Mounting wheel well trim on '70 Cuda

[Winston]

 

I spent a fair amount of time on Saturday trying to mount the trim on the wheel wells of my Cuda.  The front fender ones went on relatively easily, and I was pleased at the way they looked.  Then I moved to the quarters, thinking this whole job wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  WRONG!  I had new quarter skins put on this car, and these trim pieces are aftermarket, but I may as well have been trying to put these pieces on a Charger.  When you hold the pieces up, you can tell they are for a Cuda, but when you start mounting them, they are not 'bent' anywhere close to work.  Has anyone else had to deal with this issue?  Were you able to convince the trim pieces to mount right?  Did I just get a bad batch?  Any kind of help regarding this issue would be much appreciated.  I was left  and decided to stop before I terminally messed up the car or the trim.  Thanks!

Winston

[Red R/T]

 

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I didn't have much fun putting them on my Challenger either. Instead of working one end to the other, try starting in the middle and working out to each end. I did have to elongate a few holes along the way.  It could be that your problem is all in the aftermarket quarter skins. 


  Mike

[ksierens]

I have NOS ones, and luckily I decided to try them a little while ago, since the car is still in primer.  Good thing I did, since I found that I had to bend the wheel lips on the quarters to get them to fit good.

[matt63]

Mine didn't fit at all at the front and back of the wheel.  They are way to stiff to bend in the direction required to make them lay flat on the quarter so I had to cut 4 or 5 slots with a narrow cutting wheel to allow for bending.  I filled the slots with liquid aluminum to try and hide the cuts.

[Winston]

I started at the middle and worked toward the ends on Saturday. 

Matt, you described the exact problem I am having.  Can you post pictures, so I can see how you cut them?  Did the liquid aluminum do a pretty good job covering the slots? 

ksierens, that might help me too.  The aftermarket quarters are definitely different than the original ones, and I need to trim them down.  I'm afraid if I trim too much, I will mess up the weld in the inner wheel housing and quarter.  I'm nervous enough drilling these small holes for the trim, much less take 1/4" off of the wheel lip.

Thanks for the replies and help.  I hope to hear and see more soon.

Winston

[matt63]

It was a real tedious process as I would fit the trim by clamping it at the top and then marking where to cut.  I would then remove it and make a bend.  I would then try it again and rebend until if fit at that spot.  I would then go to the next cut, and so on. It took hours to get them all fitting properly.

The slots are still quite visible but I haven't spent more than a few minutes trying to hide them.  It doesn't bother me.  I'm sure I could hide them better if I wanted to spend a few more hours on it.

[ksierens]

Winston,

It wasn't trimming the lip back, but bending it up.  I just used a lead-shot hammer and kept "adjusting" it until the fit better.  Of course they are NOS as is the one quater I replaced so it was probably much better than the aftermarket ones.

Kurt

[Red R/T]

I've been watching thisand decided to drag mine out and givem another try.  I swear, I think the guy sent me wheel trim for a Kenworth instead of a Challenger.    

[Winston]

Red, I feel your pain, man...

Hope yours come out well.  I'm going to regroup and try again when I get another chance.  I'll keep everyone posted.  It would be pretty to have rocker gills, front fender trim and no quarter trim, so one way or another, I have to get them on. 

Keep me posted on your progress! 

[GCC]

I trial fitted a set from Year-One.  This is an older set from the early '90's.  They fit quite well, except for a few minor adjustments.  The moldings are re-pop, but the fenders and quarters are Chrysler originals.  The worst part about the moldings is the tool marks left behind by the vendor.  Other than that, they fit well.