Chrom Trim ? Thanks Received!

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Koopman

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Hoes amnyone have a small piece of E9 chrome trim that is on the front door cards. Wood like to see the size and profile and material it is made of.
Please PM me.
Koopman
Also all members who are contacting me to search parts,please do not forget to make a small donation to thr forum. I'm not sure how much longer my health will hold out but I will search as long as I am able.
Koopman.
 
Harry,

They are made from aluminum and have a steel tack strip that slides into the aluminum on the underside. I'd say fairly easy to mimic, but difficult to replicate. I'll snap some pics with measurements tonight.

Early e12 based e24's have similar trim. A local BMW friend that is parting his e24 compared them to his E9 for me. The e24 trim has a slightly different profile and they are .25" shorter than the e9 trim.
 
Lots of us seem to be looking for these strips, if enough of us are interested there might be a way to produce a limited run. I would be happy to do some research into getting a copy made, although I don't have an original to compare.

John
 
Markos said:
Harry,

They are made from aluminum and have a steel tack strip that slides into the aluminum on the underside. I'd say fairly easy to mimic, but difficult to replicate. I'll snap some pics with measurements tonight.

Early e12 based e24's have similar trim. A local BMW friend that is parting his e24 compared them to his E9 for me. The e24 trim has a slightly different profile and they are .25" shorter than the e9 trim.
Click to expand...
Thanks Markos,
My feelings are the same as John's
Thanks for the help.
Koopman
 
Mine are burried in my parts car and I didn't get a chance to clear it out yesterday. Stay tuned!
 
You could probably use metal thumb tacks instead of the steel tack strip. You'd have to snip the heads square... Admittedly, I'm a little nervous that mine are so buried. Hopefully they aren't bent. I need a place to store all of these fragile aluminum bits!
 
Markos said:
You could probably use metal thumb tacks instead of the steel tack strip. You'd have to snip the heads square... Admittedly, I'm a little nervous that mine are so buried. Hopefully they aren't bent. I need a place to store all of these fragile aluminum bits!
Click to expand...
Buy (or barter for) those hard mailing tubes or a long piece of PVC pipe.
Koopman, PM to bfeng as I think he has a piece. When I get home I will look to see if he sent it back to me.
 
inovermyhead said:
Lots of us seem to be looking for these strips, if enough of us are interested there might be a way to produce a limited run. I would be happy to do some research into getting a copy made, although I don't have an original to compare.

John
Click to expand...
I have been working on this project for a while. Or as Eugene from The Walking Dead would say "chewing on this particular cud for some time now" With help I have tried locally, in China and in Vietnam. So far, no joy. But I may have another trick up my sleeve. The piece that holds the trim on should be easier to make.
 
Stan said:
I have been working on this project for a while. Or as Eugene from The Walking Dead would say "chewing on this particular cud for some time now" With help I have tried locally, in China and in Vietnam. So far, no joy. But I may have another trick up my sleeve. The piece that holds the trim on should be easier to make.
Click to expand...

The Walking Dead is why I didn't get any coupe work done on Sunday/Monday. I was three episodes behind. :D
 
On a similar note, I took a closer look on how the brushed aluminum dash trim is made. That part wouldn't be difficult to make wither. The brushed trim is just aluminum sheet and the chrome strip on the top is pressed on. You need a metal brake to bend the piece by the heater controls, but it's not a complicated piece. The little studs that attach it to the dash would be tricky but one could use double-stick tape instead.
 
As mentioned, easy to mimic but difficult to replicate. A simple 1mm thick strip of polished aluminum with beveled ends would do the trick for the untrained eye.

There are no seams on the end. This aluminum piece is stamped and the sides are folded over. Accurately reproducing would be prohibitive IMO. They are also side specific.

102.5mm:
31539987321_62b6435d24_b.jpg


concave:
31655689355_db6e35778b_b.jpg


31539989101_4f8f259363_b.jpg


anodized:
31655689815_373024705a_b.jpg


Stamped, no seams:
31619099016_4cde7c0b04_b.jpg


31539989471_faee90d004_b.jpg


31539989501_326597154c_b.jpg


Two tack strips per trim piece:
31655689905_7414b3ca48_b.jpg
 
Last edited:
Markos said:
As mentioned, easy to mimic but difficult to replicate. A simple 1mm thick strip of polished aluminum with beveled ends would do the trick for the untrained eye.

There are no seams on the end. This aluminum piece is stamped and the sides are folded over. Accurately reproducing would be prohibitive IMO. They are also side specific.

102.5mm:
31539987321_62b6435d24_b.jpg


concave:
31655689355_db6e35778b_b.jpg


31539989101_4f8f259363_b.jpg


anodized:
31655689815_373024705a_b.jpg


Stamped, no seams:
31619099016_4cde7c0b04_b.jpg


31539989471_faee90d004_b.jpg


31539989501_326597154c_b.jpg


Two tack strips per trim piece:
31655689905_7414b3ca48_b.jpg
Click to expand...
Great work.
Thanks
Koopman
 
My nephew is the guy who has reverse-engineered most of the parts I have had made.
TomP sent detailed pictures of the part to me and ExecMalibu sent a sample strip.
I sent the pictures to my nephew and will follow up with him. If he thinks it is feasible I will mail the sample strip to him.
It may need to be machined aluminum strip = I will try to get an estimate.
 
Great work Stan, purely from my point of view it need not be an exact copy and could be solid aluminium fixed with tapped screws, as long as it looks right.

John
 
I suggest that if you are changing the design, you also consider a change to the installation method. I don't have a solution, but can help define the problem.

The tack strips protrude from the aluminum trim, and are inserted through the vinyl and door cards. If y'all are seeking to install these replacements using the original holes, you need to take into account the fact that they are not evenly spaced. I would consider making entirely new holes in order to avoid the spacing issue and to have fresh vinyl and door card areas.

When you actually install the trim, you insert the tack strips through the holes in the vinyl (which line up with holes in the door cards underneath), and then press the trim strip against the vinyl while bending the end of the tack strip over. This must be done so as to avoid bending the trim, while holding the trim tightly and evenly against the vinyl.
 
Great write up!

Here is what happens when you do it the wrong way. My car, not my handy work.

31620783316_358ce7fcb8_b.jpg
 
Koopman said:
Hoes amnyone have a small piece of E9 chrome trim that is on the front door cards. Wood like to see the size and profile and material it is made of.
Please PM me.
Koopman
Also all members who are contacting me to search parts,please do not forget to make a small donation to thr forum. I'm not sure how much longer my health will hold out but I will search as long as I am able.
Koopman.
Click to expand...
I have a short strip from the back seat laying around. If you need it I'll send it to you. I need the long one on the front passenger door [email protected]
 
inovermyhead said:
Great work Stan, purely from my point of view it need not be an exact copy and could be solid aluminium fixed with tapped screws, as long as it looks right.

John
Click to expand...
I wonder if a solid piece with short self-tapping screws would work? That way the user could use different (new) holes in the door card at any point?
 
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