leave body side molding or remove it?

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dodgethis12

dodgethis12

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70 swinger has the thin body side molding that runs down the middle of the car from front to back...

now on the 73+ cars I've had, this was just plastic and it was glued on.... so I always just yanked them off. This one is actually metal with a rubber strip and it has the clips and pegs on the side of the car which means alot of filling and block sanding if I remove it and grind the pegs off...

I was going back the original green with maybe just a hint more metallic and a black vinyl top to replace the fugly green original!

Whats everyone's opinions on leaving the trim or removing it? It looks like most people have tossed it!


On a side note... I wonder why my 70 does NOT have fender mounted turn signal indicators OR the lower molding under the door.... ? Weird!
 
my opinion is that i would leave it if its in good shape and if you like the original look, but it is all what kind of look you like best. if you are paying a body shop to restore the car, then filling the holes will add a ton of money to your bill as you know it is very time consuming. i did take the molding off my 76 valiant only because it was pretty beat and just glued on.
 
I will be doing the body and paint.... not my first rodeo with that.... Im no professional, but I can do a decent job for what I have. I have most tools and equipment. Im not the fastest in the world, but I just keep at it until Im happy! Not to mention.... I dont have the money to pay the body shop to make the car look as good as if I did it myself.... I can take alot of the $$$ I save by doing it myself and use it to buy other parts for the old girl!
 
I like the no-moulding look! Makes it look more like a Muscle car . . . JMO
 
i do not like the molding either...i ripped it off my 70 dart and threw it in the trash lol...
 
just had the same issue with a 69 swinger 340 stripe delete car. The previous owner swore up and down that the side molding was factory. it was the ugly squared off metal trim with the plastic insert. I looked for any indication or proof that he was correct and founnd none, so decided to go with the stripe. I origionally planned on filling the holes myself, but being a novice, and realizing the damage i could have done with the welder, i paid a ton and had a pro do it.

Copy (2) of swinger 003.jpg


swinger 001.jpg


swinger 031.jpg
 
would anyone happen to have a pic of a before and after? If I dont leave the molding I will put a stripe on the back...

so I guess its wraparound stripe vs. stock side trim....
 
well in that case, go wrap around stripe. if no stripes then id leave the molding. i myself would take stripes over molding.
 
Vitamin c said:
just had the same issue with a 69 swinger 340 stripe delete car. The previous owner swore up and down that the side molding was factory. it was the ugly squared off metal trim with the plastic insert. I looked for any indication or proof that he was correct and founnd none, so decided to go with the stripe. I origionally planned on filling the holes myself, but being a novice, and realizing the damage i could have done with the welder, i paid a ton and had a pro do it.
Click to expand...

FWIW, The type moulding you are describing is aftermarket. A lot of dealers put it on both new and used cars back then. I probably put a few hundred feet of it on myself. It was universal. The aluminum part came in long pieces you cut to fit each panel, allowing for the metal end caps. You attached it with small screws or pop rivets. The vinyl insert came in 50' rolls and various colors.
I also installed alot of aftermarket vinyl tops. The trim for them was universal also and we had a special 'bending board' to custom fit the trim.

To the OP, I've seen cars I like with the trim and I've seen some that would have looked better without it. Mostly depends on the condition of the trim. If it's nice it looks good, if it's getting tired you need to get rid of it.
Dallas
 
This was factory... the pegs and plastic clips are definitely from Chrysler... the pegs are welded into the body before it was painted....
 
guys, this is an interesting discussion. Ive been trying to find the true story of my 69 340 swinger stripe delete. My car is optioned with (correct me if im wrong i dont have my paperwork with me) A46 moulding package and A05 protection group and V88 stripe delete. Niether of these packages state body side moulding. i think body side moulding has its own code. I bought my car with the holes drilled in the sides and the god awful squared off aluminum molding with the plastic inserts included. Some body side molding looks good, but this moulding i have does not look like a factory option. i did not look at the fasteners to see if they were mopar parts, i think they are metal(?) could you even get a 340 swinger with side molding?
 
dodgethis12 said:
This was factory... the pegs and plastic clips are definitely from Chrysler... the pegs are welded into the body before it was painted....
Click to expand...

Yes, it sounds like you are referring to a different type of moulding than I was talking about. I do have some of those pegs and a tool to weld them on, but the aftermarket moulding I was referring to couldn't use them.
Dallas
 
My '69 Swinger has aluminum side molding running the entire length on the middle body line. It's one solid piece per panel, all edged folded over, flat at the fender to door, and door to quarter, and pointed at the front and back. There aren't any holes to be seen in the trunk. Factory?
 
Vitamin c said:
guys, this is an interesting discussion. Ive been trying to find the true story of my 69 340 swinger stripe delete. My car is optioned with (correct me if im wrong i dont have my paperwork with me) A46 moulding package and A05 protection group and V88 stripe delete. Niether of these packages state body side moulding. i think body side moulding has its own code. I bought my car with the holes drilled in the sides and the god awful squared off aluminum molding with the plastic inserts included. Some body side molding looks good, but this moulding i have does not look like a factory option. i did not look at the fasteners to see if they were mopar parts, i think they are metal(?) could you even get a 340 swinger with side molding?
Click to expand...

I'll describe the type I was referring to in a little more depth. The aluminum part was kind of a channel and had holes in it to fasten it on with 1/8" pop rivets or small screws. When you put the insert in it, it resembled the factory look of the stick on vinyl moulding with the chrome edges and vinyl insert (like a '72-up a body). You could get about 4 different types of end caps. These were made of chromed pot metal of some sort. There was a pointed one which went at the front of the front fender. At the back of the fender you used a squared off end cap if the door opened inside the fender. If the door came over the outside of the fender when it opened you had a tapered cap to use so the door wouldn't catch it. So you used either a tapered or blunt cap on the front of the door depending which way the door hinged, inside or outside of the fender. You used a squared off cap at the rear of the door and one at the front of the quarter. Then you used another pointed one at the rear of the quarter to finish it off. The vinyl insert was available in several different colors. The most popular width was approximately the same as the glue-on factory moulding on '72-up a-bodies (as well as other brands), but I have seen a deluxe style about twice as wide.
Hope this explains the aftermarket type a little more clearly.
Dallas
 
What condition is it in? If you don't use it I might be interested in buying the set from you, thanks!
 
Mine is pretty much all good. Its the aluminum molding with the rubber strip in the middle... The only back piece is the pass front fender.. the last 6" or so at the front but it should be very fixable. Im still torn on whether or not to live with it or.... spend the extra time fixing the entire site of the car from the factory weld in pegs!
 
Dodgethis12, sounds like your trim is origional, as well as the other fellas with the welded on pegs. mine on the other hand does not sound factory. i had 1/8 to 3/16 holes down both sides. some factory trim does not look bad, if you decide to run it. if i could have verified mine was origional i would have kept it. Have you looked at your fender tag or build sheet for any trim codes? Ill try and dig out my trim this weekend and post some pics of it.
 
I havent torn the car apart to look for a buildsheet. (YET!) But the original fender tag is still in place.... I could get a pic of it if you guys could help me figure it out? thanks
 
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