I had these on my '83 245 GLT, Bob. I think the idea was to make the cars look 'slimmer'. I wasn't keen on them anyway, and at around the 12 year mark they had started to look quite 'tatty', shrinking and peeling at the ends.
I had some success in removing them using my wife's hairdryer on it's lowest setting. I didn't say anything initially, as I wouldn't care to recommend using that method on a car that you really care about, but as it squares with 'Bugjam 1999's advice about waiting for a warm day, it may be worth considering. I'm not sure what a 'toffee wheel' is though; maybe someone can enlighten me?
Regards, John.