1984 300D Side Trim Attachment

[BillGrissom]

Sharing a fix (kludge). Re-installing trim after a full paint job. Probably should have just taped it off but I was concerned about rust underneath so was trying to be a good boy. Actually, I only had to paint half the car because I had to replace R fender and hood after an accident and got an entire 1983 300D gratis which had recently been painted, so also swapped over its R fender, trunk, sunroof, and fuel door. Had a paint store match the paint (modern grey-blue color).

BTW, if you need W123 parts, I saved all I could before scrapping the body, even the whole wire harness and vac tubing. As-found, it had no engine, doors, or glass. Was bought just for the engine (off-roader) and kid's dad just wanted the rest gone. My guess is it had been abandoned at a body shop. Tranny case was cracked so I saved just the innards. A few parts I've already sold and some are listed on Sacramento cl.

Anyway, current issue was that all of the fingers broke off the L rear door mid-trim when removing it. Not sure why that door was jinxed since most of the similar trim elsewhere popped free unscathed. I had extra trim (from 1983 above, but not door trim) with good fingers but couldn't find a way to remove them without damage. An unmolested finger is shown in front of the box.

One guy here suggested heating to soften a finger, then you can pull it out. I tried that but it was first distorting the rubber on the spare trim and I wanted to save that. My guess is that might work better for installing new fingers (good luck sourcing one). You can't just slide the fingers out the end, as on 1960's U.S. cars since M-B melted the plastic ends into the metal trim, blocking the channel. They also weren't nice enough to provide a "loading slot" as on old U.S. cars (perhaps cut one w/ Dremel tool?).

Instead, I was able to fit the metal wing-type trim clips shown (left-over from my 1965 Dodge Dart, though not "proper" there either). The red plastic sockets were still in the door, so I just slid the studs thru. You could remove the sockets for a tighter fit, but they help center the studs. Too bad you will now have some SAE threads on your M-B (the humanity!). I used one locknut to insure the trim never departs. I couldn't use a metal wing-clip at front and rear-most holes since you can't get to their stud on the inside. Instead, I used the common new-car door card clip shown (green, have a bag) to serve as a M-B finger. I snipped off the thicker outer "washer" and softened it with a heat gun to jam into the track. I couldn't even do that at the front since the finger which broke off is integral with the solid end plastic. Best I could do was squash E6000 glue in the plastic socket. From inside the door, you might stuff Gorilla Glue in from that side on the tip of a long screwdriver (foaming polyurethane). The aft side was still loose even with the green clip finger, so fixed 'er w/ dab of E6000 and clamp.

I think the OE plastic sockets have the curved ends shown, whereas later ones have a flat end. I show a new socket I bought as a clip kit from ebay (Chinese) which is supposed to fit a W123, but its center hole was too small for the factory fingers. Fixed that with a heat gun then sliding it down a tapered punch to expand the hole. The plastic softens easily, which isn't re-assuring towards longevity. Note that you must first install the red sockets in the holes (pop in), then tap the trim with plastic fingers into them (rubber mallet). The sockets often pull out with the trim, so first pry them off the fingers with a screwdriver. If you tried installing with sockets on fingers, the sockets wouldn't push in to their locking grooves. Oops, title is wrong (can't edit), this is my 1985 300D.