Hi everyone,
I'd like to tackle this topic again, and beg your patience. I have searched the Forum every which way I can think of, and there are plenty of mentions of the lower chrome strips but no one definitive thread that I can find. And of course the Technical Manual (which is so well-structured and just waiting for content) doesn't have any organized description that helps. Jeepers.
First of all, here's a pic of the 4 pieces (of 14 in total, incl the ones behind the rear wheels,) that are not already attached to my car. These are aluminum, right? Can scratches and blemishes in aluminum be taken care of like for the heavier chromed pieces? I sure hope so. Then the pieces can be re-chromed, right? They tell me it's a different process than re-chroming, say, the bumpers, but still standard work. All this must be left to professionals, experts in "bright work," I presume. The guy in town here, who Dan knows, did a good job on my hardtop trim pieces, so I hope to get him to do these 4 as well.
Once the pieces are re-born oo-la-la, they gotta go back on the car. Lots of pix available about where to locate them. Not a problem for me since the long piece on the door is already there (and I presume in the correct position) for alignment. Next question is how to attach my lower trim? They tell me it's possible to use epoxy or glue or whatever and just bond them on to the metal body panel once and for all. Your thoughts? I'm disinclined to do that, if for no other reason than it deviates from the original construction.
So the standard procedure for the lower trim, I gather, is to have holes in the body panel. 2 for the front piece and 3 for the back piece. I want to know: is that how the factory did it? The upper trim gets screwed on and the screws are covered by the rubber inserts, but that isn't how the lower trim is attached. In thread 14431.0, Guest Wymlen wrote "The lower chrome side strips are fixed to the wing and aluminium door panel with self tapping screws." I think he's just wrong. Or?
On my car, all 4 corners around the doors had new patch panels put in when I bought the car. (There were rust holes that needed to be fixed before the car could earn a licence in Ontario, Canada.) That's why the lower trim was removed in the first place. But the new body pieces didn't come with holes and my body shop guys didn't drill new ones at the time. (I'm not really sure why not.) So if they have to be drilled new, is there a required size or is it just a matter of making sure the holes match whatever next step I choose?
Okay, I checked our most reputable parts suppliers, i.e. K&K, Miller's, SLS and Authentic. They all offer some kind of clip-plug-insert thingee. But nowhere can I find an explanation of which piece fits into what. Bob Possel posted pix a few years ago in thread =9729.0 that shows blue and yellow thingees pressed into the body before the trim goes on. Thread =14773.0 is about removing the chrome pieces, but doesn't talk about how to re-attach them. Mike Mizesko in one of this year's most popular threads, =19883.50, writes about "re-drilling holes for side chrome trim after we welded them (before the paint job) shut because the holes were too big (prior owner had them riveted)... all those blue and yellow and white clips (including the metal stays that are pointy) on the bottom side trim row." So I am guessing here: I should buy a matched pair of clip-plug for each attach-point. That'd be 10 pairs for my purpose. Then, SLS also has a lock washer, otherwise known as an anchor, for each end. That makes another 8 pieces of hardware.
So how do all these pieces fit together? None of the parts suppliers' web pages talk about how their hardware should be assembled. Or should I just not worry my pretty little head about it, and trust that any reputable body shop that has bondoed a Lada will know how to do this?
Thanks for helping me, folks.
