Capri Technical Forum:

Hi all, I took off the plastic moulding on my laser to have it blown over, but the studs have corroded away. I now have holes down the side of the car and cant get new trim for love nor money. I've been told filler won't do and they will need welding up but this will mean major bodywork which is out of the question. Has anyone had and overcome this problem? I have "S" stripes ready to stick on but I dont think they will cover them up.
Many thanks in advance, Danny

Which studs you referring to mate?
the ones on the two doors? or the threaded studs on the front wing and rear wing mouldings?

i repaired my front and rear side mouldings with counter sunk 5mm stainless machine screws and araldite.
slip the head under where the old stud went, tap ally around head then araldite and leave, mine have been on the car for 5 yrs like this now.

Well I have studs on one door and holes on the other like the wings The moulding are past salvage i think They are bent, thanks partly to me and partly to kids. Only the door ones have survived.

So the side molding on the door is held on with studs that are welded to the door? Do the studs just friction fit into the molding? I am looking at pulling the molding off and not sure how it comes off..

them studs lock into a plastic clip which in turn lock into the back of the mouldings,
i think i undid the two screws (one front one at back of the moulding) and slid the moulding side ways and off the clips,

thanks..that makes sense..so if the studs are broken off I could weld something in from the backside of the door, ie a similar sized bolt with the head on the inside of the door and the rest poking through..Cheers

V8 could you get a picture of how you filled in the holes? maybe a step-by-step. Id like to get my mouldings off and get a respray.

filled the holes?
as in ont he doors,
if so i still have the mouldings on my car m8

oh damn yeah, i just read it properly when you said you fixed the studs i thought you meant fill the holes.
if anyone does have any pointers shout out loud.

Hi danlaser,
I've taken the mouldings off on my car mate but unfortunately i don't have any pics of it!
The most important things is NOT just to fill the holes! The holes need welding up! Then skimming over with fine filler, sanding, priming, wet flatting and then spraying, etc, etc.
If you think about how crap the window seals are on Capris you can appreciate how much water actually ends up inside the door, hence the 6 or 7 drain holes along the bottom edge! Anyway, if you just used filler, water would soon find it's way in behind the filler. Car body filler is porous, the water would be absorbed, get behind the paint, start causing rust, and as water expands and contracts with temperature it would soon 'pop' the filler out of the hole leaving a right old rusty mess.
Sorry fella but it needs welding.
Regards,
Keith