When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'd suggest getting all the stainless machine polished before painting. Any overspray can easily be wiped off with lacquer thinner. But polishing AFTER paint can be trouble.
A little bench buffer with loose cotton wheel will do the job nicely. White polish, then green polish and they look like new!!
so did i last year,
my 1st set cost me 1200$au (865$us) and took me ages to find in Australia, eventually found thru an interstate vette club.
the 2nd set i got for 400$au (290$us) local again, was an older bloke, on ebay, don't think he realised what he had..... and i didn't tell him......
both sets driver quality,
figure i can make 1 good set out of the 8, but seeing how much work it is to clean them up, never got around to it yet......
looked at importing from over there originally, but being cast, they weigh a ton, so postage would have been a killer.
Last edited by riverracer au; Dec 9, 2018 at 08:56 PM.
Reason: spelling
They look fantastic! Great work. When you get all of them done, give us a picture of them on your car.
Fran
Thanks.
Wheels got paint on Saturday so I want to wait a week before I fit them to make sure the new paint is well set..
Originally Posted by riverracer au
so did i last year,
my 1st set cost me 1200$au (865$us) and took me ages to find in Australia, eventually found thru an interstate vette club.
the 2nd set i got for 400$au (290$us) local again, was an older bloke, on ebay, don't think he realised what he had..... and i didn't tell him......
both sets driver quality,
figure i can make 1 good set out of the 8, but seeing how much work it is to clean them up, never got around to it yet......
looked at importing from over there originally, but being cast, they weigh a ton, so postage would have been a killer.
Yours is a similar story to mine but I did get mine very cheap at £240 which must be about $300. The correct ctr caps were expensive at $240 + shipping + import duty making them more like $350 and then maybe $50 in paint & tapes etc. Still less than the sets I looked at online in the USA which as you say, are too heavy to ship inexpensively. I have about 30 hours in mine but confident I could trim that by 10 hours now.
...
the 2nd set i got for 400$au (290$us) local again, was an older bloke, on ebay, don't think he realised what he had..... and i didn't tell him......
Replace those tires. I have the same ones and they haven’t been made in ages. They really are too old to drive safely on. I’m about to replace mine, I just can’t decide what tire I want to go with.
Replace those tires. I have the same ones and they haven’t been made in ages. They really are too old to drive safely on. I’m about to replace mine, I just can’t decide what tire I want to go with.
Yes I'm conscious of driving on older tyres but dislike the choice we have here. I put BF's on my '72 and hate the much discussed browning. The Goodyears are 2008 and look great but....
Disassembled all three parts and tossed the Impala ctr caps
Took a needle file to scuffed areas and some road rash on the edges.
Machine polished all the stainless and finned areas with a bench buffer and green polish block.
Stripped all existing paint (first attempt at painting failed as I left some paint on and it reacted)
Thorough clean with some car wash shampoo and very hot water.
Took some emery cloth and roughed up the areas to be painted.
Used an air line to blow out all the debris that collects in the backside crevices.
Masked off all non-painted areas and trimmed with a knife.
Wiped over with a tack cloth to remove any impurities.
Sprayed a mist coat, waited ten minutes and added the first coat, after ten more minutes added top coat. I used a semi matt paint.
Waited a couple of minutes to peal away masking tape and then allowed the paint to flatten out.
The replacement centre caps had no studs so I bought some 4BA machine screws, chopped the heads off and inserted them into the four fixing holes on the back of the caps which aligned perfectly with the fixing holes in the finned & back plates. Then reassemble with the original screws that I cleaned up on the buffer.
A potter’s wheel really helped especially with the masking which needs endless patience.
Stuart
Last edited by brit vet; Dec 18, 2018 at 05:34 AM.
I have two sets, one flat center, the other the correct 69-XX raised center. I think the 68 Vette had a different center cap. They are so heavy, I bought rallye trim rings and center caps.
Nice LT-1 Midyrman and what must be a pretty rare combination. Not driving weather here now but your pic inspired me to pull the car out for a full-on pic with the PO2's fitted:
And then slip it back into the warmth of the garage before rust sets in
