Mopars for 1971 are known...
Mopars for 1971 are known for their smooth and flowing body lines. Our particular Satellite's curves were visibly marred by the protruding body side moldings. Our mission was to remove them.
Some items just don't belong on a serious muscle car, and in fact it is these very same items that differentiate factory "muscle" from their more mundane "grandma" counterparts. It's no secret that the very same body line was used by the manufacturer for a wide range of model series, and it is often simply the way the vehicle is trimmed-out that denotes whether a particular machine was intended for performance. Our Satellite shares the exact body platform as the heroic Road Runner, but being a Satellite (Sebring) it left the factory sans the tell-tale performance cues such as a ralley instrument cluster, blacked-out grille, hood pins, strobe stripe, sport hood, etc. Instead, our plain Satellite came with the basic dress, and was wearing perhaps the biggest tell-tail of them all--the body side molding.
Functionally, these thin impact strips offered protection from parking lot door dings that practical buyers found irresistible, and many a grandma would nary consider a vehicle unless so equipped. Performance buyers, however, put clean, uninterrupted body lines at a higher priority, and were more than ready to forego those useful protective moldings for a sleek and smooth profile. Being of that basic mindset, we were more than a little eager to remove the offending trim to give our machine a more performance-orientated silhouette.
Unfortunately, unlike vehicles manufactured in recent years where a variety of obtuse moldings are simply bonded or taped to the vehicle's skin, back in the era of real metal, automakers seemed intent on the generous use of mechanical fasteners. In detaching the trim, an enthusiast will find all manner of studs, rivets, posts, clips, and/or screws retaining these types of moldings. While the variety of factory fasteners runs the gamut of a wide range of engineering theories, a common theme seems to be that whatever was used needed to be securely through-bolted to the panel. Naturally, such an arrangement complicates the removal of these protuberances, with the necessity of filling holes. There are a number of acceptable methods of filling trim holes, but MIG welding is generally accepted today as the best technique, while simply burying the hole with bondo is typically the lowest-rated repair.
Our Satellite moldings were retained with rivets, which makes for a fairly simple trim removal process of simply drilling out the rivets. The remaining holes were fairly diminutive as trim holes go, requiring a quick zap of the MIG to be filled permanently and invisibly. We tackled the trim removal as a weekend project, and as we are well away from out ultimate goal of a complete re-paint, we finished the job with a protective coat of black epoxy primer. Even as it stands, our multi-colored Mopar project suits our aesthetic far better with the moldings removed.
 We cannot say for certain...  We cannot say for certain whether this molding was OEM, early aftermarket, or dealer installed, but it did look original to the car. Removing the vinyl rub strip revealed the attachment method here consists of standard rivets. |  We used a drill bit substantially...  We used a drill bit substantially larger than the rivet to drill through the rivet head. Drill until the head drops off and stop at that point. |  The retaining rivets were...  The retaining rivets were still tight to the molding, so a gently prying effect was applied with a metal putty knife. A ridged screwdriver or prybar is more likely to distort the vulnerable sheetmetal. |
 Once the molding extrusion...  Once the molding extrusion was removed, we still had the remainder of the rivets tightly clinging to the panels. Avoid the temptation to grab the hammer and punch, but rather just drill the stubs out with a drill bit slightly smaller than the rivet diameter. |  In preparation for welding,...  In preparation for welding, the area immediately surrounding the holes were buffed to the bare metal with a 3M Clean & Strip Wheel. |  The next step was welding...  The next step was welding the rivet holes. These small holes were easily handled with 0.023-diameter mild steel MIG wire. |
 To finish the welds flush,...  To finish the welds flush, a small angle grinder was employed to grind the welds smooth. |  Here we can see the end result...  Here we can see the end result of the welding and grinding. If the car body was stripped to the bare metal it would be impossible to see the former holes. |  In preparation for finishing,...  In preparation for finishing, the paint adjacent to the repair area was given a light sanding with No. 180 grit. Although the car will be stripped and repainted later, we wanted to temporarily finish the area to protect the metal in the meantime. |
 A light skim coat of filler...  A light skim coat of filler was applied to each spot, mainly to bring the surface up to the level of the existing layers of paint. |  A light sanding with an air-powered...  A light sanding with an air-powered D/A sander was adequate to sufficiently finish the filler to the quality level we were after for a primer coat. |  We used a dark gray epoxy...  We used a dark gray epoxy primer shot through a touch-up gun to temporarily finish the repair. Epoxy primer provides the best protection possible, short of a true refinishing with paint. |