This page details how I installed a continental kit on my '77 DeVille.
You can click on (most) images for a larger view.

This is what the kit looked like when I first got it off of eBay. It was missing the installation hardware (as they all are) and the "tire" was covered in some sort of black fabric, probably to match another car's fake-convertible roof. There was much pitting in the chrome under where the license plate goes and one of the hinges had rusted off and had been pop-riveted back on. The fake-wire-wheel hubcap had a funny looking frosted-over center cap and the chrome was pitted in one of the center sections under the spokes.

I promptly took the kit apart and removed the black fabric and it's adhesive from the "tire." Which was then primered at the same time I painted my Shelby Charger last summer.

I also wire brushed the pitted area under where the license plate goes and painted it over with several coats of flat black paint. Because I didn't want the kit to fall apart on the road I welded the hinge on the bucket which had previously been pop-riveted back on.

Since a stock 15" Cadillac hubcap wouldn't fit in the continental "tire" I took the 14" fake-wire-wheel hubcap apart and bead-blasted and painted the pitted center section flat black. I also found out that after peeling off the frosted-over center cap there was a slightly nicer looking one underneath...
I will probably try to find a round lighted side marker light from a '70s Fleetwood to replace the center cap with.

After calling E&G directly at the 1-800 number on their web-site (which referred me to a distributor whom referred me to a dealer outside of Chicago whom did not accept credit cards and would only take an order via COD) I managed to track down a factory installation kit which set me back $44 including the COD fees.
The installation kit is very simple and consists of some "J" brackets which bolt behind the bumper and attach to some tubes in a beam behind the continental kit's bucket, and a "T" bracket which bolts to the bottom of the bucket and connects to the bumper.
The kit also contained a full set of stainless steel nuts and bolts for re-assembly along with wiring splices and some long bolts with rubber stops which will prevent the "tire" from tipping back too far when the trunk is opened.

To install the "J" brackets I removed the stupid plastic bumper filler under the license plate by trimming it with a utility knife. The "J" brackets then bolted to two factory bumper bolts on the back.

To attempt to prevent scratching the chrome trim on the bumper (in case I want to go back to stock later on) I put some adhesive foam gasketing under each of the "J" brackets where they contact the bumper.
The bucket then slides onto the ends of the "J" brackets and is bolted in place.

The "T" bracket bolts to some studs on the bottom of the bucket, and is then bolted to the underside of the bumper.
There is a drain hole in the center of the bumper that perfectly lines up with the "T" bracket, but since the back of the bumper is sealed off there is no way to get a bolt in it without removing the bumper. I was able to drop a nut through one of the access holes on the top of the bumper and then use a wire to fish it over to the hole at the bottom. Fortunately there was a bracket inside the bumper which crossed over the hole and prevented the nut from turning when tightened from below.

With the kit installed I noticed gaps between the bumper and bucket where a previous owner had trimmed the bucket to fit a more rounded bumper. After installing some "door-edge" style molding it looks much better...

A glimpse of what is to come -The almost finished product. Awaiting paint on the "tire"

Electrical wiring
The backup lights and license plate light on the continental kit need to be spliced in to the wiring in the car, along with the release solenoid.
I removed the driver's side cardboard panel in the trunk in search of a wire harness housing these wires. (One could just as easily go under the car and splice the wires directly at the lights in the car but I did not want the snap-lock splices dangling around under the car where they would get wet and corrode. The trunk panel would have to be removed anyway to access the trunk release solenoid wire)

Mounted to a bracket under the panel was a big connector where a previous owner had spliced in what I assume was a trailer light wiring connection. This connector has all the wires needed (except for the trunk release wire which was running close by). I was able to re-use the wires from the trailer connection and run them through a body plug, under the bumper and up to the continental kit.
Pin-outs for the rear body feed connector appear below:

These pin-outs apply to my '77 DeVille but I imagine the same connector is found on all '77-79 DeVilles and possibly even all DeVilles/Fleetwoods up to the re-design in 1992

With the wires to the kit it was time to connect them. Obviously the wire from the backup lights goes to the backup lights on the continental kit, and the wire from the parking lights goes to the license plate light on the continental kit. I also ran a 10gauge ground wire from the continental kit to the car's frame.

With the lights out of the way the next step is the continental kit's release solenoid. There are several ways to do this; it could be left disconnected and just use the manual release, it could be connected to the trunk release solenoid so it drops down at the same time the trunk opens, it could be wired to a seperate switch in the glove box, or it could be connected through a delay switch so when the trunk release button is pressed the continental kit drops down first and then the trunk opens. This way would prevent the trunk lid from hitting the continental "tire" in the event that it did not drop down (ie: parked on a hill)

Since my continental kit did not have a delay switch installed I made my own. I took a "normally closed" switch and mounted it to one of the continental kit's hinge pins so the "tire" presses down on the switch when it is up.

The electrical wiring all "loomed up"
I used water-proof splices on any connections outside the car and housed the wires in some black split tubing scraps I had left over from my other cars. The blue wire loop next to the license plate light is for a lighted hubcap emblem to be installed as soon as I find one...
I also covered the exposed threads on the "J" brackets and "T" bracket with some old vacuum tubes to keep them from rusting later on.

The painted "tire" installed on the bucket.

To bolt the painted "tire" to the bucket I first set the "tire" on the bucket and then snapped the big chrome targa band around the tire and through the bolt-holes in the bucket's lid. Then I tilted the "tire" back and tightened the bolts on the targa band until the tire was snug and would stay in place. I then installed the two long tilt-stop bolts which prevent the "tire" from tipping back too far. I also added another set of bolts in the left-over bolt holes to secure the "tire" further.

After installing the "tire" I noticed that the top of the targa band was kind of loose and could be moved slightly back and forth which scratched my fresh paint job. To remedy this I removed the band (only two bolts) and put some silicone adhesive under the band at the top to keep it from moving in the future.

The finished product. All I need to do now is touch up the paint scratches and put some more chrome door-edge trim on the back where a previous owner cut the "extension" off the tire.

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