oneputt

I'm going to buy new tires for my 65 with repro KO's. What is the correct procedure for taking them off and reinstalling them. I did a search and couldnt find the way to do this. When taking them off do you loosen the spinner with the full weight of the car on it, or is the car off the ground? When you reinstall do you tighten the spinner with the car up in the air or on the ground? Any help in the right way to do this would be appreciated

63C2splitter

I have Knock-offs on my 63. I would recommend that you consider "bolt-on" in lieu of the real knock-offs. John Z put it well earlier this week in a post "they can go on 10 different ways - 5 of them are wrong" (or something like that).

With that said, they should come with detailed instructions for installation and removal. When removing mine, I place the jack under the car without lifting (just make contact with the frame), remove the pin, then knock the spinner loose. Then I jack the car and remove. When installing, I put anti-seize on the threads, start the spinner and pound it on as tight as possible (while holding the wheel in place), then lower the car with most of the weight on the tire, then finish tightening, then install the pin and center cover. I typically drive the car a short distance and then check the tightness again. As you can probably tell, they are somewhat of a pain in the butt. Good luck.

There are a lot of posts on this forum about knock-offs. You should read some of the old posts, they will cover about any question you may have.

Dave

roger55

In the air on both. Re-check the tightness (You can do this on the ground) after driving it for a while. I've seen 'em loosen up before. And, use a plastic "Dead Blow" hammer. Don't use the lead hammer that was original equipment as it screws up the lead and you take a chance the the steel part of the hammer will hit the spinner and mar the surface.
However, keep a new lead hammer in the car for originality. But, don't use it.

vetzs

Go to corvetteamerica.com and do a search for their tech article on knockoff wheel installation instructions.

Also DO use a lead hammer and the anti seize. I prefer a 6# hammer. You can get an excellent hammer and a good price from:

https://www.shoprutlandtool.com/weba...atalogId=10001

Do catalog quick search for lead hammer

Cook nonmarring lead hammer model # 23308060 6#

roger55

OK. I should have said don't use the stock type lead hammer.

Bob Schaefer

I (and I believe most on this board experienced with K-O's) would disagree with most of the above post. I have them on my '66, and had them on my ERA Cobra.

If you're starting with K-O's that are of somewhat "unknown to you" origin, you may want to check out the fit / geometry of the tapered section of the wheels and nuts to insure proper seating that will permit proper torque retention.

Get a lead dead blow hammer (I'll rely on someone else to fill in the proper weight....5-8 lbs, I can't remember).

You need to knock the snot out of the wingnuts to get them as tight as you can, and you can't do this with the wheel off the ground where it's free to spin when hit. Don't worry about wingnut damage.......it just naturally happens when K-O's are tightened properly.

Put them on hand tight and tighten them as much as you can with the wheel off the ground to get them seated, then lower the wheel partially (to keep them from spinning when hit) and then whack the snot out of them.

Finally, put a witness mark on the wingnut and cone so you can easily see if there's been any movement.

Since your life and vehicle are on the line, NEVER leave this job to someone else.

Best Regards,
Bob S.

dunney

Also, I believe the repro's have a little notch (or notches) where you can install a pin as a safety (atleast mine do). After you "whack the snot out of them" on, install the pin into the closest two sets of notches that match up, then whack it back a little to hold the pin in place (the spinner won't go far as long as that pin is in place).

And yes, the spinners do get damaged, but you can't tell from a few feet away. Better than losing the wheel altogether.

oneputt

I had KO's on my last vette so I am somewhat familiar with them. I also had them off and put them back on at one time. I just cant rember the exact procedure I used. I dont rember if I loosened them with the car on the ground or up in the air, also when I put them back on I cant remember if I tightened them up in the air or on the ground. I do use a dead blow hammer and I also used anti-seize and they never moved. I put a clear piece of scotch tape across the cone and the spinner to watch and see if they moved, and they never did. I was just wondering what the exact process is in taking them off and putting them back on. Thanks for all the responses so far.

stingrayl76

JMO and there are a lot of them on this subject, but personally, I don't think I would want to "whack the snot out of them" and "then whack it back a little to hold the pin in place".
Dave

dunney

Not trying to be a wiseass but honestly- do you know what I am talking about?

