alrighty, a while back I lost my drivers side cooper S chrome trim (and the ute behind me ran it over lol)

I've since bought bnew ones. But they are 'rounded' so they fit in a little pack.

I was told to have it in the sun and leave it out for a day or so so that the heat straightens it out. I was thinking of putting the strip on the gutter of my defender 110 so that it would stay straight and be under the sun.

but I cant even get it to a point where its straight enough to go onto the gutter? I dont want to be too rough with it and dent/bend it.... so I was wondering what the best way was for me to straighten it? I dont really want to lay it flat on the floor and have a rock over it or something as it might scratch (unless I have a rug or towel over the rock so it doesnt scratch?)

but yes, what is the best way to get it straight??

They will fight. Unroll them as they would roll off the coil, and use a lot of clips to hold them in place untwisted.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Leave it out in the hot summer sun for a while.

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Julie.............

Hi Scotty,

These side mould can be a Bugger to the inexperienced

I've never fitted the Cooper S side moulds myself but have been involved in the process and taken advice from people who helped me.

(TIP)The most important thing is to purchase the more expensive but better quality side moulds supplied by minispares uk or Minisport SA - the moulds seem to be be more flexible and less fragile and brittle this avoids the time and frustration of the moulds bending - (YES there are different qualities available)

Before starting clean and remove any old rivets and make sure the lip surface is free of any obstructions. With patience, time and care the moulds should fit nicely

Always handy to have a helper to help you as you fit the mould you may need some tools ie a hairdryer a hacksaw blade, small rivets and rivet gun, drill and side mould cutters

Start from one end carefully feeding the mould on the lip carefully drilling and riveting the underside of the side mould to the lip using the existing holes in the lip ( ensure that the rivets are a short length so the leading face of the side mould are not dented when riveting )

TIP (if required) If and when you encounter situations when the side mould is not easily fitting to tight curves gently warm the side mould with a hairdryer and hacksaw blade temporarily in the mould groove to avoid pinching the side mould.

I have watched and helped people fit the side moulds with this technique which seems to work very well however I'm sure there will be many other suggestions including unwinding or uncoiling the side moulds by hanging from high roofs with weight attached to the bottom or hanging from washing lines for a period of time.

Anyway Scotty you decide to attack this job my advice is take your time, and be gentle - far better than damaging the mould and having do it all again.

Good luck

Chris

My two cents worth....
Soften the coil in a bowl of hot water, dont be tempted to role the coil on the flares the way it is shaped on the coil,
role it the opposite way to the way it is coiled, then when you reach the bottom of the A pillar the role of the coil will be the right direction and then the right direction when you get to the back...slowly does it

All good advice and my 2 cents worth is to measure how much you need with leaving a little bit spare and cutting of the excess ( assuming there is some excess , there usually is ) and having a practice with this piece to bend it around the hardest bit coming back onto the body seam at the sill with the help of a hair drier . This also allows you to see how much heat is enough and how much is to much. This helped me out the first time I fitted some.
Hope this makes sense.
Regards

I fitted new cooperS style ones to my car a few months back. Its quite easy with a little heat. Like someone said above, just start with it going on opposite to the strips curve.

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Tim
Dusk Blue
1964 850