55 Belair trim removal [Archive] - Classic Car

DoubleNickle

02-21-2006, 01:55 PM

I found the following on Chevytalk. Posting here as an answer to my question if others are interested.

FRONT AND REAR WINDOW AND TRIM REMOVEL

Here's some more detail on the trim and windshield and back glass removal. First remove the wipers, then the wiper bezels. Get under the dash and with a flashlight, look in the side curve area on each side and you will see a nut on each side. Remove the nuts, which releases clips that are holding the lower stainless down on the side curves. Then back outside, grab the lower stainless in the outer curved area and carefully pull it up. It will bow somewhat and will pull from under the edge of the corner moldings. Once it is free of the corner molding, pull the molding outward toward you and it will slide off. Once you have both lower moldings off, you can remove the corner moldings, because now you can get to the screws on the corner molding clips. They will be rusty no doubt, but you can get them out somehow. Remove the rear screws of the corner molding, and pull the molding down and off the car. That will reveal a screw that holds the side of the upper molding to car's windshield pillar. Remove that screw on each side. The upper stainless remains in the windshield rubber until you remove the windshield. Now from inside the car, after removing the interior garnish moldings, use a razor knife and cut the rubber lip along the top and sides. You can carefully push the windshield out at this point and should be able to avoid breaking it. Then the upper stainless can be easily removed from the rubber.
On the backglass, remove the corner moldings first by getting inside the car and pulling back the corners of the windshield rubber and looking for a small nut. Use a 5/16" nutdriver or socket to remove the nut on each side. Push on the stud from inside which will push the corner out so you can grab it on the outside and pull it off. After both corners are removed, use a clip removal tool to remove the long stainless. You can get a clip removal tool at the parts store. It is shaped like an arrowhead on the end and slips between the stainless and the rubber. You slide it along till you hit one of the clips that holds the stainless on. The point on the side of the arrowhead slides under the side edge of the clip. You lever the tool to the side a little which pulls up the clip and releases the stainless at that clip so you can pull the stainless loose. Once loose at that clip, slide the tool to the next clip and do the same until that molding is free and can be removed. That's the proper way to do it but, often the clips are rusty or weak and the stainless will pull off before you have to release all the clips. Sometimes you can even pull the stainless off without the tool, but you have to be very careful not to bend the stainless or it won't fit good when you want to reinstall it. Now that all the stainless is off, you can cut around the rubber lip and lift out the backglass.

THE INSTILLATION PROCESS

The first thing you will need to do is locate all the stainless
retainer clips that are crimped to the pinchweld lip the back glass

rubber channel slips over. There should be about 20 of them. They will
go where the very inner most metal has a notch. You can find the
notches by running you finger along the inside of this lip. Take
a hammer and drive the clip down over the lip so the long part is
pointed out. Make sure the little teeth on the underside of the clip
are nice and sharp. These clips hold the outside stainless trim on
the body. If you don't have them then you can not hold the stainless
in place. So they are a must.

Clean all the old sealer around the lip and put new strip caulk just
like we did the front winshield.

Take the gasket and place it around the back window in the same manner
we did the front.
Inatall the rope and all so that the rope goes all around the seal.
Overlap the rope on the bottom of the glass. Now set the back window
and gasket and rope into place making sure it is equally spaced all
the way around. As we did on the front pull the rope out and make
sure the gasket is pulled over the lip all the way around.

The stainless will now be installed by aligning it up to the body and
gently push it under the clips. The bottom two have a small center
connecting clip that must be slid onto one of the moulding first and
then the other slid into it. After the bottom two are installed do
the top long one the same way. The last items are the 2, 90 degree,
corner clips. They just push thru the hole and a small nut is attached
on the inside. I like to have someone hold the corner clips in place
as I tighten the nut so they will pull the trim down and fit into the
body corner just right. I also like to put extra sealer around the
clip stud to keep it from leaking.