Hot Rods Hub caps questions.

Sounds like the duct tape trick would be worth a try.

 

At work one day the laborers decided to put some on an air compressor that they hauled behind their crew cab. Same result at 60 MPH on the interstate going straight. P***ed them like a rabbit running from a beagle. I don't remember ever laughing so hard.

 

My ‘55 Catalina lost a cap when my wife was driving it home here to Wisconsin from Colorado. Unfortunately, it rolled towards the car and scratched the beegeebers out of the wheel well lip and driver’s door.
That cap kept coming loose, even after bending the tabs out further to hold the cap on tighter. I would have to take the mallet to it every 100 miles or so, which got old quickly.
I saw this as an opportunity to ditch the original set of ‘55 Pontiac caps, for a set of ‘56 Olds caps, which I secretly wanted in the first place. I told the wife I didn’t want to scratch the paint again , but that was only 1/2 the reason.

 

Well, it seems the hub cap challenge doesn't belong just to me.

The wheels in question are off a 1997 truck (plane steel wheels are pretty unusual for those trucks, most had factory aluminum wheels), the wheels have that look like they may have been brand new when the car was originally built, between 3 and 4 years ago. The tires mounted on them are 4 year old (date code in late 21), 215 75r 15 radials. I'm guessing the tires probably don't have more then a couple thousand miles on them, on smooth roads, there are no vibrations or anything strange going on.
Maybe its my luck, but both times I watched where the hub cap went through the rear view mirror, it was not p***ing me. Both times I was cruising around 55-60 mph on a road with very few curves, the cap came off on at least a 1/2 mile straight section of road both times.

After viewing the responses, I believe I'm going to clean up the wheel, bend the tabs on the cap again, then put a few dabs of silicone around the wheel surface the cap rides on.
I'm getting things dialed in with the car, it could see a bunch of miles soon, before the weather turns colder.

Thanks a bunch, I'll keep you guys posted.

 

@67drake any issues with the caps of choice? Anything you've done to keep 'em on?

 

..how's that little wagon running?

 

No, these Olds Fiesta caps stick like glue so far. I put them on a month ago, and have maybe 500 miles on them, and the edge is still tight to the rim.
The old set you could see slowly pulling away from the rim, especially that driver side front one.

 

The little wagon is running pretty good. We are getting it sorted out pretty good, most of the stuff we are chasing now is little stuff. Waiting for the just ordered speedometer and fuel gauge to arrive are the biggest issues right now, not knowing how fast your driving, and not knowing how much gas you have can both be over come, but they are reducing the fun level just a bit.
My wife loves diving it, its her car. She might let me drive it once in a while.

 

cool, thanks for the info.

 

Hello,

As teenagers with no extra cash or funds to get custom wheels, we depended on hubcaps to finish what ever car we were driving at the time. One of our friends had a 51 Plymouth Station Wagon with full hubcaps. We liked the look and it ran fine for a while. Then, the hubcaps started flying off on sharp turns or even going straight down the highway. Lucky for the roaming hubcap and damage, it usually rolled off of the main surface and off to the side.

Near our surf area was a sandy curb area and the some inland water, so the roaming hubcap went into sand many times and had no damages. When the hubcap went off into the hard surface of the street, then some scratches were noticeable. Those old hubcaps had a tendency to come off, but, if attached with the famous 4 corner “hit” as one installs them, then the even pressure pushes the tabs in to the steel wheel.

Jnaki

One problem solved was that when the 51 Oldsmobile sedan was taken to the beach, it had on screw in Moon Disc Hubcaps and those never went wandering around, even on sharp curves and roadways.

So, the solution to our friend’s problem could be solved as he got more money to add to the looks of his cool station wagon. But, final paint and new hubcaps were costly and it was more important to use the cash for food/ drinks/gasoline on our long surf trips.

This was the least expensive of all of the trial and error hubcap choices. But, the discs were also not in the expense account, although it would have looked rather cool in most folk's eyes...
No more exhaust fumes coming in the rear window as the new/old racks worked the best. The Plymouth stayed the sea foam green color for a long time... then, back to just steel rims... YRMV

 

How conveniently this came back up just now...
I was out in the garage checking out the wheel that keeps pitching the hub cap just this morning.
I now have a full understanding of my problem, so I though I would relate my findings, hoping it will help someone else.

I have a picture of the ugly wheel, but I'm not posting it because it may send this thread towards the off topic section and that won't help others.
So, a couple pictures of the wheel rim, and how hard the hub cap was trying to stay on the wheel.

As you can see, it dug into the wheel deep enough to pull the paint off the wheel. Every jaw on hub cap made the same claw marks trying to hang onto the wheel! Notice on this picture, you can see a groove deeper in the wheel then where the paint has been scratched off. That groove is at almost 3/4" below the surface where the hub cap makes contact.
This picture is just one of the hub cap claw areas that dug in to try to hang on. As you can see, the teeth are still at a bit more then 90 degrees, you can also see that the teeth are about a 1/2" from the wheel mounting surface. That number is important, because the groove in the wheel those teeth should be sitting in are almost a 1/4" deeper!


This picture isn't very clear, so let me explain.
My thumb is holding a square against a piece of 1" tubing that is resting against both sides of the tire sidewall. The straight edge of that square is at 90 degrees to the wheel's mounting surface. The inner corner of the straight edge of the square is against the wheel, at the edge of the groove nearest the wheel's center. The high point (the point on this surface of the wheel that is closest to the wheel's center is the same point the hub cap has scratched off the paint. Notice that from that point outward, the surface of the wheel tapers away from the teeth on the hub cap!

The hub cap teeth are not deep enough to reach the groove in the wheel. When the hub cap face is against the wheel, the teeth are digging into the most narrow point on the wheels. From that narrow point, the wheel gets wider then even the teeth on the hub cap. by the time the hub cap reaches the tire mounting surface, the wheel is probably a 1/4" wider then the hub cap's teeth. As soon as the hub cap started moving, it didn't stand a chance without some kind of help.

So, what am I going to do about it?
I have already cleaned this wheel, and I will clean the other 3 as well. I have purchased a tube of 100% silicone in a caulk tube. The plan is to put a bead of silicone around the rim, just outside of where the teeth bite, and let is set up a. day. Then I will install the hub caps. I'm hoping the set up bead of silicone will be enough extra holding material for the hub cap to grab.
I am still open to other suggestions. I have not ruined anything, yet...

 

Hopefully that works don’t see any reason it wouldn’t. Hopefully you’ll have most everything sorted out in time for Mopars on the Mississippi
Dan