Aston Vantage
The Problem
On the second-generation Vantage, a single clip holds the rear corner of the upper window trim. When it breaks, the trim lifts. It's a recurring failure on these cars, and this is the second one the fix has been done on, both on the driver's side. The clip isn't sold on its own, and the only available fix is to replace the whole trim piece, which is expensive and hard to find.
REVERSE EnGINEERING
No intact clip survived to copy from. What was left was the half that attaches to the trim. The half that anchors into the body was gone.
The surviving half was scanned and reverse-engineered. The other half was made from scratch through a series of revisions to optimize the fit and ease of production.
The clip installs like the factory original, with nothing on the car modified and no extra hardware.
THE DESIGN
The first versions were printed in PET-GF for its durability and dimensional accuracy. Compared to alternatives like PA-CF, PET-GF is more likely to bend than break. The clip has to flex into the mount without snapping, where a stiffer material would crack on install.
THE PART
The PET-GF clip worked well when first installed, but didn’t provide a strong enough hold when in use. When first exposed to heat, it relaxed and lost its grip. The clip never broke, but it allowed the piece to lift again. This was resolved with a single layer of cloth Tesa tape, and the part has worked as intended since.
The current version, now a 4th revision, has a more aggressive hold on the body and is intentionally wrapped in Tesa tape to enhance the grip. This is the same method some OEMs such as McLaren use. The install is otherwise unchanged.
