This is going to be the stupidest post that you read today, guaranteed . . . possibly the stupidest post ever.

I removed the OEM stainless steel trim rings from the painted factory Super Stock wheels on our '76 Cutlass Salon before having new BFG Radial T/A tires mounted on them (some tire guys can be brutal).

NOW I CAN'T GET THEM TO GO BACK ON! I managed to get one trim ring on a front wheel, but my wife and I working together (using a large rubber hammer) could not get one installed on either of the rear wheels. It started getting dark at that point so we gave up for the night.

What is going on??? We have owned the car since '97, so I KNOW that this is not S.O.P. for this car.

Jeff in NC

 

Very hard to do if the wheel is on the car with car weight on it.. Take the wheel off and put it face up on the ground. Use both knees and both hands to push the trim ring on with equal pressure at all your contact points.

Once you finally get one on, the next ones will get easier.

tc

 

After I painted my wheels, I laid the wheels on the ground, placed the trim ring, pushed one spot down, and knelt on it to keep it in place as I pushed around in both directions from that spot.

 

How much beer is involved? Just kidding

 

Jeff - I've ridden (my motorcycle) through Nebo several times taking the less traveled (more scenic) route to Black Mountain and beyond (i.e. Appalachians, Maggie Valley, etc.). It's been ~8 years ago I stayed at Lake James. Good luck w/ the trim rings.

 

Thanks to all for the tips!

 

It is definitely a pain!! Try it again after you've had your wheels powder coated!!

 

Make sure there are no wheel weights where the retainer clip needs to go. If there are you may have to break the tire off the rim and rotate it a few degrees, then rebalance the assembly to get the weight out of the way.

 

Thanks for the input.

It took one other guy, sitting on the ground with his feet against the trim ring, and me wielding the rubber mallet . . . but we got 'em all on there.

Jeff