Newtz Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) Hey, I want to remove the body trim that runs along the door and the thicker trim part on the bottom. I was wondering how do i remove it i havent seen too many tutorials or really any info on it. its original so its riveted in. And when there are holes what is the best way to plug the rivet holes? tap weld or bondo? Edited March 3, 2011 by Newtz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsommer Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I had the same trim on my 73 240. I drilled out the rivets but subsequently ditched the car. Drilling them out is the quickest way to go. You have to determine what your going to do short term wiht the car though. New paint etc. If paint is out of the question I'd bondo them up, sand smooth and shoot a color matching paint on top of it. Keep in mind that what's under the moulding may be quite ugly paint wise so additional work may be needed. I'd keep them in place until you've commited to restore/repaint the entire car. Just my .02 worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtz Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Ya i have a month until i go back up to school so paint is in the near future, but im just going to do a quick paint job until i can reall get in and gut it and paint every square inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 It's not "Original" btw, it's either dealer, port, or aftermarket addition. If it was an OEM Nissan Offering, the holes for it would be standardized, and having had more than my share of Z's I can tell you that they are far from standardized. My All-Original 260Z has nice stainless steel trim screws holding mine on, whereas another 260Z 2+2 has the ubiquitous rivets. It depends on where it was installed what you have. Obviously screws are easily removed, won't mess with that. For the rivets, it becomes a matter of determining what diameter of rivet was used, and using a twist drill with a considerably bigger head than the hole diameter. This will allow you to use the rivet as your centering hole, and drill the head cleanly off the body of the rivet. This will allow you the luxury of not punching a hole any bigger in your body, not twisting the rivet in the body---the head comes off and you can pop the trim up. Push the body inside the panel and it will fall out on it's own down the backside of the panel. For fill, there are several options. Of course similarly removed trim on VW Beetles have long either brazed over the holes or MIG'd them in, grind the highpoint down do a little feather fill and prime, sand and topcoat. Then the bondo option, or FRP option also remains. This is an area that gets splashed with water from the backside, so if you do use bondo or fibreglas, make sure to do some barrier coating on the backside (of the fenders at least!) so water doesnt intrude from the backside. Nobody likes getting it from behind and being left wet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluDestiny Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I had that crap on my 280zx. drilled em out, brought it to a welder to fill the holes, ground down and bondo'd smooth. I wouldnt completely bondo fill the holes because if you don't properly coat BOTH sides they can get moisture on them and rot fall out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtz Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 they came off pretty easy and there is a major paint difference and a little surface rust. Now time to remove all the exterior lighting and hopfully ill be able to paint this weekend, or the next sorry about the lame pictures, cell phone and sun was almost set side note: my dome light suddenly decided to start working One month hussle- 1.running reliable 2.paint 3.interior 4.exterior accessories 5.wheels and tires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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