Body side mouldings changed at the 1970 model year, giving three distinct styles across the production range. Pre-1970 Midgets used upper waist mouldings, chrome strips running along the body side at the waist line, emphasising the car’s horizontal lines.
From 1970, these were replaced by lower sill mouldings running along the lower body between the wheel arches, giving a cleaner, more modern appearance. The 1500 added short rear quarter mouldings that visually connect the sill line to the rubber bumper profile at the rear.
Side Mouldings Fitting
All moulding types are available as replacements, along with their specific fixing clips and rivets. The clips push into holes in the body panels, and the moulding snaps onto the clips.
When fitting replacement mouldings, the clips should be test-fitted in the body holes before the moulding is offered up, forcing a moulding onto misaligned or tight clips will bend the moulding and produce a rippled, wavy appearance that is impossible to correct without removing the moulding and resetting the clips.
Fitting Advice
When fitting mouldings to a newly painted car, a thin strip of masking tape along the line of the moulding before inserting the clips protects the fresh paint from accidental scratching during fitting.