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Wheel help/advise

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by GKreamer, Sep 15, 2009.

  1. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Ok, can anyone point me in the right direction. I bought these Cragar wheels and I need to figure out how to keep the center cap from falling out on 2 wheels. The center caps are plastic and have tabs that pop into a groove, but on 2 wheels a tab or two is missing so the caps fall off.

    I have googled trying to see if I can locate replacement caps but have come up empty.

    Here is a pic of a wheel...
     

    Attached Files:

  2. speedtool
    Joined: Oct 15, 2005
    Posts: 2,541

    speedtool
    BANNED

    Not trad, but I do like those wheels...
     
  3. Bellytanker
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 126

    Bellytanker
    Member
    from California

    I used to have a truck with similar caps that had the same problem, when the design got old enough that I couldn't buy new caps, I ended up gluing the caps on with silicone. Not the greatest idea, but you shouldn't have to remove them often, and it works. K.
     
  4. chaddilac
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,036

    chaddilac
    Member

    search ebay for new caps!
     
  5. Yep, silicone - it's durable enough but if you need to remove them it's not permanent.

    Steve
     
  6. Got a pic of the wheel sans cap?
     
  7. pan-dragger
    Joined: Sep 13, 2006
    Posts: 3,186

    pan-dragger
    Member

    wow, it's been awhile since I've seen cragar pro-techs. the caps always fall of those, but I'm sure you can still buy new caps from custom wheel accesories in california.
     
  8. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    I will take a picture and post when I get home from work- thanks!
     
  9. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Called them and need to measure the wheel bore and get back to him. Thank you so much for the tip!!
     
  10. Try to shoot the pic at an angle so we can see if an easily made aluminum plate would cover the front hub.

    Rear hub is a given, a flat plate will always always cover those.

    Probably not Ford banjo or Plymouth tapered hubs.
     
  11. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    I will go take another at an angle like you suggested. The original pic was from a CL ad I saw, this is an actual picture of my wheel.
     

    Attached Files:

  12. greg
    Joined: Dec 5, 2006
    Posts: 537

    greg
    Member

    My aunt has wheels like those. I think someone took a grinder and made the slots a little deeper that the clips go into so they would stay put. I believe 4 slots to line up with the clips. Hope this helps.
     

  13. That'll work.

    How far down is the internal cap groove?

    What's the ID (Inside Diameter) of the part where the hubcap clips on?

    If you were lucky it could be the same size as some of the re-pro caps.


    What kind of car are you going to run the wheels on?
     
  14. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Thanks for the suggestion, except now I apparently have girlie wheels. :p
     
  15. greg
    Joined: Dec 5, 2006
    Posts: 537

    greg
    Member

    OH!! sorry about that!
     
  16. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Haha! No problem, just thought it was funny.
     
  17. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Attached pics with measurements. ID is @ 6.5", groove depth is @ .5". I'm going to run them on a '63 Pontiac Catalina.
     

    Attached Files:

  18. Here's what I was thinking of vis a vis mounting some caps on your wheels.

    Shown here is a mag wheel/hubcap adapter I made.
    [​IMG]

    It's the right depth for the wheel clips, but only 5 1/2" OD on the caps internal mounting ring.

    The adapter takes this cap:
    [​IMG]

    It's made for re-pro 'street rod' wire wheels and there's quite an assortment of styles you could use.
    The one shown is 34 Ford V8, but there are smooth moons, moons with concentric rings etc.

    There may be a larger cap you could use, about the size of the 48 Ford cap in the above pic - the larger cap - but you'd need to find one that had the internal spring loaded V-shape retainers.

    I looked for a pic showing the inside of the little cap, but I don't have one.


    Other thoughts were, if you had access to a lathe you could make a simple hubcap from aluminum.

    What may work now is to hit the junkyard and see what you can see as far as hubcaps go.

    Barring that, one of the above solutions may work.
     
  19. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Thanks C9 for the advice! I really appreciate it, a buddy of mine in a machinist and I think he could make some small covers like you suggested.
     
  20. GKreamer
    Joined: Nov 2, 2008
    Posts: 55

    GKreamer
    Member

    Found a CL ad for 4 Cragar Pro-Techs for $60.00. Three out of the four caps are in good shape, so I bought them.
     

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