I had a thought 1 day. Why the heck would I pay $1 a piece for some molding clips to remount the exterior moldings of a1954 Bel Air??? Who's actually gonna see them once the moldings are mounted back onto car. So by a stroke of luck the house next door was due for a new AC unit and I scooped the drip pan from the old unit. Thankfully for me it's made from 18ga steel...so check out how I made 110 molding clips to replace nearly all of the OE clips. Things you'll need: Scrap sheet of 20 or 18 ga metal Scribe, razor knife, or if you're cheap like me a piece to thin scrap metal Carpenter's square or straight edge Drill with 1/8" drill bit Jig/sabre saw Welder Grinder or dremel Slip joint pliers Needle nose pliers Curved body hammer Wood block Flathead screwdriver 1 box of 100 #8 machine phillips head screws from Lowes $4.95 1 pack #10 machine phillips head screws from Lowes $.95 1 pack #8 Neoprene bonded washers (these actually come with the nuts in the pack too) from Lowes $6.95 Step 1. Measure the size of the of the size metal the needs to be cut, by either scribing 1 original bracket or simply measure the width of your molding. Step 2. Take that measurement add the width of the jig/sabre saw blade then with your carpenter's square/straight edge continue that final measurement over the enough of the scrap metal to make as many clips you may need to replace. Step 3. Take your drill and wood block to drill your bolt hole in the center of each of the squares/rectangles. Then flip over the sheet and take your grinder and grind off all of the paint down the center of the bolt holes. This will not only get rid of the rough drill spurs but will give you a good place start your tacking your bolts. Step 4. Take your jig/sabre saw and cut out all of the clips that you'v e scribed. Of course, if you have a band saw you can skip this step. Step 5. Take your slip joint pliers and hold onto the bolt really tight so that their is no slack between it and the to be new clip. Clip you welder groung cable to the pliers and place a large enough tack on the bolt that it will be flat once you start grinding the head of the bolt down. Step 6. Take this opportunity to test fit your clip against the piece of molding it will be inserted into. Massage the clip a much as necessay for it to barely fit inside the molding. Take your needle nose and slip joint pliers and slightly bend the metal to achieve the necessay contour. Step 7. Take your flathead screwdriver and gently pry up enough of the molding to insert you new clip. Next put your molding with the new clips installed and align the clips against the mounting hows. Now take your curved body hammer and gently tap it back down using the wood block. Use the flathead screwdriver and body hammer to indent the metal so that the clip will not move more and 1/6" when your are mounting the molding back onto the car. Done!!! Now go save some money!!!!
doing the same with mine,don't have a welder so did some gorilla glue so the bolt dosen't spin when i tighten the nut..
The Jalopy Journal
