I hate the rain gutter things that run down both sides of the roof on my '87 scort.

Would it be a very bad thing to grind them off, then putty and paint to give it a much more streamlined look?

Here's my car.....so I'm talking about the things that stick out at the sides of the roof. Very dated looking, but I don't know if they're important....

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/714921

Uh, yeah. They're actually important. Take a really close look, if possible, and you'll notice that they're actually two pieces of metal crimped together. Those rain troughs are important indeed. Keep 'em. Besides, if you're worried about driving a "dated" car, then why drive a first gen Escort? Yeah, I drive one, a '90, and the dated look is great, especially when the thing rips apart modern "faster" cars.