TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Jan 30, 2025 3:43 pm

Hey guys, I'm having a heck of a time finding the interior molding clips. Same clips as the outside molding but larger.

Evening Airheadparts claims to use the same clips but that's fake news:)-

Any idea where to find the correct inner clips?

Thanks!
Lee

Thu Jan 30, 2025 11:28 pm

I bet you'll not like hearing I used the same clips as the outside trims and they worked just fine.

What do you have that makes yours different? Maybe some pics will help understand the problem?

Nicholas

Fri Jan 31, 2025 9:56 am

sputnick60 wrote: I bet you'll not like hearing I used the same clips as the outside trims and they worked just fine.

What do you have that makes yours different? Maybe some pics will help understand the problem?

Nicholas [img]

First of all Nicolas (or Nick?), I just want to say thank you!! You have been a wealth of knowledge, inspiration and help over the years with my Ghia builds.

And 2nd, you are correct, I do not like your answer lol

Not sure what year your ghia is but this is he 2nd Ghia I've built with the upper inside moldings (see image)and the same issue on both, the inside molding clip holes are bigger compared to the outside molding clip holes. The first ghia I did w/the inner molding was a 60 and the one I'm building now is a 63.

I've tested all the holes for both sides (doors and under quarter windows), same results.

Just doing a bit of research, the part numbers for the inside molding clips and the outside molding clips are different.

Inside molding clips VW Part#141-853-549 B
Outside Molding Clips VW Part#: 141-853-547 B

On the 60 I built I used epoxy to get the smaller molding clips to stay in the larger holes but I'm trying get the correct parts this time. And yes I could drill new holes to fit the smaller clips but that would compromise the integrity of the car so trying to avoid that.

Thanks again!!

Lee

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Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:18 pm

I did a quick measurement on my '58 and it appears that the holes for the molding on the outside of the car are about 6mm diameter and the holes for the trim inside the car are about 7mm. I'm in the middle of bodywork and it's moot for me because I have some filler on the outside of the fender and door where the molding goes and the plastic clips won't engage the thickened panel, as has already been discussed. My solution I hope will overcome that problem and also make the size discrepancy a non-issue: I bought a bunch of 8-32 X 5/8" truss head machine screws. The heads are too wide to slide into the slot of the aftermarket molding and the crown of the screw is too tall, so I chucked them in my electric drill, got them spinning and reduced their diameter and height with a flap sander on my grinder. This way I can slide the screws onto the molding and line them up with the holes and screw them down with wing nuts to control the tension and not bend the aluminum trim, plus it'll be a lot easier than using a wrench. The 5/8" length of the screw gets around the problem of the filler in the body, and obviously the larger holes inside the car.

Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:25 pm

'40's guy wrote: I did a quick measurement on my '58 and it appears that the holes for the molding on the outside of the car are about 6mm diameter and the holes for the trim inside the car are about 7mm. I'm in the middle of bodywork and it's moot for me because I have some filler on the outside of the fender and door where the molding goes and the plastic clips won't engage the thickened panel, as has already been discussed. My solution I hope will overcome that problem and also make the size discrepancy a non-issue: I bought a bunch of 8-32 X 5/8" truss head machine screws. The heads are too wide to slide into the slot of the aftermarket molding and the crown of the screw is too tall, so I chucked them in my electric drill, got them spinning and reduced their diameter and height with a flap sander on my grinder. This way I can slide the screws onto the molding and line them up with the holes and screw them down with wing nuts to control the tension and not bend the aluminum trim, plus it'll be a lot easier than using a wrench. The 5/8" length of the screw gets around the problem of the filler in the body, and obviously the larger holes inside the car.

You are awesome! Thank you!

Lee