Convertible rear hood rail - how to fit and trim

[alan12666]

Hi all,

I am in progress with restoration of the my 63 convertible. One thing I'm trying to figure uot is how to wooden rear rail for the hood fitting is installed to the body and trimmed. I know my car has been rebuilt before, and in many areas not that well to be honest. When I removed the rear rail, the fixing screws that attach rail to body (i.e. the vertical screws) were UNDER the vinyl. Being honest that is going to make retrimming awkward and fiddly; especially around the outer ends.

Looking at some pics of other cars, I'm wondering if the screws can/should be fitted after it's trimmed - this example from the tear-down of a 1969 shows the screws fitted after trim, they're visible but I don't think that's a major problem (I know the screws that attach the hood to wood are visible .. it's the ones top to bottom that attach rail to body I'm interested in). Any thoughts?