I’m finally stripping my project car, a valiant 62 200. It will be a slow project and I hope to find someone to (sand)blast it and possibly weld what is needed (my welding skills are not that great). I know, taking it apart is the easy part, but still, I must say everything has gone almost like a dream. It's something I'm not used to. It’s almost like the car was helping along...

Question:
How do you remove the roof side drain (the chrome colored hockey stick molding that is above the doors and curves down behind the rear door (this is a four-door)? I’m afraid to use force. How are they fastened? With glue? Also, the chrome moldings on the doors, how do you remove them? Are there any fasteners hidden there? Here also, I’m afraid of ruining them if I just yank them out.

As always, thankful for any help,
Maurice

The mouldings (I think they are called "drip rail" mouldings) are fairly easy to remove, but you need to be careful.

They are held on to the drip rail by their "C" shape. You need to grab the bottom of the moulding, preferably using your hands, and gently lever the moulding down from the drip rail lip. You could also grab the top of the moulding and lift it up over the drip rail lip. I can't remember the best method.

To replace the drip rail mouldings smear some grease along the drip rail and push the mouldings onto the drip rail from the bottom and push up over the drip rail lip.

The door trim mouldings are not difficult to remove. Two ways - remove the inner door trims/boards and you can compress the trim clips from inside the door and gently push the trim clip forward. Alternatively, slide a 3 inch paint scrapper under the trim and gently lever the trim off the door. You will probably damage the trim clips during this process, after all they are about 60 years old.

When installing the door trim mouldings use new GENERIC trim clips, the threaded type are the best. They can be cut to size to slide into the door trim mouldings, and you can make some rubber washers to fit over the threaded section of the trim clip and screw the trim clips from inside the door.

Don't forget to polish your trim during your resto as dull trims will make the new paint job look like crap!

Shoot me a PM with your email and I will email some pictures of my cars and what a generic trim clip looks like.

Thanks. That’s pretty much what I thought about these "drip rail" mouldings. But I wasn’t sure and I really don’t want to ruin these ones. Your confirmation is very much appreciated, now I dare remove them (gently, very gently).

The doors are in storage at the moment, I haven’t had the time to dismantle the glass and mechanism yet. But I thought they would go well with the question about the "drip rail" mouldings. The mouldings on the doors still look pretty nice and with the advice I received they have a good chance of staying that way. I’ll gladly take your advice on the trim clips, this is rather unfamiliar area for me.