body and interior Belt Line Chrome Trim Installation

[Scattergun4015]

Does anyone have any good tips on how ti install the belt line chrome? The previous owner decided it would be a good idea to remove all of it. Luckily he was careful removing and all the trim was in the trunk when I bought it. Any tricks or videos if install would be helpful

 

Thanks

 

David

[esty]

buy new clips and snap over the clips...easy easy

[Scattergun4015]

Do I need new clips? the ones that are on the car are intact and do not look damaged. Thankyou for your quick reply

[John_in_VA]

If the plastic clips are in good shape, don't replace them. The ends of the trim pieces are held on by a small rectangular plate, with a stud that pokes through the hole in the body, and a small metric nut & washer to hold it in place.

[Napes]

The Tee-fasteners refered to above are available from a number of sources - La Jolla Independent (bimmerdoc.com), Blunt (blunttech.com), your friendly BMW dealership, and probably other sources as well.  You'll need four of the 30mm ones and 12 of the 13mm ones.  Don't forget, as mentioned above, to also get the small nuts and washers that hold the T-fasteners in place.

 

The long ones go at the corners of the car (four places) and the short ones on the ends where you see a hole in the body.

 

And, FYI, the trim pieces are annodized aluminum - not chrome.

 

Bob Napier

[BillWilliams]

If I recall, the top of the trim goes on first then you gently persuade the bottoms to snap on. If your paint is new and you are not sure about your abilities, you can put some painters tape along the line of the trim, just do not get the tape under the trim.

 

Get the front and back of each piece lined up before snapping into place, it does not slide easily.

 

Be careful with the beltline trim fasteners on the hood. After installing, close the hood carefully ensuring the small bolt and/or nut will not hit anything as it closes, especially around the very front part of the hood.

 

Where the trim meets, there should be little joiner pieces. Get those straddled over each piece before tightening the little nut.

[Napes]

BillWilliams said:  Be careful with the beltline trim fasteners on the hood. After installing, close the hood carefully ensuring the small bolt and/or nut will not hit anything as it closes, especially around the very front part of the hood.

 

What Bill aludes to is a real possibility.  Therefore, I grind a little off the trailing end of the threaded stud to avoid this eventuality.  On my two cars it seems to only be a problem in the front two corners.

 

Bob Napier

[Scattergun4015]

Thanks for the information. I tried it last night and found it is very easy to do, but I do need new T fasteners. The plastic clips are fine, but some of the T fasteners are missing. It really transforms the look of the car

[02fanatic]

Bob & Bill covered it pretty well....looks like you are mostly done, but I'll add the following:

 

I usually grind off the ends of the two threaded studs close to the front hood corners to avoid hitting the turn signal lenses or anything else when the hood closes.  These studs always seem to be provided "too long".  Do a little pre-fitment in these areas. 

 

Remember to slide the joint covering pieces to one side for the trim already in place, then install the adjacent piece and slide the cover over the joint.  I use vasoline (or any such lubricant) to avoid scratching the trim where the cover slides over. Something non-adhesive (like paper) can be put between the body and trim piece to avoid scratching the paint when the covering piece is slid over the joint....usually a little finese will suffice.

 

I didn't see anyone mention the possible need to treat the existing holes for rust before installing any new fasteners.  That would be a wise thing to do....make sure there is no bare metal exposed.  Again, I use lubricant when installing the fasteners...this helps avoid cracking paint,protects from rust, etc. at the holes.

 

HTH,

 

John

Edited August 21, 2013 by 02fanatic

[jgerock]

I'll add that you should wait a while for fresh paint to cure before installing any body trim.  My car has some examples that I wish were not there.

 

 

[SydneyTii]

Also of late the corner especially the drivers side one is not formed well, and does not pull into the hood correctly, if would appear from the ones the shop tried to fit to mine, that the part is not curved correctly, as they not only bend around the hood edge but should also pull in to meet the upward curve of the hood if you know what I mean.

[2002Targa]

How stuck are you on silver?  There's a bunch of guys that are using stick on trim.  Mine was in black, they might have some kind of plastic chrome.  Mine matched the shape of the original perfectly with maybe a 1/16" foam tape on the back.  And you won't have any corrosion from the fasteners.  Plus you can probably do the entire car for the price of 1 new piece of Al beltline...

 

TK

[SydneyTii]

Guys has anyone else had this fitment issue lately ?

[John_in_VA]

What fitment issue?

[SydneyTii]

Also of late the corner especially the drivers side one is not formed well, and does not pull into the hood correctly, if would appear from the ones the shop tried to fit to mine, that the part is not curved correctly, as they not only bend around the hood edge but should also pull in to meet the upward curve of the hood if you know what I mean.

 

These issues, I will try and post my hood edge and you will see what I mean, the bend in the trim doesnt appear to be formed so it sits nicely against the hood, so it has to be puled in by the metal trim clip, the trim is quite rigid and cant be bent easily without kinking, it just seems like a piece where the tooling has aged and the pieces djust dont it the hood well.