The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Headlight Rim Assembly

I'm putting the headlight rims back on a 53 AD. I have
the rim, the rubber seal with wire core (profile sort of looks like a comma),
and 4 clips. I can't figure out how exactly the seal fits, and how the clips
"retain" it. Of course I have no pictures or memory from when I took it apart...
Anybody know this one?

PM, I can't show you a picture, but I can thoroughly confuse you with a description... :p

The rubber seal goes on the inside edge of the trim ring with the "bulb" on the back side and the ends meeting at the bottom. The ends of the clips fit into the notch in the outer edge of the trim ring, and the "bent" part of the clips press gently on the rubber. The two "bumps" on the side and bottom clips fit over & under the rubber but are really just there to maintain position; the fit between the headlight retaining ring and the trim ring is what locks the rubber down. One of the clips has a square bend to it; it fits into the slot at the top of the headlight bucket and really doesn't hold the rubber as much as the side/bottom clips.

When you slide the whole assembly over the headlight, the rubber will try to grab the sides of the headlight retainer ring. Spit on it so it slides without popping free of the wire clips, hook the top clip into the notch, and gently slip the bottom edge into place. Set the retaining screw in the bottom and you're done.

Thanks! I think I'm close now, but unless I'm missing something, the clip
at the top appears to fit with the ends in the inner rim, and the bent
part (with the square that fits in the headlight slot) at the outer rim.
The other way (ends at the outer rim) doesn't line up right with the slot.

Also, it would seem that the reproduction seals I bought need to be trimmed
in length to properly fit the inner diameter of the trim ring.

In case I'm too lame to figure this out, do you think duct tape would
make a nice trim ring?

You're correct about the top "square" clip, it has a dogleg bend at each end that fits over the rubber and it's reversed from the other three.

You will probably have to trim a little to get the seals to fit precisely, but be careful not to cut too much. Remember that only the thinnest part of the rubber goes over the inside edge of the trim ring, so if you cut the bulb side to length you'll end up with a small gap when the assembly is pressed into place.

[img]http://www.octanecreative.com/ducttape/new_intro/tapestrip1.jpg[/img] Whatever works for you.