that once my paint had cured for a few weeks, it would be rock hard. He predicted that the trim would not mar the paint.

I would guess that about a month passed between painting the car and reassembling the trim. The bottom line was that he was right - in the year since I installed my trim, I have not seen the paint mar or creep. In otherwords, the procedure that the factory used to assemble my car in 1970 worked again in 2009.

Now obviously I can not guarantee that your paint won't be softer, or your trim won't have sharper edges. I have talked with others who swear by Carl Nelson's spacers. But on my project, they just weren't necessary.

 

[pmansson]

beltline trim

The Carl Nelson pieces were not part of the offering from Munich. I.e. the cars did not have them when new. I tried a set on one car a few years ago, and the result is just bad. They show when you look at the beltline from above, and the space from trim to body just looks weird.
I agree that it is best to wait a while before mounting them. Do not to use more than finger strength, at the most, when attaching them. The rubber "washers" act as locking devices so that the nuts don´t come loose. A few of them are very awkward to reach and mount (imagine that on a serial production......)

 

[CSteve]

Koopman,

A terrific idea. Thanks for sharing.
Steve