Beltline trim clips + progress pics

[FESTER60]

Hello everyone. I have not dropped off the face of the earth. Just normal day to day stuff keeping me occupied. Things are progressing on the car. I will include a photo bucket link to some new pics. Anyway, I found myself re-using the old clips to re-attach my beltline trim. I had no luck sourcing new ones. The main problem I was having was getting the clips tight in the mounting holes in the doors. The little "ears" on the back of the clips were not spreading out right, so I invented this to solve that. Just an old bolt tacked to a pair of Channel Locks with some duct tape as a cushion. The bolt goes inside the door and pushes the ears out, tightening the clip in the hole. seems to work well. Maybe someone else could use this tip.

 

Here is the link to the latest pics.http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/50coronet/library/car%20pics%202

[desoto1939]

I went to a good quality autobody paint supplier and was able to get the plastic clips for my 1939 Desoto.  If you take a piece of your trim and also know the hole size you can then see what they have that will fit your car.  The nice thing about plastic is that you never have to worry about rust and with the plastic it would have the ridges on the end that goes into the holes and makes for a complete seal.

 

Us the more modern items when they can not be seen.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

[Mark Haymond]

Fortunately the pics show your headliner is not installed yet. Did you remove and reinstall the beltline stainless that runs around under the rear window? On my 50 Plymouth I had trouble getting a waterproof seal on those clips under the window. It took a couple of tries and some silicone sealer applied from inside the car to get the clip holes perfectly sealed. Test with a water hose, not with a film of water, really blast it until NO drops come through. Then your headliner and package tray under the window will not get wet and stained after sitting in the rain overnight. I would not worry about the door clips, rain gets in there anyway and runs out the drain holes on the bottom of the doors.

[FESTER60]

Fortunately the pics show your headliner is not installed yet. Did you remove and reinstall the beltline stainless that runs around under the rear window? On my 50 Plymouth I had trouble getting a waterproof seal on those clips under the window. It took a couple of tries and some silicone sealer applied from inside the car to get the clip holes perfectly sealed. Test with a water hose, not with a film of water, really blast it until NO drops come through. Then your headliner and package tray under the window will not get wet and stained after sitting in the rain overnight. I would not worry about the door clips, rain gets in there anyway and runs out the drain holes on the bottom of the doors.

Yes I had the same idea about those clips along the back. I plan to use plenty of silicone to seal them up. Cheap insurance.

[FESTER60]

I went to a good quality autobody paint supplier and was able to get the plastic clips for my 1939 Desoto.  If you take a piece of your trim and also know the hole size you can then see what they have that will fit your car.  The nice thing about plastic is that you never have to worry about rust and with the plastic it would have the ridges on the end that goes into the holes and makes for a complete seal.

 

Us the more modern items when they can not be seen.

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

No luck with that here. No such stores anywhere near me. I even took the trim to the swap meet at Spring Jefferson in Wisconsin to a trim clip vendor and he had nothing. To help with rust I worked them over with a wire tooth brush, soaked them in rust converter, and painted them with rust-o-leum.

[jcmiller]

I bought some NOS clips and some of the plastic ones, but neither worked well - I think because my front fender must be bent.  I had my uncle weld some stainless threads onto rectangular pieces of sturdy stainless sheet metal.  He has some kind of resistance stud welder that makes it easy.  The sheet metal slides into the back of the moldings and the threads go through the holes in the fender.  That works pretty well for me, but still not perfect because of the apparent bend in the fender.

[FESTER60]

I bought some NOS clips and some of the plastic ones, but neither worked well - I think because my front fender must be bent.  I had my uncle weld some stainless threads onto rectangular pieces of sturdy stainless sheet metal.  He has some kind of resistance stud welder that makes it easy.  The sheet metal slides into the back of the moldings and the threads go through the holes in the fender.  That works pretty well for me, but still not perfect because of the apparent bend in the fender.

I had that exact same thing in mind if I couldn't get the old clips to work.