Body Side Trim Clip $ and Availability

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, I need 46 body side trim clips for my side trim, I have only about 10 decent clips.

I looked up on Restoration Specialties website, they are $2.50 US per clip, that translates to $2.75 Cdn per clip.

Now I need to buy about 40 clips,case some of mine break, or maybe I should replace all of them.

That works out to $126.50 plus postage or shipping.

Is it me, or does this sound pricey, now in the grand scheme of things we buy for our cars, a $150.00 does not seem like much, but for little tiny metal clips it does, but I need them.

Is there any other less expensive suppliers of these clips, does anyone have any good used ones for sale etc..............Fred

[Joe Flanagan]

Fred,

I think we were talking on the forum not long ago about rocker moulding clips. Some say you can get them at NAPA but you may have to go sorting through the drawers yourself because they may not know what you're looking for. I would imagine they've also got side trim clips.

[oldmopar]

If you cannot find them for a better price I would call Restoration specialties and see if they will give you a better price for 40 clips

[Young Ed]

Fred I've been pondering the same thing. RJ&L gets $2 each for those which is bad enough. Still about 100 for clips. I haven't come up with a good alternative yet. My only other thought was washers with bolts welded into them. I would think with a bolt on vs clip on attachment you could go every other hole and not worry about them coming off.

[Fireball]

Here's one more option, pretty much the same pricing though

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1946-47-48-MOPAR-DODGE-DESOTO-CHRYSLER-MOLDING-CLIPS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42606QQihZ022QQitemZ350210333395QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[Young Ed]

That ebay auction is RJ&L. I gotta think even counting in electricity and welding supplies they gotta be way cheaper. You can get a box of 100 bolts and washers for 5-10 each. That puts you at maybe 25 bucks for all of them and you'd have bolts and washers left over. Plus I figure with them being bolted on you'd only need 1/2 as many clips.

[55 Fargo]

That ebay auction is RJ&L. I gotta think even counting in electricity and welding supplies they gotta be way cheaper. You can get a box of 100 bolts and washers for 5-10 each. That puts you at maybe 25 bucks for all of them and you'd have bolts and washers left over. Plus I figure with them being bolted on you'd only need 1/2 as many clips.

Just tried this with a fender washer and 1/4 bolt, will work fine.

I may even buy some today and weld a few up for a test fit, even if a washer was a bit big, it could be ground down on 2 sides.

5/16 bolts may work, but the clip holes would be a tight fit.

I concur on the removal of the trim, once the car is done, it would be a long time if ever to be removed.

How should I weld them, just 1 or 2 small tacks, on the bottom side of the washer, that should do it, any advice.....Fred PS IO have lots of welding wire, and I have a bolt supply house nearby, where you can buy fender washers, nuts and bolts, by the lb, and its cheap..

[55 Fargo]

Ed' date='

I wasn't saying the cost would be the same for making your own. Just counting the cost of the supplies necessary, then figuring in the time it takes to make them all, even if you only need half as many. That's still a lot of welding time involved. How much do you get paid per hour at work? That's the price it cost to weld them all, because that's time that you have to spend on your own dime. Even if you get paid on a straight salary instead of hourly. If you get paid on a straight salary, use 22 days per month of actual working time. Divide your salary by 22, then by 8 (normal days work). The result will be your hourly wage. Now multiply that by how long it takes to weld even 20 of the bolts and washers. That's what they cost you. My guess is, that will work out to more than two bucks per clip, not counting the cost of supplies.[/quote']

Norm, I figure I could make up a bunch of clips in no more than a couple of hours, since I am not being paid a salary at home, will be sort of free:D, and this will not interfere with my reglar employment, or my income, nor will effect me from any current or future income.

I quite often enjoy small little projects like this, as long as it isn't too costly or time consuming, like a whole weekend or soemthing.

I know what you saying, but to be honest it should be very inexpensive to make a batch of these for 1 car, and you would not need as many as the clips would require, as the bolts will keep the trim on more snuggly.

I have tons of welding wire, lots of 1/4 inch nuts/bolts, need to buy more washers , thats it, and a couple of hours time, at the most.

I still don't like the idea of paying $150.00 for the clips,call me cheap, even though I understand, that company needs equipment and tools/dies topunch these out.

I am going to mkae a few of these prototypes, maybe today and will report back later.................Fred

[Young Ed]

Norm you've got a weird way of thinking about this stuff. Old cars is a hobby. I don't expect to get paid my hourly wage while working on something I enjoy. To me if I can invest some of my free time to save ~80 bucks thats just 80 bucks to spend on the car elsewhere.

[Young Ed]

Norm if one of your friends came over and wanted help working on their car would you charge them 100 an hour like a professional shop? Or even 50 an hour? I don't think so. When I come back from WI I'm helping a friend change the struts in his wifes concorde. My pay will most likely be ~5 for lunch. And I'm fine with that. Maybe I should insert a different cliche like a penny saved is a penny earned

[BobT-47P15]

You could cut your investment in half by only installing EVERY OTHER clip....

