Roof Rail molding installation 65 Barracuda

[Bob Jasinski]

I'm in the process of installing the roof rail moldings on my Barracuda. I'm nervous about this and want to get them in the right position the first time without damage to the moldings or paint. The paint is base coat/clear coat so its thicker than the factory single stage, and since these snap on I've got concerns about fitment. Does the top piece overhang the 1/4 window molding at all or is it even with it? Does the front piece come down just above the door or drop slightly below it? How do you get them to snap over, by hand, or rubber mallet? Appreciate input from anyone that has done this.

 

[Syleng1]

So when I did mine on my 66’ fresh paint and the moldings were freshly straightened and polished.

I wiped dawn on the painted lip and put the moldings on the top and pushed down and in toward the doors to pop them on and a few taps with a soft mallet(white rubber) walk one end windshield toward the rear window. They snapped on and honestly I saw some paint or clear. (Gulp!) but it is all covered and the Dawn helped lubricated the move.

 

[Bob Jasinski]

So when I did mine on my 66’ fresh paint and the moldings were freshly straightened and polished.

I wiped dawn on the painted lip and put the moldings on the top and pushed down and in toward the doors to pop them on and a few taps with a soft mallet(white rubber) walk one end windshield toward the rear window. They snapped on and honestly I saw some paint or clear. (Gulp!) but it is all covered and the Dawn helped lubricated the move.

Thanks Syleng. I was just thinking of some sort of lube to help them snap on. I've used Dawn for rubber parts, but not painted metal, good idea!

 

[DC 340]

Does the top piece overhang the 1/4 window molding at all or is it even with it?

My roof rail molding (65 Cuda) overhangs the 1/4 window molding by 3/8" measured from 1/4 molding to tip of roof rail molding:

 

[Bob Jasinski]

My roof rail molding (65 Cuda) overhangs the 1/4 window molding by 3/8" measured from 1/4 molding to tip of roof rail molding:

View attachment 1716421083

DC, Thanks much for that. My ends were about the same as yours. Found some shots of my car from 2008, the angle of the photos are different from yours but they look similar. There's a 3/4" coverage adjustment to lengthen or shorten. My coverage of the front piece over the rear was about 1/2".

 

[Bob Jasinski]

It went pretty smooth. I made sure the trim underside was very clean and the metal straight. Marked the end of the round rear piece with a vertical line. Lubed up the roof rails with Dawn, laid the rear piece first, lined it up with the mark, starting snapping it over with a downward motion with my palm, moved forward as I went. I did have a lead shot rubber hammer on hand and used it around the junction of the two pieces but probably could have gotten by without it. It was less trouble than I thought. Note: slide the rear piece into the front piece, don't try to snap over.

 

[66FormulaS273]

Looks great, nice work!