Continental kit adjustment on 1956 T Bird

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RichW

RichW

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Last seen
Joined
Dec 5, 2018
Thunderbird Year
1956
Hey guys,

I am having problems with my continental kit on my '56. When I release the handle the wheel seems to fall back too far and catches the bodywork behind the wheel. If I add washers behind the wheel nuts to move the wheel further away it misses the bodywork but then scrapes the inside of the chrome surround. I wonder if I am missing a catch or something that arrests the fall of the wheel before it goes too far? Is there any adjustment anywhere to pull the bumper further away from the wheel? Anyone else had this issue and resolved it?
I have attached some pictures.
Thanks in advance.
IMG20200602142813.jpgIMG20200602142825.jpgIMG20200602142848.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RichW said:
Hey guys,

I am having problems with my continental kit on my '56. When I release the handle the wheel seems to fall back too far and catches the bodywork behind the wheel. If I add washers behind the wheel nuts to move the wheel further away it misses the bodywork but then scrapes the inside of the chrome surround. I wonder if I am missing a catch or something that arrests the fall of the wheel before it goes too far? Is there any adjustment anywhere to pull the bumper further away from the wheel? Anyone else had this issue and resolved it?
I have attached some pictures.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
My 56 does not contact the trunk, but surely contacts the bumper. I use two solid but flexible plastic sheets to protect the Continental Kit spare when access to trunk or gas fill is required. Would certainly welcome a permanent solution!
 
I had the same problem and fought with it for days. The only way I could fix it is to lower the bumper a touch. Now it fully opens and works perfectly.
 
thessler said:
I had the same problem and fought with it for days. The only way I could fix it is to lower the bumper a touch. Now it fully opens and works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Thanks Thessler. I couldn't see any adjustment on the bumper. Did you lower the whole rear bumper or just the wheel surround? Any chance of a picture showing where you did the adjustment please?
 
I lowered the entire bumper not much but it made the difference. On either side of the bumper there are brackets attaching it to the frame. Loosen bracket on frame and adjust. This gave me the clearance I needed to clear the body work and the bumper when the spare is in the upper or down position.
Tom
 
thessler said:
I lowered the entire bumper not much but it made the difference. On either side of the bumper there are brackets attaching it to the frame. Loosen bracket on frame and adjust. This gave me the clearance I needed to clear the body work and the bumper when the spare is in the upper or down position.
Tom
Click to expand...
That's great Tom, thanks, I'll give it a go.
 
Hey, thanks for the bumper idea. I noticed there seem to be "stops" below the tire assemble, on the underside of the car. They are not touching the frame, does anyone know if that is their purpose?
 
Hi
I just had my wheel off the continental kit for the first time to fix the spring clips for the spoked hub cap.
That was a pain!
I was surprised to see that the lug bolts were not in 3 of the lug holes on the rim. The two lugs across from each other were in lug holes but the top lug actually came through the center large approx. 2" hole in the center of the rim.
By doing this it raised the wheel up about 1 1/2 ". This stopped the wheel cover from hitting the bumper.
It seemed incorrect so I put all three lugs into the holes in the rim which lowered the wheel and the trim ring around the tread of the wheel rubbed on the bumper . Must be an old timers fix for this issue.. This sounds unsafe. Like the wheel wouldn't be attached solidly, but it is very tight and solid.
It raised the wheel but I don't think it is the least bit noticeable.
I wish I could get you a picture but I put the wheel back on an it is such a pain to remove the spoked trim ring, and I think I might have bent a few of the new clips reinstalling the ring. Although the ring does stay tight to the wheel now.
Turns out the tire is flat, old and cracked and mine may be higher/taller than the OE tires.
As said by someone else I probably will never remove it again and get a doughnut spare tire for the trunk.
If this sounds confusing I could draw a picture, take a photo of the drawing and send it along in a follow up post.
Jeff
 
It looks like you're missing a major piece of the continental kit...the stone guard that goes underneath. It's hinged in such a way that when you release the catch and move the tire back, the stone guard *also* moves and part of the mechanism comes to rest against it, holding the tire off of the bumper.

I saw this on a car for sale when I was looking for one, and being fairly unfamiliar with the specifics, we noted that the continental kit was hitting/flexing the rear of the car and cracking the paint. We passed on the car for a number of reasons, but then got to digging into what was going on and lo and behold...same thing as yours, it seems. No stone guard underneath.
 
I have stone guard, but my continental kit cont
swatson999 said:
It looks like you're missing a major piece of the continental kit...the stone guard that goes underneath. It's hinged in such a way that when you release the catch and move the tire back, the stone guard *also* moves and part of the mechanism comes to rest against it, holding the tire off of the bumper.

I saw this on a car for sale when I was looking for one, and being fairly unfamiliar with the specifics, we noted that the continental kit was hitting/flexing the rear of the car and cracking the paint. We passed on the car for a number of reasons, but then got to digging into what was going on and lo and behold...same thing as yours, it seems. No stone guard underneath.
Click to expand...
I have stone guard, but my continental kit contacts bumper & through the years has damaged the chrome retainer ring. Would appreciate pictures showing stone guard protecting the retainer ring from bumper.
 
3 pics. First is the stone guard, which is attached to the forks on the hinge assembly, when the wheel is secured. 2nd is when it is released and the wheel is leaning backwards, and the 3rd is how the forks of the hinge assembly bump against the rubber grommets in the holes they go through (I notice the OP doesn't have the grommets in place).


stone guard wheel secured.jpgstone guard wheel released.jpghinge assembly forks.jpg
 
MRansom said:
My 56 does not contact the trunk, but surely contacts the bumper. I use two solid but flexible plastic sheets to protect the Continental Kit spare when access to trunk or gas fill is required. Would certainly welcome a permanent solution!
Click to expand...
I have the same problem with my 56. What I did was got a length of 1/4" clear poly tubing, slit it the lengthwise and fit it over the edge of the bumper. It protects the spare cover and ring and is hardly noticeable.
 
CASCO has a chrome look olastic strip that goes on the upper half of the center section to protect the paint. Cheap. Looks good and comes off easily for a show. Part # 17751A
 
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