Technical How to keep hubcaps on

I am running wheel covers/hubcaps (54 chevy full covers) on my wagon. I had to replace one of the rims and now that rim (factory 49-52 chevy rim). The new (vintage) is the best of the 4 rims and the outlip is like new but will not hold a hubcap on. The other 3 are in worse shape (lips are rough). I have tried three different 54 hubcaps on the same rim and all keep getting tossed at low speeds (including while cruizing the fairgrounds). Tired of chasing hubcaps and driving with one missing cap sucks.

Any suggestions/ tips on getting them to stay on.

 

Silicone...on the lips... it'll need to dry all the way thru before you take it out on the road...and if you change a tire on the road, you'll need to toss the 'cap in the back for the rest of the way... (or pull 'em all and run naked...)

R-

 

That's what my brother does...just a couple dabs will do you.

 

I had a problem with a repo hubcap on my '46 Ford and folded duct tape back on itself so that both sides were sticky and put it on the wheel edge where the cap "bites" and it's been on for a couple of years. Guess my wife was right that she can fix anything with duct tape!

 

Can the rim be roughed up to help adhesion.? My other three are rough/ pitted so that might be why they stay on where as the new rim (OEM) is like NOS condition.. It was primed and painted.

 

Boones, I share your grief, brought an expensive set of cheaply made "Golden Knight" Lancer caps, mounted them and proudly drove the 54' to PT, one of them passed me before I cleared the roundabout... A friend had a roll of black sticky 1" wide refrigeration tape used that to hold the caps on, the next issue was the " Golden Knight " emblems popping off, apprently the caps flex enough to fling the Knights... Got to see your wagon on Friday, looking good... Thanks for taking the shot of the BelAir, mine's the tu-tone blue sedan. and I have take-off '54 caps if needed. dyno dave

 

Ken,,I used duct tape when I was running full hubcaps and never lost one. HRP

 

How about like the old drag racing days at PIR -- run self tapping screws thru the hubcap, wheel, and into the bead! (Maybe not)

 

You can straighten & sharpen the teeth on the caps so they bite the wheel better, but re-pops made of softer metal will not hold an edge.

 

I wrote this POST a while back and caps have never come off since.

 

These are OEM original 54 chevy caps, (no repops are made to my knowledge).

Danny, where did you put the duct tape?

Ulu, do you sharpen the edge of the hubcap via file?

53chop, thanks for the link, we think a like as I was planning to rough up the edge with my cutoff wheel to give some texture to the surface to grab a hold off (like the other wheels have acquired over time)

 

Dremel Mototool & a small stone.

I just sharpen the tips.

 

I am a huge fan of Velcro...it works for all sorts of things like this.

 

This ain't gonna help anybody, but I had to jump in here. Back in '60 I got a set of some old Chrysler hubcaps from the junkyard and mounted a set of Whitneys 3 bar spinners on 'em. Didn't wanna loose my $6 investment so I bought a set of Whitneys hub cap locks. You know the kind....... screwed on the valve stem. On my way to a local fair I heard a pop sound, then a shake. Amazing....... my hubcap passed me as I shuddered to a stop. Imagine that. Yup.... took 'em off as soon as I got home. Oh hell I was only 16 at the time. Live and learn, huh?

 

Love it !! Great story......when I was 14 we used some wire to hold on hub caps....Same basic outcome....
Would be cool to start a thread on this stuff !!

 

Two suggestions:

1. Check to be sure the new wheel has exactly the same surface shape in the area where the hubcap tabs grip as the OEM wheels do. Aftermarket "shells" are not all the same and may be quite different than your original wheels. Look for a slight rise or inward curve or other difference which would cause the OEM wheels to retain the cap where the aftermarket wheel would not.

2. If the new wheel is exactly the same shape on the rim try bending the tabs on the offending wheel cover so that they tightly grip the rim as they once did. The tabs get "tired" and need to be returned to their original tension to stay in place. If you don't need a rubber hammer to get 'em on they are too loose.

 

a little update. I took and ruffed up he smooth rim lip to allow some bite and I also took a pair of plyers to the hubcap and bent the prongs out some. It has not fallen off after 50 miles of driving (nothing over 60mph yet but it should now stay).

 

Boones,

My knowledge of wheels & full wheel covers (not hubcaps) is limited to the '55-'57 chev's... so, food for thought... on the '55-'57 wheels, they have 'nubs' on the rim that help keep a full wheel cover on them. Some guys have had to add the nubs by applying beads of weld to newer rims to help make sure they didn't shuck a wheelcover going down the road.

I say all that as a preamble... does your '54 wheelcovers need/expect the nubs on the rim, and were they present on the year of rim you now have have on your car?

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

If you want the option of occasionally running without caps and so don't want the paint scratched, how about epoxying a couple of rare earth magnets to the cap? Just don't go too big/strong or you may not get them off without a big pry bar....

 

You may also want to look at the rims, newer type from the 70's or 80's look simular but the inside is actually angled out more causing the cap to pop off easier,

 

runnin naked is a risk -- you kin git a ticket for indecent exposure -- [ exposin yer NUTS ]

 

...and you can't talk your way out of it with your lips siliconed shut.

 

Take a sharp, flat edged, cold chisel, and in the area of the rim where the "teeth" of the wheel cover go, stake the area about 3 times to give the rim a little "bite". I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

I used heavy duty outside two sided tape (Home Depot) and it held tight for over two years! Then I bought new wheels.