[Young Ed]

Thats actually my intention. With bolts being used I thing that would be sufficient to hold the pieces on. Not sure what to cover the extra holes with.

[Young Ed]

I'm sure I could. But I can also make them alot faster then a replacement $80 for the extra money I spent on them.

[55 Fargo]

Hold the Train, just was looking at this idea, the OEM clips are off-set, that is , the holes on the body, in relation to the clip, and it installs on the trim off-set not center, as would be if you used a washer, that has an OD of 1 1/4 inch.

If you used a washer with a larger OD, then you could grind off one side to give you the off-set, or this will not allow th trim to sit on the body in the correct position.

Is my observation correct?

[Young Ed]

Grinding one side flat will still allow the trim to sit flat. I did that with the clips I made for my front fender stainless. The important part will be getting them the same.

[55 Fargo]

Grinding one side flat will still allow the trim to sit flat. I did that with the clips I made for my front fender stainless. The important part will be getting them the same.

In this case you would need washers larger than a 1 1/4 OD, as you would need to grind off 1 end on each washer to allow the position to be correct for the trim to fit alongside the body contour.

This could be done, but now becomes a little more labor intensive.

[Young Ed]

Fred what if you bolted all the washers together or put them all in the vice at once. Then you could grind them all at once and be uniform. Then a little dab of weld on each one and good to go!

[Young Ed]

If you clamped them all together you should only got burrs on the first and last one. Easy to clean those off or you could just put an extra one on each end to chuck when you are done.

[55 Fargo]

I would be inclined to sandwich all the washers,between 2 pieces of flat steel,suing small c clamps to hold them tightly, having exactly the amount exposed to be ground off, this could then be held in a vice, run the grinder, and cut off material. I would use 1 1/2 or 1 5/8 OD 1/4 fender washers, off set is around 3/16 to 1/4 of an inch.

Would this work?

[55 Fargo]

Another option is to oval out the body holes, which in my mind would be out of the question, as it would not be overly precise or complimentary to the value of the car.

Or how about using punch out slugs,square pieces of steel tabs, about 10 gauge material or something similar, then set up jig on drill press and drill your own off set holes into the washer at the correct off-set........Fred

[55 Fargo]

correction off -set is 1/8 of an inch from center, at least from 1 off the mounting clips that has a bolt and nut, but this bolt is about a #12 machine screw size or 3/16.

If you then used a fender washer , you could grind off enough material to be abn off-set from center mounting of 1/8 of an inch...........

[55 Fargo]

Here's something you guys should try out first and it won't cost anything to try it. Take 20 or 40 coins all the same amount of money' date=' penny, nickel, quarters or dimes. You could also use any size washer as long as they were the same size. Really doesn't matter for this test as long as they are the same. Now, try to clamp them all together as you would the washers. My guess is, you are not going to be able to do it and keep them all nice and perfectly even. If you can't even stack and clamp them evenly, you sure won't be able to grind them all the same size in the end.[/quote']

True enough Norm, but you do have some wiggle room, as there is an overlap on the inside of the trim, and the size of the hole on the body, which would allow for some variance.

I would make a simple jig, that allows the washers to sit in a precise manner, only exposing the material to be ground off. Clamping a stack of coins or washers is not go to "cut it" :Dso to speak:rolleyes:.

Or use 1 1/4 inch fender washers, set up a vice jig whatever on a drill press, then cut 1/4 holes out of round on 1 side to allow the off set of 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch, then weld bolt onto the washer. 3 or 4 washers at a time could be drilled in this fashion............

[RobertKB]

I like the idea of making your own so don't let others put you off your hobby time. There is quite a bit of variation to play with if you use 3/16 bolts and washers with small holes. Why not find a washer (or plug) with the hole smaller than the head of the bolt. No welding involved. Make each washer fit the trim by grinding a bit off and you might need to grind the top of each nut to make it thinner to sit behind the washer. They do not have to be identical as there is the overlap on the inside of the trim. Line washers and loose bolts up and insert them in the holes. Make sure each bolt is long enough so you get some thread through the holes in the door for a lock washer (recommended) and the nut. This will give you lots of wiggle room so to speak. You can get any burrs off the washers after grinding by quickly running through a wire brush. I did something similar with my '38 Chrysler and it worked well. A few things to remember if you use bolts. First do not tighten them too much or you will pull them through the trim overlap. Use silicone on the inside to prevent water getting in. This also helps hold lock washer in place as you put the nut on the bolt. Some of the bolts will be very difficult to reach and you will have to improvise with needle nose pliers, siliconing the bolt to your finger, etc. I know because I have been there.

Edited June 9, 2009 by RobertKB
Add information

[Young Ed]

How do you keep the bolt from spinning while you tighten it if its not connected to the washer?

[RobertKB]

Good point. I guess a weld would be needed but it would still leave you some wiggle room if the bolts diameter is less than the hole in the door. Come to think of it mine were welded but I still had room to play with. This should be able to be done quite simply. However, everything I said about installing lock washers and nuts applies. Some are extremely awkward to see, let alone reach. It can be done though. Be a good idea to paint the washer and head of the bolt to stop rust.