Exterior moulding bolts

OCCoupe

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If I had to grind the heads on a bolt to make it work I would send it and the rest of them out to be plated. I would not paint them and I would not take a chance on not having any rust protection.

As for the rubber disc that goes over the washer/nut all, every e9 that I have dismantled had them. Alan's is no exception. If they were missing then someone removed and didn't replace them or the car was so old and crusty that they rotted off.
 

w. chen

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Hi all. I can vouch that my 74 do have the rubber ends. I had all the chrome trimmings replaced back in 93. Sad, but I did scrimp on not buying new bolts. Anyways, the bolts were not badly rusted and were re used with the rubber n nuts. Back in those days, I paid a ‘fortune’ for the trimmings but no foresight in thinking that the hardware should be replace too.
 

HB Chris

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Hi all. I can vouch that my 74 do have the rubber ends. I had all the chrome trimmings replaced back in 93. Sad, but I did scrimp on not buying new bolts. Anyways, the bolts were not badly rusted and were re used with the rubber n nuts. Back in those days, I paid a ‘fortune’ for the trimmings but no foresight in thinking that the hardware should be replace too.

Thanks for setting the record straight!
 

rsporsche

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maybe the rubber is still on the inside of the fenders + doors on Alan's coupe ... just the bolts came off
 

sfdon

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It appears......

The new trim matches the new bolts.
The new bolts with old trim will not assemble.
I have ordered bolts from the dealer to see if they have changed also.
More to come.
 

eriknetherlands

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Hi;
just in case the non BMW fastener doesn't work; I came across a supplier in Germany, Raymond that sells to automotive manufacturers 10.000 standard clips and fasteners.
They have some things that could perhaps replace the belt line trim bolts

For this, I'm trying to identify the thread diameter (M5 I guess?) and the band width that would applicable to the size of the head when selecting a fastener from a standard parts catalogue.
(i'm not putting effort trying to find bolts to match the reportedly ill fitting W&N reproduction belt trim line)

Can anyone confirm the following dimension that I gathered from this thread:
1.15 mm head thickness
16 mm thread length
Cross section of head is 7 mm.

other questions:
- the original bolt has an oblong, (not round, but more like two half circles) head shape. What size is it in long an short direction?
- If anyone has an original belt trim at hand, could they please confirm the width of the channel at location of the head of the bolt, and the width of the channel where the thread of the bolt passes through?

Erik.
 
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rsporsche

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Erik,

the measurement of the cross section of the head is about 7mm and is 1mm thick (could be 1.15mm) ... the overall length of the bolt is 16mm. i did not measure the bolt width, but i'm guessing its M4 as the dimension between the thread + edge of head is more than 1mm.

the short direction width of the head of the bolt is 7mm. the long dimension is longer, but i didn't measure that. if nobody pops up with answers, i can check all of the dimensions when i get home tonight as i have a set of loose belt trims and t-bolts and nuts. in addition to the channel width in the belt trim, the other critical dimension is the opening width to put the bolt into the channel.
 

rsporsche

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Erik

the head of the bolt is nominally 7mm x 9mm. the head has 1mm bevels on each of the long sides. the bolt is 4 mm wide, so M4. the overall length of the bolt is 16 mm from top of head to bottom of machine screw.
the slot in the belt trim is nominally 4.5 mm wide at the edge along the body. the opening to put the bolt in is 8mm wide.
 

restart

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I came across these and thought of this thread. BMW used quite a few sizes of f these. Maybe one fits?
62CEC1D2-E03B-4FF4-AC5D-BC257883B79D.jpeg
 

Markos

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Erik

the head of the bolt is nominally 7mm x 9mm. the head has 1mm bevels on each of the long sides. the bolt is 4 mm wide, so M4. the overall length of the bolt is 16 mm from top of head to bottom of machine screw.
the slot in the belt trim is nominally 4.5 mm wide at the edge along the body. the opening to put the bolt in is 8mm wide.

I measured the belt line trim. There is zero wiggle
room. The slot is 7.13mm at the widest point, and 5.84mm at the most narrow point. The bolt pass through is 4.32mm. The holes on the body are closer to 5.6mm, giving you a lot of flexibility with alignment.

DEC732D1-F96F-4660-9EC2-EDF1574BC74C.jpeg
 

Koopman

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Hi guys.
I know I mentioned this before. Before my health issues and before giving my car to my son,I ordered plastic nuts and flat head bolts and ground two sides of the bolt heads square making them easy to slide in the rear of the moulding. No chance of scratching or rusting at all. Now that my son who I call "the perfectionist" owns the car chances are he removed them and made stainless steel bolts to match the originals. Being Director of Engineering at Bose Corp. he can usually reproduce almost any part on the car.
Sorry not trying to brag.
 

Koopman

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Hi guys.
I know I mentioned this before. Before my health issues and before giving my car to my son,I ordered plastic nuts and flat head bolts and ground two sides of the bolt heads square making them easy to slide in the rear of the moulding. No chance of scratching or rusting at all. Now that my son who I call "the perfectionist" owns the car chances are he removed them and made stainless steel bolts to match the originals. Being Director of Engineering at Bose Corp. he can usually reproduce almost any part on the car.
Sorry not trying to brag.
 

Koopman

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Hi guys.
I know I mentioned this before. Before my health issues and before giving my car to my son,I ordered plastic nuts and flat head bolts and ground two sides of the bolt heads square making them easy to slide in the rear of the moulding. No chance of scratching or rusting at all. Now that my son who I call "the perfectionist" owns the car chances are he removed them and made stainless steel bolts to match the originals. Being Director of Engineering at Bose Corp. he can usually reproduce almost any part on the car.
Sorry not trying to brag.
 
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