Fitting gutter chromes

[andrewh]

Sorry if this has been discussed before but have not found a thread on it. I am about to try to fit new chromed to my car and it looks a tricky job. The paint build up may make the job more difficult and I am keen that I don't chip any paint off whilst I try to fit it at least on the underside. Any tips much appreciated.

I am told that it will need bonding on as well so whether to trial fit it first the. Take it off again to apply gloop or not. Not looking forward to this

[PeterCrespin]

Genuine chromes have a folding tab at each end so the chrome can't 'un-peel' from the gutter and the curved shape in both planes keeps it secure.

If your gutter has no tabs then it may still hold but a dab of something is added security regardless. If you've got decent paint it shouldn't come off and any markings will be invisible. Start at the base of the A-pillar which is a more critical fitment than the rear end.

[Moeregaard]

This is one of those jobs where patience is essential. As Pete says, the chromes should have a folding tab at each end. He's also correct in that the A-pillar is the critical phase of installation and it is easy to chip paint if you're not careful. When I installed the chromes on my '65, I used a small amount of mastic adhesive under each end. Just work slowly and you'll have no problems.

[andrewh]

ok, sounds clear enough. I will have to have someone on the lose end to stop it from flying around and hitting the roof or rear wing and see how we go. My chromes are new replacements so do have the tab on the end but I am led to believe they can be very tight on the curve at the top of the A pillar which may need filing down a bit to allow the trim to fit over. I was led to believe that originally the underside locates in a groove, now full of paint, on the underside of the lip. will let you know how it goes . car due back from the trimmers in the next week I hope.

[PeterCrespin]

If you have serious problems with paint thickness sufficient to alter flange thickness or dimensions that much (or obliterate the slight locating groove underneath) then you have drastically and expensively over-painted the car.

This was not a problem Jaguar had :-)

Leave your wife to watch telly and just tape a ball of bog paper over the far end to stop it scratching anything while you work.

[abowie]

I am about to try to fit new chromed to my car

Where did you get the new ones from? I need a RHS chrome for one of my coupes and have heard that the repros are often a poor fit.

[andrewh]

The chromes came from SNG. I have yet to try them though

[Red Kite]

There is another thread somewhere, worth looking for....

I got mine from SNG. They were a bit long so i had to trim them, they were a slightly different shape to the car so i used Silkaflex 221 and some light clamping to encourage them to stay put.





Looks nice in the end.

[andrewh]

Thanks for this red kite. The car looks superb. Did you have an issue at the top of the A post radius ?

[Red Kite]

Couldnt find the thread using forum search but found it using google ?
viewtopic.php?t=4469&start=0&sid=164a1b ... 172353562f

The A pillars were very tight and the gutter needed slightly filing down to profile at that point. The Car had been restored in the mid 90s and the paperwork comments on the fact that the gutters were badly corroded and needed building up. The owner requested that a black plastic strip be fitted which would not damage the paint and cause further corrosion problems. It was not too noticeable on a dark car and nobody ever commented until it was pointed out to them. It just wasnt right to me so i went for the chrome strips. The paint underneath was perfect but needless to say fitting the chrome strips does chip some paint off. The sealant should prevent water ingress and corrosion.

The inititial fit of gutter strips were not quite the same for both sides of the car but when laid on top of each other (mirror image) they were identical so i guess the car had some errors in it as well.

[Heuer]

Couldnt find the thread using forum search but found it using google ?

You will find it instantly if you type in - roof AND gutter AND trim - into the search box. The AND operator between each narrows the search to just those words.

[Red Kite]

Marverlous thank you. :) I tried the AND but only using two words, didnt think of trying three words so got lots of results and the thread title wasnt obvious. "FHC trim questions"

For some reason this google search came up with it at the top, probably because i had looked at it before ? e type chrome roof gutter strip

[Heuer]

Actually if you type anything with the word 'E-Type' into Google these days a Forum thread will be near the top of the search results.

[jjorj]

We too are having problems fitting the cantrail chrome trims. My gutters on the car (1962 FHC) are 61" and the chromes supplied by SNG are 62.5". I called them and you would have thought I was the first person to mention it. We thought they may be for the 2+2 initially.
I take it there are no better suppliers/availability.
Is it OK just to trim them as it will potentially leave unchromed ends where the chrome can peel or flake off?

Other problem I have is that the internal chrome edges for the cantrail trim are missing. Does anyone know of a supply, even second hand or the cross section form that they take if it can be bodged from something similar?

Struggled last night with the front screen chrome trims and they seem to me to be the wrong shape to lock in place. Lower is not too bad but the upper edge of the top one seems to be rounded the wrong way to catch the screen rubber, anyone else had problems there?

Cheers, George

[andrewh]

Check that you are measuring the rail on the car right down to the front bulkhead. One side of mine was about 1inch shorter than the other side. The chromes I bought from SNG were fine in length terms but were a devil of a job to fit. Largely because the profile of the new chromes was slightly off and they did not clip over the gutter channel on the car very easily. I ended up having to relieve the profile of the gutter in some areas. All in all one of the worst jobs on the car as it was carried out when the car was fully painted. I don't know of any better suppliers in terms of accuracy of chromes. I am minded to suggest to other restorers to check they fit before parting the car. If you have to cut them to length you will lose the little tag that turns up and secures the chrome to the gutter.

[Polse7317]

Y agree with Andrew, i am now putting those chromes and i have the same problem with the shape of the new one which didn't match with the metal . I use a strong piece of wood to have the right width by a big pressure on it. I have prepared the presses to maintain the chrome blade in the good position . I checked the width of the chrome each 10 cm to be sure it will fit on the car. I fitted some adjustable straps around the body also to maintain . I have cutted the edges with a small dremel disk so i have still a tab to be folded Inside :