67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
I purchased a very old set of corvette America wheels and center caps in original boxes for my 67 vette. The box said 63-66. Attaching ring was already bolted to wheels. Center caps have about 1/2 inch gap from fitting flush with wheels. Do the 4 guides need ground down to fit? The recess for the guides measures 3/8". Guide shoulder is 1/2" with inner edge 3/4" from cap lip. photo(1).jpgphoto.jpg Thanks for you help in advance. Ron
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Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
Ron,
These look like mine and I did not do any grinding. There will be a gap as they do not fit flush just make sure you have them lined up when you install them, it may take a rubber mallet to put them on. You can do a trial fit just remove the clips an set the center caps on the wheel making sure the four tangs of the center cap go into the slots in the ring then you'll see that they are not made to sit flush.
Mike -
Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
Agree with Mike. You also need to pay attention to the wheel bolt heads, as sometimes they can interfere with the cap. Try to tighten the wheel bolts so that the bolt head FLAT is closest to the cap to provide the greatest gap/space. Also do a trial fit without the spring clips as Mike suggests. The gap on my center caps is about 1/4 inch or so......they are not flush.
The spring clips on the Korean built caps are not nearly as good as the black heat treated ones on the original wheels, so I use a pliers to adjust the spring gap to 0.100 inch (using a feeler gage). This provides a nice tight fit to the retainer and (so far) has not come off in the 20 years I have owned my car. A rubber mallet or a hammer and block of wood is needed to finally install the caps and get a good tight fit.
LarryComment
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Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
Ron,
Your screws holding the clips on are not even a matched set. No washers required. Go to hardware store and get some (I think size is #10-24 X1/4") phillips head round head or button head screws. I think that is same size to secure the cap trim to the cast centers. Use a bottom tap to clean up the threads in the cast centers.Comment
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Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
Thank you for the advice. I'll get them mounted correctly this weekend. They do look soooooo good!Comment
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Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
I have the latest edition of the Corvette America 67 bolt on wheels and the one thing that jumped out to me immediately from the pictures is the lug nuts. Rather than the closed dome lug nuts Ron has, my wheels came with regular lug nuts--the kind that are a "nut" that the wheel stud passes fully through so the flat of the lug nut is well below the end of the wheel stud (which are identical to the lug nuts that long island corvette sells for both ralley wheel and bolt on wheel cars). Might Ron's lug nuts be part of the problem since they will stick out farther than the wheel studs in the hubs (e.g., what is causing the center caps to not sit down farther)?
Tomorrow I'm having tires mounted on my new wheels, so they haven't been on the car yet. But bare rims, unmounted, the center caps even with the clips on sit down very close to the rim (to the point that I have to use a very thin screw driver to remove the center caps, as I was doing the test fitting/initial assembly).Comment
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Re: 67 Korean bolt on cnter caps wont fit
Paul,
I have never had a problem C/A wheels with the chrome lug nuts, is it just the positioning of the flat on the lug nut? I am going to look closer now at how the centers fit on my wheels, my memory tells me there is a gap approx 1/4" (center to wheel) but I will report back.Comment
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