As I get ready to put my near NOS hubcaps on my '56, I am once again experiencing withdrawal as I realize that the hubcaps occassionally fall off and that there is no preventative measures to be taken such as retainers, etc. Anyone have any advice that may reduce my chances of having a nervous breakdown when a hubcap falls off? I have inquired of quite a few experts and have discovered there are no devices available to lock the cover on. I can't wait to get them on,but,I have spent so much on them that it will be nerveracking. Signed: Nervous in Nebraska
-
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Nervous in New-braska:
Drove my 57 about a bazzilion miles and never had a wheel cover pass me up on the highway. I think when you put them on - you'll get a sense of whether or not they are going to stay... -
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
At 20 mph, the top speed of the black 57 Fi, it's hard to imagine the hubcaps , attached with duct tape and baler twine, would ever leave your sorry ass. Mikie in the lord jesus, # 14.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Yeah, but did you ever have a "big tank" gas cap pass you on the highway and have your "so called best friends" search the gulleys for your "supposedly original gas cap" for three hours?Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve - I only hope you can faithfully ignore the idiotic responses that may appear on this board from time to time. Occasionally, some members will engage in chemical experiments - usually with less than totally intelligent results.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve
I have never tried this but it may be possible to fashion hubcap locks by cutting appropriate diameter black plastic tubing (say 1/2" id and an od such that it will make full contact with the hubcap outside the valve stem hole) in such a way as to slide over the valve stem. The length would be such that the valve stem theads could be used to secure the "lock tube" securely against the cap - hence preventing the cap from poping off. You would need to experiment.
Hope that helps - in addition - I have seen in auto stores - similar devices that were manufactured using the same principle.
PeterComment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
If the hubcap came loose and was tied to the valve stem the damage may be worse than just to the hubcap. I think those old valve stem locks were to make the hubcaps harder to steal.Lyle
Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve, I was in the same boat. First I test fitted each hubcap to each wheel to find the tightest fit and marked the wheel and the inside of the hubcap with a felt tip marker so I would'nt get them mixed up. I had only two going on the original rims. My rears are '67 6" ralleys with welded nubs, so I was able to have slightly oversize nubs to ensure a very tight fit. You might see if you can locate a beater hubcap and then use it to check each wheel during a live test. I don't think I would put anything on the valve stem to try and retain the hubcap. If the cap were to pop off, I would rather have it go sailing off in a ditch, not being flung around at 760 rpm tearing the hell out of my fender.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve - reflecting on Joe and Lyle comments - I agree with them - my thought re "locking" is not a good one - will not prevent possible pop off and in fact would be a mess if the cap did come loose.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Wait'll you go to pound them on (buy a rubber mallet) your freshly painted wheels. As you know, they're a friction fit. You want them as tight as possible. It'll break your heart when you have to pry them off with a tire iron someday in order to remove the wheel for something or other.
1. Buy a Dymo label maker and make stick-on labels with your phone number for the inside of the caps. A Massachusetts Highway Department worker called and returned mine a few weeks after it came off on Route 128 at 60+ mph and took off for parts unknown. Refused a reward too, even though I had affixed a second label stating "reward." 2 labels - reward and phone number.
2. Saw a post once on some Corvette bulletin board about putting dabs of silicone caulking on or near the wheel nubs in such a fashion as to improve the grip. I don't quite understand exactly how to do this.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
One thought here, why are you putting nice original caps on a car simply for driving purposes? You might consider one of the following:
1) Get a set of repos for driving, and save the originals for shows.
2) Use a set of aftermarket wheels and tires for driving, and save the originals for shows.
If these are not options you would consider, please disregard all of the above.
P.S. It so so nice to see Mike and Dennis back in their usual discourse.Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve -
I never had one fall off my '57 in about 5,000 miles; they just rotated on the rim and bent the valve stems at 45 degrees (until I replaced the rubber valve stems with steel ones)Comment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Steve,
I have had my 57 for 20 years and also have never had them fall off. I have driven it about 20K miles. Had a couple turn a little bit on the Wheel. Check them often at first. I haven't looked at mine for awhile but I think there are little serrated "grabbers" around the inside of the cap where it touches the rim. Be sure those are bend outward a little so they grab good. Where are you in NE? There are not too many of us with 57's out here. Email me.
TedComment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
john i have found that if you file the "grabbers" to sharp points and the rebend them for a tighter fit they will not rotate. i have done this on several cars i have owned that had full disk hubcapsComment
-
Re: C1 Hubcaps...Scared To Death!!!
Hi Steve -
If the wheel covers haven't been off and on a zillion times, and the wheels are original, you won't have a problem with the covers launching. But they may rotate on the rim. This is because the inside lip of the cover will snap over the wheel nubs and keep the cover from moving outward, but the cover can still turn inside the rim because the distance between the grabbers is nearly twice the length of the nubs. So there's enough space to allow the wheel cover to turn and bend the valve stem.
Possible fixes include bending the grabbers out a bit so they grab the rim tighter (they aren't the saw tooth type but are half-moon louvers, one set on each side of the valve stem hole), putting tape over the nubs, and using an adhesive on the nubs and the corresponding spots on the cover.
Good luck, CalComment
Comment