Customs 1954 Chevy headlight bezel help

So I got the car all apart and never took them off, now they gotta go back on. The problem I’m having is I line up the spring clip on top of the bezel with the notch in the headlight bucket. Then I screw in the screw on the bottom. This lifts the bucket up and the bezel top spring comes right out and the bezel is now only retained at the bottom... and falls off obviously.

Is there a standoff or washer behind the screw hole on the bottom that limits how far you screw so the bezel doesn’t go in so far on the bottom? I attached some pics, someone tell me if this looks right or am I missing something... thanks

 

Your doing it right how long is the screw your using on bottom.

 

should be fairly short chubby screw

 

Does the bezel fit the fender when you hold it in place on the fender, or is it sprung or out of shape? If it fits the fender why can't you just stop tightening the screw when the bezel is tight to the fender?

 

1/2” long screw about. Looks like an interior screw to be honest. The bezel sits good against the fender before the screw goes in. I notice when I set the top part of the bezel tab in place, I can see a big gap between where the screw hole is on the bezel and where the stop or little tab is on the bucket that the screw goes into. I believe they are all old stock parts, I was eventually gonna order all new chrome when the time comes for paint...

 

When sitting flush to the fender there is an approximate 1/2” gap between the screw hole in the bezel and the screw post on the bucket. So when I tighten the screw it pushes the bezel up and out of place on the top causing the clip to come out of the slot on top of the bucket...

 

You don't need to pull the bezel in to the bracket that the screw goes into. Just tighten the screw until the bezel is flush with the fender.

 

Ok. They just don’t seem super secure. I’ll put the new rubber gasket and clips in, that should help a little...

 

Make a short spacer to fill the gap between the bezel and the threaded tab.

 

Ya I used a 1/4 nut to see if that helps, it does a little... I’ll put new clips and rubber then make a spacer...

 

Frenched headlights will solve the problem!

 

at this point I would seriously think about it if the car wasn’t in sealer, paint ready...