body and interior Stainless Steel Beltline Trim Kit Installation. Share your tips/experiences

[Delia]

I am curious to know the kinds of experiences you folks have had with the ten-piece stainless steel beltline trim kits. 

 

Specifically, how easily does it install and what tips/tricks are required to close the gaps on the curved corner sections.

 

TIA

[stone02]

HI,

  the installation is really easy. but i recommend

pre-fitting the parts before a paint job. also buy

new metal "T" clips for the ends where you attach

them to the door, hood, trunk and quarter panel. also

get some washers in graduated sizes to make the

nut have something solid to press against. for the

hood and trunk, make sure to lower the lid slowly the

first time to test where the ends of the clips reach.

sometimes they can scratch the body if they are too

long.the closure cilps are easy if you leave the "T"

clip loose and then slide the closure clip over the

gap with a plastic putty knife or windshield tool for

glass work.in the past i have been able to buy the black

plastic body clips with a rubber flat gasket on them

and this seemed to keep them tight. blue masking tape

can also make the job safer for the paint until final

tightening. lets see what others add in.

stone

[Delia]

Not *easy.*

 

*Easy* is the stock trim. 

 

I can do the stock trim in a couple of hours - including removal of the rear interior panels for that fussy t-bolt on the rear quarter panel.

 

This stainless steel system comes with its own hardware and covers for the joints on the trunk and hood.

 

I'm far more interested in getting the "J-shaped" stainless pieces to conform to the contours on the trunk and hood. Tightening the nuts as much as I dare still leaves an unacceptable  1/4" gap. 

 

The properties of stainless steel are quite different from the original aluminum.  Those "J-shaped" pieces are quite stiff and cannot be twisted to close the gap.

 

Also, the profile of the stainless steel does not consistently match.  Straight pieces have a different profile than the curved pieces.

 

 

[Marsattacks]

There are some posts on this somewhere. I had a set of this trim and sold it onward with disclosure that "easing"/fiddling/cussing would be likely. I bet a call to La Jolla might help if not tried. Would love to see photos of a successful install.

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[Marsattacks]

Good luck!

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[Mark92131]

The stainless steel trim kits have fitment issues on the curved pieces that leave noticeable gaps in the corners.  No amount of fiddling could fix the problem.  I ended up going with Wallothnesch trim for all the straight and curved trunk pieces and refinished my 2 curved hood pieces to save some cash.  The Wallothnesch curved trunk pieces fit great, no gaps.

 

Good luck,

 

Mark92131

[BenjaminSmith]

Resurrecting this thread for any current commentary. 

 

I just purchased a set second hand but unused and found the OP's comments to be correct.  The radii are all wrong for the hood and trunk.  I've shown the new SS piece overlaid the original and the differing radii are obvious.

 

HELP!

Edited January 27, 2018 by BenjaminSmith
add photo

[BarneyT]

I thought I was man enough to install this SS trim I was not...the corners will NOT work or make the compound corner where it has to turn and be on a pitch to form to hood.

 

..I have a set I’ll make someone a deal on, it has one piece damaged where I Tried heat to help bend / pitch...

[pzaver]

I, too, am a victim of the LaJolla kit. Unbelievably poor fit...impossible to bend around the corners of hood and trunklid. Piss=poor finish of some of the bits, too. It nearly feels like the kit was made by clever sweat-shop kids that had been shown a blurry photo of a 2002 once or twice.