50 Merc repop hubcaps- removal is a *itch!

I'd like to know if there's anybody out there that has these caps on their ride and if so, how do you remove them from the wheels without damaging the cap? First off, they fit very tightly on the wheel nubs. When prying them off, even at the wheel nub area, it's almost impossible not to bend up the cap, not to mention chip the paint on the wheel! It seems that a specialized pry bar is required. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

Use a plastic Bondo spreader or an 1/8 thick piece of styrene plastic filed to a taper on one edge. Tap of with a hammer.

 

Actually they do make a special pry bar for old hubcaps. It has a rubber bumper on it to put pressure on the tire to help pry the caps off, you might try one of those.

 

I made a tool with a curved end to pop the hub-cap off

 

Here's the pics....
I use it for 49, 50 51 Ford and 50' merc caps...

 

I use a brake adjusting spoon with a paint stick to save the paint. The spoon lets you pry straight up unlike a screw driver. You probably already have one in your tool box.

 

I'm running a set of Dennis Carpenter repops on original Merc wheels. Never have a problem popping them on or off.

 

I twist a wide blade screw driver between the cap and the beauty rim.

 

Buy a set of these from Harbor Freight. They are cheap.

 

Bob Drake sells a hub cap remover in his catalog, after dealing with the paper thin baby moons they make today I am going to order his puller

 

The repops I had fell off .Lost one ,put the other 3 on the shelf.All were scarred from fallin off.