'72 C20 - installing grille mounting clips

[540ChevyC20]

Hi team, does anyone have any tricks for installing the white, push-in grille mounting clips? See pic. These are the clips that mount the grille to the grille surround. I bought new ones from LMC Truck and I'm absolutely stumped as to how to get them in - the amount of force needed to get them in is beyond what I can apply with my hands or any tool that will fit in to the available space (at least while the grille and surround are on the truck). Thanks in advance!

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by 540ChevyC20

Hi team, does anyone have any tricks for installing the white, push-in grille mounting clips? See pic. These are the clips that mount the grille to the grille surround. I bought new ones from LMC Truck and I'm absolutely stumped as to how to get them in - the amount of force needed to get them in is beyond what I can apply with my hands or any tool that will fit in to the available space (at least while the grille and surround are on the truck). Thanks in advance!

Many years ago when I did mine on my 72, I just laid a piece of 100 or 150 grit sandpaper on a flat surface, then sanded the sides of the white nylon clip, the portion that pushes into the outer grill. I sanded each of the 4 sides/edges a few strokes and then tried pushing it through. (You may have to do this several times) Count how many strokes you sand the first one on each side. After you find how much to sand down the first one, the rest go pretty quick. Hopefully that makes sense. I can probably add a pick if my description doesn’t quite register

[howzzzit]

There's a Brother's Truck video on the web that shows how to install these.

[Ironangel]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?&...CC7&ajaxhist=0

[540ChevyC20]

Originally Posted by howzzzit

There's a Brother's Truck video on the web that shows how to install these.

Thanks, yes I viewed it but it did not help as the grille surround was off the truck. I will try the approach sfont66 used. Thanks for the replies everyone!