The center sections are different on the top two, the bottom two look like they're off a '57 Saratoga?
Carl and Alice Farkle and their twins Simon and Gar. They look like Desoto hubcaps with cones installed.
Uhhh am I missing the caps off my hardtop??? bscc50 is dead on about the bottom 2, I have a set I made up for my hardtop... the top 2 may be aftermarket "copies" from back in the day
Looks like bscc50 and Verbal Kint hit the nail on the head with the bottom two, still not sure about the center portion of the top two..
Well, I guess myself and thousands of other people have been "wrong" in calling wheels covers "hubcaps". Thanks for the "special education"!
In reality they are wheel covers. Those little things on the hubs of old cars are hub caps. Under all of those are the grease caps.Yet I'll keep on calling everything from small center caps to full wheel covers HUB CAPS. I was also told those long things covering rear wheel openings are called FENDER PANTS. Ain't no way I'm calling fender skirts fender pants. To me those two bottom hub caps are Caddy sombreros with bullets added.
I totally understand what you're saying. At the same time, these below are also "wheel covers". And I thought those "little things" your refer to "hub caps" were center caps? This is getting confusing, and the thread is getting de-railed.
The top ones in the pic are the same as the bottom but look like they would rub the fender skirts of whatever application they were used on and had to shave the center of them to fit. I've seen it done before.
wheel covers, hubcaps, hub caps.... the only one that matters is the one that gets the most hits when you sell it on ebay.
Don't shoot the messenger. This is a traditional hot rod and custom forum. You and everyone else can call absolutely everything, anything that you want to. But historically (and TRADITIONALLY), the correct term is "wheel-cover". History and tradition mean something to a few of us on here. We may take it all a bit too seriously for some, but a little bit of knowledge (and correct terminology) p***ed on to the following generation, never hurt anyone.
Don't remember their names, but they all played with Devo for a while- this pic was taken right after they quit, so the guys just sprayed their faces with silver paint
HA! I forgot, we have wheel covers on our RV's too. But to me those Ford things below are also wheel covers. Baby moons and other smaller center covers are wheel covers. They only cover the center of the wheel. I call hub caps those shiny metal things covering the hub on wire wheels and other smaller wheels like a Model A has. Inside those are the grease caps. I'm guessing those large wheel covers you pictured as 1955 or 56 Cadillac full wheel covers. The top two have been modified to fit fenderpants..... or skirts! I have many sets of different years which we call sombreros. Life is so much simpler now that most cars don't have hub caps or wheel covers. ------------------------------------------- And I thought those "little things" your refer to "hub caps" were center caps? These are just smaller wheel covers covering only the center of the wheel. This is getting confusing, and the thread is getting de-railed.
They were probably called hub caps before they started covering the whole wheel, then they were considered wheel covers. The old center or hub caps did just that, cover the center hubs, then they enlarged them to cover the lugs. When they started doing the full wheel covers, old timers had always called them hub caps, and the name stayed, even if not totally correct. Kinda like here in the South, if somebody asks you, "You want a Coke?", you answer, yeah, what you got, Coke, Pepsi, or RC? All get called the same thing, although each is different, and most people know what you're talking about.
Boy, what a thread we could do on the favorite soft drink in different areas of the country! Which one is more traditional? Guess we might better leave that one be....
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