Not the worse that's for sure, touch it up with some yellow paint and at least with that repair you can always go back to flares easily if you want to.

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for now, I have just tried flexible caulk to gap the hole. Let's see how it looks

Pretty much personal choice again. I have seen it done several ways including painted to match self tapping screws and regular stainless screws, if you are not sure remove one flare and see how it looks with the pieces you have installed.

Andy and Rachel's article:  //www.minimania.com/Factory_trim_molding_installation_-_GFZ107___GZF105

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my '78 came with the flares like the one on the picture. We replaced the sills but did not remove the old ones completely, so I guess there are a few layers of them.

As for the holes...well, I was thinking maybe using some small grommets with the flat part inside the wheel arch, and the long one protruding through the fender, cut it to length so that they are (somewhat) flash with the fender and then paint them.  Does this sound....errr...too crude? Flexible caulk perhaps?  leave the flares alone? 

thanks,

Abel

It is just a personal choice really Abel. I took some fluted trim once and painted it body colour and installed it and thought it looked good. What are you going to do with the holes left where the flares were mounted ? Another thing to consider is the thickness of the sill seam. If your car has had the sills replaced and they did not remove the old sill completely you end up with three lips instead of the usual two, then yes the futed is better to use as it hides this better as the other is so thin it looks incorrect when installed over thick surfaces.

City flairs are the lower cost wheel flare fitted from ~84 on.  If you have these and remove them to just have the chrome strip...their will be drill holes exposed...plus your tyres may stick out a wee bit.

My original idea is remove the wheel flares and put the trim. So fluted would be better?

what are 'city' type flares?

Personally i prefer the non fluted look especially if you are installing it over flares and it is also easier to install. There is a link on this site to installing the trim you need a lot of patience and a little heat to make it fit correctly as it kinks very easily.

If those are "city" type flares, they're not desigined to have anything attached.....and have a strip of black in between front and back

one more question. Is it better 'fluted' or 'non-fluted' trim?

thanks for the tip. Ideally, I would not like to make any major modifications to fit the trim as I might change my mind later. My only concern is that the sills are wider than the wheel arches, so I might need something to hold the trim to the arches.

I will see what's available at the hardware and auto shops this weekend,

thanks,

Abel

Pretty sure you can still get the little clips.. In any case the standard stuff (I have the "S" version)  will stay in place even without the clips.  If you're concerned, use a little dob of contact adhesive.  The heat gun stuff sounds good and may make it easier to remove later if desired....

Cheers, Ian

thank you guys. I can now see how they look. I appreciate it,

Abel

Get the truck door size. I think it's more like 3/8" wide. It's called Protekto Trim from Cowlesproducts.com

I use it on my side seams too.

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The trim is 5/16" wide. Came in a roll of 30' I think.

could you show how it looks on your car, please?

I got a roll of seam cover at the auto parts store. Been on for 6 years now without problem. It has glue inside that you heat with a heat gun and press on. Not as wide as the proper thing though.

The door edge guards are not thick enough. If you don't use the clips you can install the correct Mini ones using some rtv or similar glue to bond them in the curves, i have also seen them riveted on the bottom side.