> What is the least destructive way to remove the chrome(?)
> strips from the front wings on an MGB? I would like to
> be able to reuse the strips and, if possible, the clips
> which hold them on.
The least damaging way to remove them is to brush up against them
lightly with your jeans while working in the garage. That always
works for me... :-)
The "chrome" strips are simply C-sectioned pieces of stainless steel
that clip over a combination of convertible top snaps and wing-shaped
clips reminiscent of wire-wheel knockoff nuts from before 1980. The
convertible top snaps are easy: use a soft plastic wedge (yet another
use for the all-purpose Bondo spreader), slide the thin end of the
wedge under the strip and lever the strip away from the bodywork.
I haven't seen under all my trim strips, but the ones I'm used to
working with have the wing-clip up at one end of the strip and the
snaps everywhere else. To remove the strip from the wing-type clip,
rotate the strip till the opening of the C aligns with the thin
axis of the wing and it lifts away.
Both types of clip hold on with sheet-metal screws through holes in
the bodywork. You can replace them, paint over them, or even fill
the holes and give your car that smooth, modern, racy look, right
TeriAnn?
The stainless steel trim pieces, BTW, weren't terribly expensive the
last time I looked -- about $30 for a whole car should do it, unless
things have changed drastically. Price them out and bear that in mind
as you remove the trim pieces; they're not necessarily expensive and
unobtainable bits.
Installing them is simple: Align them with the wing clips as described
above, but in reverse, ending up with the clip holding the channels at
either end of the C. Then, using a rag or towel to spread the force and
avoid bending or scratching, simply press or lightly tap them into
place over each of the snaps.
Oh, and the most destructive way to remove them that I've tested is
to drive over a deep pothole on Shoreline Drive. The impact makes the
trim strip fly off the car and fall into the path of the truck that
is following you, causing it to run over the trim strip and bend it
into what appears to be a piece of postmodern deconstructionist sculpture.
I suppose that running into fixed objects would do an even better job,
but I hope that remains conjecture...
--Scott
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