At the risk of being banished to the "body and paint" section of this forum I am asking for information from anyone who may have successfully removed the pinch weld molding around the back of the convertible top on a 68-69 Cutlass without damage. I have asked this question under the "body & paint" section and got no response. I don't know how it is even held on since close examination does not reveal any kind of attaching clips, screws or other hardware. I don't want to start prying aimlessly and destroy a perfectly good molding.

 

I've never removed pinch weld molding(s). The (below) diagram is from my 1971 Fisher Body Service Manual. I have no idea if the pinch weld molding(s) & fasteners are same for 68/69. I'll post it in case it might assist in providing a talking point for discussion. Wish I could be of more help, but it's outside anything I've attempted. Good Luck!

 

It is the biggest paint in the B**. They are held by SEVEN very short short short Philips sheet metal screws. Did I mention Short?
Yes. There is virtually no access of the screw head. You maybe successful if you get one of these special short right angle drivers in this picture
.

 

Yep, a very short handled screwdriver is required.

 

Thanks all. That is very helpful. I can finally attempt to remove this last part before painting.

 

#1 or #2 Phillips?

 

As already mentioned, it may be held on w/clips instead of screws. I pulled a original pinch weld stainless off of a '68 Tempest/Lemans convert years ago and it was held on w/clips....no screws.

#2 philips if it has screws.

 

The pinchweld moldings on my '68 & '69 4-4-2 convertibles were held on by clips that were attached to the body with those very short phillips screws. There are supposed to be 7 of them but you might find that they only used 5 in some cases (my '68 Lansing car had 7; my '69 Fremont car had 5). I had to have the top in a position not all the way down but 1/2 to nearly down to be able to access the screw heads. It was very tedious and, yes, you need a very short driver or one of those 90 degree drivers, to remove those screws. Take your time; if you get held up just go away from it for a while before trying again. Eventually, you will remove all the screws and it should then be easy to remove the moldings with the clips in the moldings before removing the clips. To re-install, I installed the clips first and then carefully snapped the moldings onto the attached clips, taking great care to ensure the moldings are in their correct positions.

Randy C.