1966 wheel cover installation

[Marc W]

I took off the wheelcovers to refurbish them - I believe these are Deluxe style, with a red TBird medallion and five spoke chrome center piece. They were really tight when I pried them off. I refurbished them and I was able to get two of them back on with a lot of rubber mallet work around the wheel. But I just cannot get the other two on the wheel, I can get it just about there, but with one more pound they pop out off the wheel. Any tricks or suggestions?

 

[biddle]

Your subject needs to summarize your post or you wont get many responses. "1966 Tbird Wheel Covers" is vague.

 

[Poppy Red]

I took off the wheelcovers to refurbish them - I believe these are Deluxe style, with a red TBird medallion and five spoke chrome center piece. They were really tight when I pried them off. I refurbished them and I was able to get two of them back on with a lot of rubber mallet work around the wheel. But I just cannot get the other two on the wheel, I can get it just about there, but with one more pound they pop out off the wheel. Any tricks or suggestions?

I have the same problem with my "66 wheel covers. I find that if you put the cover on to the wheel, valve stem side first, than hold it tightly, and give it a good hit on the raised part (opposite the stem hole,)that comes out from the center. Not on the rim edge, because it just pops off and runs around the cover. But a good solid hit on the part that is just outside of the zipper-type marking will usually get the cover started and then you can continue to hit around the same raised part until it is partially seated, and then finish it off with the rim hits. The other alternative is to flatten, (bend down) the serrated clips that hold the hub cap on, but don't go too much, or it may not hold the cover tight enough and you could lose it, Another trick I use, is to put electrical tape on all of the serrate clips, it may help the clips to slide on easier, but it also stops the "squeaking" you sometimes hear from the covers while driving.

 

[Marc W]

thanks for the response. I was doing much the same. So I went at it again, and squeezed three of the clips down a very little at a time. Another few tries and I hit the right sequence of mallet hits to get the last two on. What a pain in the ass process.