epinkston

I am starting to restore a 72 rag and need to find some trim pieces, I have seen it referred to as "bump gard" I have the assembly manual and cannot find it mentioned in there. this trim looks stock and is riveted in. Seems rare to have this option and just wondered if anyone has seen it or know where to find replacement trim. It is thin stainless ~1/4" with a rubber bumper insert. The placement is above the "cutlass" emblem and runs from the quarter to the wheel well then across the door and the on the front fender. Will send pics tomorrow if needed. been looking for this stuff for a couple of weeks now and i may just have to remove it and weld up the holes but dont want to go that route.

thanks,
Eric

jensenracing77

if it is the trim i think you are talking about, it is a one year only trim. i have some but not a complete set. post a picture and the ones you need and i can see what i have.

442_Mustang

Sounds to me like some old school aftermarket side moulding. Is it aluminum channel with little end caps riveted on to the car with the rubber insert pushed in to cover the groove?

epinkston

Not really sure if it factory or aftermarket. if its aftermarket i am just going to toss it and fill the holes. I added a few pics

Allan R

Ok, you've got aftermarket moldings on there. If your car originally had moldings, they were called 'body side moldings' and they were fastened by plastic clips mounted onto small pins welded to the door. If you pull the vinyl off these ones you have, you'll see them either riveted, screwed, or double side taped in place. They look not bad on your car, but you can see where the plastic insert is starting to shrink. I wouldn't chuck them just yet, see if you cant find replacement inserts. If they're available you can change them to black (which is the color that would originally be on the car). Or you can go with whatever color suits your fancy. White looks great, so would that orange.

edit: Sorry, forgot one thing. The molding that someone stuck on the front of the fender should NOT be there. Body side moldings on C/S models were 8 pieces only.

jo75olds

yeah, pretty sure thats aftermarket

Allan R

You have 2 threads with exactly the same topic and pics. Suggest you combine them?

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...uard-trim.html

vette442

Those are definitely aftermarket as Allan R stated, and your car is missing the original thin stainless Supreme moldings which were about 6 inches lower on the sides than where your current ones are located.

Terry

Oldsguy

merged threads.

epinkston

Thanks everyone and sorry about the two threads, thought i put the first one in the wrong place so I started a new one. Well since these are after market i will remove them, since they have to come off anyway for paint. i dont like the look especially but it seems they may have served their purpose and kept the random shopping cart at bay. i will go back with the original mouldings per the assembly manual.

Allan R

You're welcome for the info. Something for you to consider......if you're going to put the original moldings back on that's 100% up to you. I don't think anyone is repoping them, although the 70-72 wide side trim is available from some vendors. Set up a WTB thread for them on this site, maybe someone will have them. 3 guys here that are really committed to the parts process are 2blu442, jensenracing77 and oldspackrat. I''d be surprised if they didn't have the parts you're looking for.

FYI, I found from experience that the factory placement of the moldings did very little to prevent door dings etc. Seemed they were put on mostly with an appeal for aesthetics. I had the option to put them back on my Cutlass when I repainted and elected to keep the doors 'clean' without the moldings.

When you take off the old moldings, don't let the bodyshop just bondo over the holes that may be there. Weld them closed and have the backside rustproofed. If you do put the factory moldings on, you'll need to use plastic clips to hold them. The clips are held by screws or pop rivets so you'll have to pierce the door skin. If you do that, make sure the piercing is painted BEFORE you install the fasteners or you'll have rust there faster than a jack rabbit can have babies.

epinkston

lol at the rabbit reference, i get your point I like the clean look too and doubt i will add any mouldings at all. i appreciate all of the tips because i havent even considered them. I will be posting various other questions as i go along like whether to go with rack and pinion or standard steering, where is the best place to go to get my engine rebuilt in the Los Angeles area etc and will do so in the proper forum. this is the best place i have found by far for information and glad i signed up. look forward to discussions in the future.

thanks again!