Hi guys. I'm back into Rovers having been unfaithful and have a question about my new 216SE cabriolet (1998)

The side strips seem rattly loose. The car was part-resprayed recently. I don't think the strips were removed/replaced, but...
I'm just a bit concerned that they aren't fitted tight to the bodywork. Images of dripping water through fixing holes haunt my sleep.

So, question - how are these strips fitted? Should they not fit snugly? Should I remove them and do something (images of silicon).
Advice please before we next get a tropical downpour...

MickyB

They have a series of plastic 'harpoon' clips which bayonet into pockets in the rubbing strip moulding, and clip into rectangular holes in the body panels.
There should be a small foam elastomer cushion pressing against the panel too, which should seal the hole and dampen vibrations. Perhaps those are
tired or missing on yours.

Damage-free removal really requires removing the interior liners and squeezing the arms of the 'harpoon' together.

There you go picture makes things clear i think ,
There a nut on the door aswel comes of easy or snaps second picture

https://ibb.co/bbM7T9J
https://ibb.co/RYvnGCB
https://ibb.co/PGcXzgP

I found on my Cabbie the clips don't hold the mouldings very tight on the front wings & rear quarters, I used a small 'dob' of Tiger Seal to stop them moving. If you choose to do similarly don't use too much just incase you need to remove them in the future.

The door mouldings don't move as the rear securing nut stops them. Obviously if the nut is missing or breaks you can use the small dob method also.

I’m in the process of removing the rubbing strips from the R8. As usual three of the four nuts have come off easily, but the front passenger door one just revolves.

Looking at one from a Tomcat, it looks as though you should be able to push the trim backwards to slide it off the bolt. Before I break anything, is my assumption correct?

Forget the above question! The bolt appears to be captive. Does anyone have any idea how to remove it?

Assuming it's not a Coupe, the bolt head sits in a hexagonal recess in the base moulding, behind the coloured insert strip.
Trouble is, getting the insert out is best done, if at all, by pressing from the back face. I'd suspect your nut is so well
seized on the bolt that it will shear if you can stop the bolt rotating. Naturally, the bolts aren't listed as spares!

That’s what I feared. I may be gone some time.

As Francis said, the hex bolts have a large, thin head and you can't buy replacements.

Search using the term "thumbwheels" and you may find a bolt-like thing that has a large head on it that you can modify. I can't remember if those bolt threads are M3 or M4...

The problem is that the plastic-capped nuts on the insides of the doors will probably just spin when you try to undo them. It's worse than you think at this point as even if you find a replacement for the bolt, it too will spin when you try and refit the strips. The hex head is supposed to lock into the cut-out shape behind the red insert but as you try to remove the old one you either wear the plastic smooth or a little bit f it breaks off. I'd suggest if you do get to the point where you're replacing bolts, put some silicone sealant in the hole and let is set so the bolt doesn't spin.

To get the old bolts off (i.e. get the strip off the door) I just cut through the old black nuts on the inside of the door. Then the remains of the bolt can be removed by removing the re inserts from the rubbing strips. Yu can source replacement black plastic nuts from eBay, Rimmer Bros, Xpart, etc.

Thanks for that John. I was beginning to think about putting a cutting disk on my mini drill (incredibly useful).

I’ll have a go tomorrow and report back. As always, thanks for the advice.