How to change tires and wheels on a ERTL Dodge Daytona

Stock Dodge Daytona
This is a write-up on how I changed the tires and wheels on my ERTL 1/18 Dodge Daytona. I will be using the GMP drag tire set for this conversion. Unfortunately the wheels do not match up with the way ERTL attaches their wheels so I had to do some customizing. This tutorial will show how I took off the stock wheels and modified the new ones using stock wheel parts

In the pic on the right are all the tools and supplies I used.

Pictured on the left I'm prying off the wheels. I use a small flat head screwdriver and a flat strip of metal sheeting notched to fit around the axle as a backing to pry against. Work the wheels off by twisting and prying the screwdriver against the back of the wheel and the metal strip. Be carefull not to gouge the back of the wheel with the screwdriver head.

I did the back wheels first. Once the wheel is off seperate the tire from the wheel. Now break off the hub from the wheel. On the left you can see I used a small flat head screwdriver and broke the hub off. It was hot glued at 4 points with plastic silver pins.
Then I sanded the flat side of the hub and the back side of the new wheel on a flat surface and then glued the 2 pieces together using super glue. I covered the surface of the back of the wheel with super glue. The least amount of glue the better the bond. I then held them together for 30 seconds and then clamped for 2 hours to make sure the glue fully cured. Then I popped the new tire on the new wheel.

For the front wheel I had to do something different since the wheel had no depth. I left the hub and wheel together. This time I defaced the wheel to make a flat glueable surface. On the right I am using a dremel and trimming the rim of the wheel face off and secondly grinding it flat leaving a little less that a 1/16th of an inch of the wheel left. Then I sanded the flat side level.



Now I needed to cut off the stump on back of the front wheel pictured on the right. Then I sanded the back on a level surface flat.

Now its time to glue the 2 pieces together using super glue. Once again using the least amount possible coat the back of the new wheel and pressed the 2 together and held for 30 sceonds. Then I clamped them for 2 hours to make sure I had a full bond. After full bond I popped the tire on the wheel.
Since the new tires are wider they rubbed on the wheel well so I raised the rear end just enough to clear the tires. On the left you can see I used a small 1/8" wide nut on each side and taped them over the mounting holes on the chassis. Put holes in the tape to allow the screws to go through. I also used longer screws so they will reach through to the body mounts. Below I fitted the body to the chassis to make sure everything clears and fits tight. Put the screws back in and done.

With new wheels and tires