Well, in preperation to removing my split window trim, I purchased the trim tool and ground it down as thin as possible without compromising integrity in the metal. I then used some plastic body tools to help me open a gap between the rubber and the trim. I then went fishing for the clips with my new ground down $50 tool. Not a clip was found by this miraculous piece of Trim Removing device
So I started working at the corners of the chrom trim and quite suddenly the trim popped off. Now what is interesting about this is the clips are not on the inside of the trim. they are on the outside????
Which means the clips are hard against the window recess and hard up against the rubber with just enough room for the trim to squeeze between the Rubber and the clip and not between the body and the clip?????

So once I realized the clips were not inside the trim pieces but outside next to the body I was able to find the clips and separate the trim from the clip. This is nothing like what has been described here or anywhere else for that matter.
Any instructions I have seen on You Tube or read here have the clips inside the trim piece and hence the need for the clip release tool. I didn't need the tool all I needed was a hooked dental pic and it worked slick as snot

Here is a diagram of side view of the trim and how the clip interacts with the trim.

 

I would use the old clips .
and be careful tapping in into place ,my guy used a crab mattett stil had dengs.

 

That is the strangest drawing I've ever seen - I can deduce nothing from it
But then I'm old...

 

Pretend you are looking at the setup end on. So if you were to take a chain saw and cut through the entire thing and look at the exposed end
You would see the Window Recess (Blue) The Clip which is tight to the window recess (Red) Then the Trim which is also Red sitting in the clip bubble.
Then the Rubber holding the window, which is Black
Capiche?

 

Take a look at LIC 57-12 clips. You can see the clamping portion that slips over the fiberglass lip. I believe it’s the same clip used on the hardtop rear window upper reveal.

 

Ok. I get it now.

 

The trim slides down between the clip and frame.
Post some pics of the clips.

 

Thats what I thought but my trim was installed between the clip and the rubber. So trim tools were useless?
If the trim was put on improperly then if my trim was between the clip and the body the problem may be the clips are not tall enough to hook with the trim tool, I don't think?

I am taking windows out tomorrow so will take a pic then. Perhaps it was installed backasswards? I will pull the window and rubber and try to reinstall the trim next to the body and see if the bubble on the trim fits into the back of the clip as well as the reverse? I can tell you one thing for sure. If it was installed improperly then I lucked in something terrible because I never bent or for that matter really had to push/pull hard to get the trim out of the clip because it was not sandwiched between the clip and the fiberglass(two rigid objects). It was sandwiched between the clip and the rubber and the rubber I had soaked with the rubber preservative 2 days prior to make the rubber more pliable
I bought a rubber preservative that Frankie the Fink recommended (forget the name) but I used body tools to lift the rubber inside and out and sprayed the rubber protecterant into the space next to the glass. The windshield rubber is now as pliable as the day it was installed and I really think I can get the windshield out just by bending back the outside rubber. There is no cracking or any sign rubber is degraded, the protecterant works great. Maybe Frankie remembers the name....its in the garage and I am not

 

You might try perusing this web site:

https://1963splitwindow.blogspot.com...and-donts.html

 

TC,

Whatever you do don't take a chance cracking that glass,$$$, replacement rubber is cheap compared to finding original glass.

Maybe you don't need to remove the glass, do some research and see if your clips look like some rear clips that others have on there 63.

I remember there were little locating raised areas in the fiberglass where the clips are supposed to go. The article is helpful by installing the trim all slid together then snap it down.

 

Thanks Frankie.

And..... we now know the difference between what may be 63E Trim and 63L trim because my trim does not look like what is in the picture. The author shows the trim sitting on the paint job and shows how the trim clips must be lined up with the body clips because the Trim clips appear at specific points on the trim. My Trim has "Trim clips down the entire length of trim. Which means the L is present all the way down my trim and not as this picture indicates. Pictures are coming of my trim but not until I get rear windows out so I can show it in some detail. The authors trim is flimsy as hell and I can see why it gets bent if not careful, mine is far more robust , its like the difference between a piece of 1 inch strap steel vs 1 inch angle iron. Mine is in the shape of Angle Iron and his is in the shape of strap steel which can bend with ease.