And for all I stated above, it really applies to repros. Did you ever have the repro KO's, with that "safety" pin, and using a lead hammer?

The first time I saw it done, I said out loud, "I have never EVER seen anyone hit something that beautiful, that hard." Worked like a charm though. On and off. And after snugging it up very well, you put the pin in, and then whack it back to hold the pin in place (which in turn holds the spinner in place, which in turn holds the wheel on, which in turn may or may not save your life).

ctjackster

me too. tightening them the last twist back on the ground, with the hammer thumping and the wheel loaded and on the ground, is the way to go (for me) plus, I would like to ask Mr. "Smack them while up in the air" just how he does that for the fronts? (If you have to ask then you have never changed your own wheel on any car, much less a KO)

and as for the member who, in repsonse to the question "how do I mount and de-mount my KOs?" tells the original poster he should really just sell them -

stingrayl76

Brian,

Yes, I know exactly what you are saying and I don't know why the concern about holding the "anti theft pin" in place by loosening the spinner. This is not a part of any written procedure that I have ever seen on the installation of KO's. If holding the pin in place is a priority in the installation of your KO's, then couldn't the same thing be accomplished by further tightening the spinner to hold the pin in place? I guess I just can't see why you would torque the snot out of a nut using a big old lead hammer then lossen it.

Dave

stingrayl76

Kirk,
If you click on "search" at the top of the page and click on "advanced search" it will bring up a page where you can do a comprehensive search on just about anything related to Corvettes. Enter a key word, in this case enter anything related to KO wheels, for example lead hammer, spinners, KO's or KO wheels. Select "archives" at the bottom left. On the right side of the page you will want to select "C1 & C2 Corvettes" and click on "search now". Lott's of good reading in the archives.
Dave

dunney

Dave,

I wish my digital camera was better at taking pics of small objects. If I took a few pictures, I think you would understand.

It's not an "anti-theft pin". It's a pin to keep the spinner from spinning back off (someone can still pull the cap, re-tighten the spinner, pull the pin, and steal the repro KO if they know what they're doing). And again, I believe this might just be particular to reproduction KO's (which was what oneputt first asked about, not the real deals).

To continue on in more of a physics based level (actually, on of a Murphy's Law based level), anything you tighten, that moves alot and is subject to bumps, jumps, and vibration, is going to tend to want to UNTIGHTEN or COME LOOSE, no?

That said, You crank the spinner down on the repro. Let's say you tighten the f!*k out of it, and find 2 notches that line up. You put the pin into the hole formed by the 2 lined up notches. After driving around for a while, knowing that knockoffs have come loose in the past and come clean off the car, which direction do you think the spinner is gonna want to go?

So you put the pin in, bash it back IN THE DIRECTION THAT IT WANTS TO GO, and God-willing, the spinner will stay wedged against it, since it will want to be going in that direction to begin with. I do not know of any spinners that actually spin tighter on the wheel (not harder to get off because of rust, dirt, corrison).

And "knock the snot... " was the term originally used by Bob Schaefer in this thread, not me. Although having it seen done in person, I highly agree with it.

You dig?

dunney

Subfixer

Here is the Knock Off Wheel instruction sheet from LI Corvette's website:

http://www.licorvette.com/pdfcatalogfiles/KOwheel.PDF

stingrayl76

Thanks Paul. I got those instructions from Western Wheel when I bought my KO's in 1992. I was thinking about scanning the instructions and posting them this morning so your link to LIC is timely.
Nice detailed instructions from the manufacture as how to correctly install KO's. I'm sure people have devised their own variations as to how KO's should be installed, however the instructions provided by the manufacture provide a good baseline for proper installation.
A couple of those variations that I would consider is tightening with the wheel on the ground and applying anti-seize compound to the hub mating surfaces as mentioned in many previous threads.

Dave