71 GTX Rocker Molding Attachment

Technical Question and Answer - On topic to 71-74 Plymouth B-bodies only.

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71_bronze_gtx
GTX (RS)
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2013 1:32 pm
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72 cuda repli-mod
Location: S. E. Michigan

71 GTX Rocker Molding Attachment

Post by 71_bronze_gtx » Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:12 am

Here I go again with the rocker molding questions. I'm very close to the point of wanting to put mine on. The body work is done, the car is painted. I'm about to start reassembly. (fodder for a separate post soon)

Can anyone enlighten me on how these were attached at the factory?

The moldings I found on ebay about 5 years ago had countersunk screw holes close to each end. One of them had a spring-steel clip situated in the flanges (not sure if it was correct). No other hardware present. When I stripped the rocker panels, I found several holes along each side maybe 3/32" in diameter that had been hidden by body filler.

The parts catalog lists 12+2 screws, 14+2 retainers, and 2 nuts as attachment hardware. Didn't find any of these in the Auveco catalog.

My moldings were painted with a charcoal-silver paint. Very dinged at the front and less toward the rear. I stripped them with aircraft stripper and sanded them with 100 and 220 grit to smooth off the edges of the dings. Not really feasible to sand them all the way to smooth again. The plan at this point is to mask the edges of the ribs, prime with a high build primer, sand as smooth as possible, mask again, then paint with a charcoal-silver, then clearcoat.

Most likely I'll wind up milling 5 - 7 flat countersink bores and attach with screws and maybe also exterior trim tape, because I doubt I'll be able to come up with the correct hardware.

Mike 71X
Satellite Coupe (RL)
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Location: South Dakota/Minnesota

Re: 71 GTX Rocker Molding Attachment

Post by Mike 71X » Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:43 pm

Mine did not have any spring clips, screws only. Countersunk as you mentioned. Don't recall how many but can check if you still need. Just screw into the door skin. Nothing originally between the molding and the paint. We put some tape as a buffer between the molding and the paint when reinstalled to keep the metal from sitting up against the paint.

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