Note Trim clips/Trim on the authors picture sitting on the blue paint job and the corresponding Body Clips on the window molding

 

Very true. According to what people are saying about the repro rubber it appears to be thicker than the original, which makes it harder to install the trim and conversely remove it later. So I am trying to preserve my rubber but if it becomes an issue I will just cut the rubber off, but I have a plan I have some bent sheet metal L's that I am going to try to slide into the window rubber to hold the outside rubber away from the windows. This will only work (if it does) if you do what I have done which is soak the rubber in 303 Protecterant (I think thats the name) and let it really soften the rubber.

Before you do that, you have to go inside the car use a plastic body tool and separate the glass from the rubber because the glass has literally vulcanized itself to the rubber from heat over the years. So seperate the rubber from the window with a thin plastic body tool then spray in some 303 as you go, it gets messy but I just laid a tarp inside the empty body shell so it would not drip onto the bare fiberglass making another clean up necessary.

 

Here is some pictures of my trim. This trim piece is the piece with a slight bend that is closest to the tail lights. on both windows. between the lower corner pieces. Now the nice thing about the 63L cars with this trim is you can see where at the ends the trim clip ceases to exist. Thats because the corners snap into the body clip at these points and hold the trim ends down. So talking the corner pieces off first is imperative which gives you access to the individual pieces. Then assuming you were lucky like I was and the trim is between the rubber and clip then it pops out with ease. So in my case, because I have trim clip the entire length of the pieces, the body clip exact positions are not as critical, although important, and its likely why they changed the trim, so the assembly line guy did not have to be exact on his clip placement.

 

Can't say enough about this product and here is why. As mentioned, wife and I pried open the rubber and injected as much as we could, everywhere, we could get the stuff into we did. This morning after 3 days of soaking the splits and 2 days of soaking the rubber on the windshield. We were able to extract the windshield minus the rubber with ease. The splits came out with rubber intact. It took us no more than 2 minutes per split and perhaps 3 minutes for the windshield and we are not professional glass people. Just by pulling upward on both body tools slowly but steadily the now pliable rubber released from the split window channel

 

You can soak the repro rubber til hell freezes over and you aren't going to gain any significant advantage on installing the trim clips. The rubber is indeed too thick.. You will be much better off with the stock rear rubber if it is good. If you have to use the repro, careful trimmiing with an exacto knife to lower the thickness will let your clips stick up above the rubber far enough to attach the stainless trim. It has been awhile, but I think LICS was the only supplier I found that had exact copies of the trim clips. All the others were too short. Good luck.

 

IIRC Keene parts is making taller clips to deal with the repro rubber.

 

I’ll never understand why someone would make the investment to manufacture a reproduction part........and then make it incorrectly.

 

I think the worst disaster for poor repro's are the window fuzzies. I have a set of window fuzzies for both doors that when in the channel for the window occupy about 2/3rds of the cavity. They flop around so badly in the door channel that I put the old ones back in. Now I am scared shitless to order another set just in case they show up the same way

 

I think I figured out why the trim was installed on the inside of the clips instead of the outside. When you install the trim on the outside of the clips next to the paint job you take a huge chance of chipping the paint while pounding them in. In fact to just see if the trim fits on the back side of the clip I tried to wedge it between the clip and the body and while gently tapping it in I took a chunk out of the paint job. So it may be that this is purposely done to avoid the paint chip thing. In doing so you are an 1/8th from the paint job and that gap collects crap and rusts the clips. All my clips are badly rusted because they were exposed to the rain by being on the outside and not the inside of the trim?
I also seem to have two kinds of clips. I will take a picture soon. My car is a May 24th car so has a number of little anomalies that do not show up in either late/late cars or early/early cars

 

Agreed.
I am contemplating on doing clear silicon between rubber and body and clear silicone in the seat where the glass sits, not a lot just enough to get a good silicon seal so the windows do not leak. I will push the clips into a silicon smear so they seal as well.
So, tomorrow I dig out the new Body Dolly and get it ready for the lift. Body is ready and the only hardware left on the car is two old door closers that can be written off if need be. They close the doors so when doing the body lift there is no flex in that area.
Once body is off, I then disassemble the frame and get parts in for powder coating. Then its off to Mexico for 6 months and start all over again, only re-assembling next summer.