40 Ford hub cap question

I recently bought a new set of 15" steel wheels to run on my 40. I eventually will run the standard Ford hubcap and beauty ring for a 40 Deluxe on the car once its completed. I had a hubcap off of a 40 Standard laying around the garage and I layed it on one of my newly painted wheels this evening to get an idea of how the finished product would look. In a word, it won't fit. The diameter of the inner rim on the hubcap is @8", which looks to be about 1/2 inch too large for the wheel. For the 40 experts out there, is there a difference in the hubcap for a 15" wheel vs a 16" wheel? I'm hoping this Standard hubcap is for a 16, meaning that a 15" hubcap is smaller and will fit my wheels, otherwise it appears I'm going to have to change wheels. Anyone?

 

Do you have a picture of your 15" wheel? Are these wheels aftermarket? Need more info.

 

My AFTERMARKET 15: wheels require aftermarket hubcaps...

This might be your issue.

 

All '40 Ford cars and pickups had 16" wheels. 15's were not offered until '48.

 

All the Ford p***enger car wheels from 40 to 48, and then pickups up to mid-late 50's accepted the same hubcap. Didn't matter if it's 15 or 16 inch.

Some weird repro Ford-style wheels require that manufacturer's own special hubcap. Now, why they would make a wheel look like a Ford wheel, but not take the Ford hubcap, makes no sense to me.

 

Fords had 16" wheels 40-48, Mercurys had optional 15" wheels, same period, and of course the pickups had 16" then eventually 15". All accept the 40-48 Ford, 40-48 Mercury, 48-6? pickup hubcaps.

You either don't have Ford wheels, as in pre-49 Ford/Merc or later Pickups, or you have 49-up P***enger car wheels.

 

Bought a set of aftermarket rims. They were sold as replacements for 40-48 16in. rims. Looked nice, until I tried to put hubcaps on. They took special (which they did not say in lit.) hubcaps that only they made, so you have to use repo caps from the people who made the rims. Anybody want to buy a set of dented caps that fit an original rim. Ya, I found out this the hard way. Not a happy camper. Why don't they say these things in their ad?

 

OK, who is "THEY"?

 

I found out about the non-interchangeable aspect from the opposite direction. I picked up some American Racing hubcaps with a V8 logo embossed and tried them on my stock Ford rims. No go. In doing some investigating, it appears that the caps (and I liked them) would only fit AR rims. Someone else owns the caps now....

 

I bought 15 X 5 Gennies from Coker for my coupe and they take the same cap as my '41 Ford pu 16 X 4 's......

 

I had a similar experience with the wheels on my roadster. Some centers take a GM dimension cap, like on a rally wheel. To add even more entertainment value, the 15 inch wheels take a different cap than the 16s, and they are both different than the Ford cap. Ford-styled caps are available that will fit, at about the same price as regular Ford caps.

 

It sounds like you're talking about "Smoothie" wheels, 14" and 15" have a 7.5" Hubcap size, and 16" and 17" have a 7" size. Any company selling them as "replacement" wheels is stupid. They don't look anything like the originals. They have an extra "roll" around the hubcap hole and they don't have any vent holes.
Jimmy

 

Wheelkid, I think you're right. The wheels were made for me by Jason at BearMetal, and it appears to be a miscommunication between he and I. They appear to have a 7.5" diameter for the hubcap seat as you said. Any idea where I might find Ford style hubcaps with a 7.5" diameter instead of 8"?

 

Check with Pete Paulsen Wheels. I bought my hubcaps to fit the smoothies I run.
http://www.petepaulsen.com/

 

They would be Wheel Vintiques and it was their 16in replacement 40-48 Ford rim. I went through Coker with my order and was sent Bob Drake caps. Loved the Bob Drake caps as they fit the orginal Ford rims, but not the "replacement" new rim. Was told after the fact that I had to use the caps that the wheel manufacturer produced. I want and wanted only things that will interchange with orginal Ford parts. Thats why I ordered tires mounted on new rims with caps and rings at the same time. Caps did not fit and they sent the wrong size trim rings! Ya---I was a happy camper. Been there and done that! Any more questions?

 

Years ago, Wheelkid's dad build me a set of 15X8in Ford rims. They were and still are Perfect!

 

Pretty much anywhere. Just make sure they're for "smoothie" wheels when you order them. Jason has them, I have them, wheel vintiques, paulson, wheelsmith.
Jimmy