C-1 hubcaps falling off

[John Araujo]

Hello all,

Iv'e owned my 62 for a year now and after putting 3000 miles on it I figured it was time to rotate the tires. The problem is I can't keep my hubcaps on now. After driving about 8 miles I lost the left rear. It looked liked there was some residue of rubber cement on the rim in question so I thought this may have been a problem with this wheel before. I used a bit of contact cement on the problem rim and thought I'd be all set. During my next outing I then lost the left front hubcap. I thought about glueing this one on also but thought there may be a better solution out there. I didn't know if bending the inner flange a little where the hubcap comes in contact with the wheel might help. I thought that they were secure enough after installing them with a rubber mallet but I was mistaken. I have been able to retrive the lost hubcaps but the next time I may not be so lucky. Any ideas out there?
Thanks
John #43736

[Clem Z.]

if these are the full wheel covers

file the gripping points to a sharp point. they get rounded off and do not "dig" into the rim when rounded off.

[Bob Simard]

C-1 hubcaps

Check to make sure that you have the correct wheels. The wheels should have projections or nubs about 1/2 inch long, 1/4 inch wide, and 1/16 to 1/8 inch high. These are located at 90 degree intervals around the rim starting at 45 degrees from the valve stem. The hubcap snaps over these nubs and that retains the hubcaps. The hubcap has four holes where the nubs fit. The metal on the hubcap is bent towards the rim on the end of each hole. This helps keep the hubcaps from rotating during acceleration and braking. This seems perfectly clear to me, hope it makes some sense to you. Good luck.

[Dennis C.]

In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want...

to check and make sure the wheels on the car actually have the 4 "gripping bumps" at the outer perimiter. ... If they don,t, they are not going to retain your full wheel covers. Hey, maybe they're wide wheels, in which case, contact me privately for further sage advice...

[Tom S.]

Re: In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want

John
Do you have hub cap's or wheel cover's? There is a big difference. Tom

[John Araujo]

Re: In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want

Tom,
I belive that they are wheel covers. They are the standard covers that you see on most 62's. It isn't a big brake car if that is what you mean by hub caps.
John

[Tom S.]

Re: In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want

John
A hub cap covers just the center of the wheel. It is about 10" in diameter.The wheel cover which was an option covers the whole wheel.Normaly a hub cap does not fall off, but the wheel covers have a tendancy to fall off. If you have wheel covers which I suspect take them off, and pry the grip tab's out just a hair so that they grip better. Tom

[John Araujo]

Re: In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want

Thanks Tom,
I thought of doing that but wanted some opinions on it first. I'm at work so I can't check the wheels but I don't remember any bumps or humps on the rim that would keep the wheel covers on. Maybe the previous posts were refering to the bumps on the center of the wheel that would hold hubcaps on.
John

[Christopher R.]

Re: C-1 hubcaps falling off

Get one of those Dymo label making machines (under $10). Make a label that says "Reward" and list your phone number. Stick it on all 4 of the hubcaps. I got one of mine back from the Massachusetts Highway Department about 5 years ago. Didn't even ask for the reward.

[John H.]

Re: In addition to Clem's thoughts, you might want

John -

As noted further up in this thread, your wheels should have four equally-spaced "nubs" on the inboard edge of the rim flange, to engage the retaining strip on the back side of the full wheel covers. If your wheels don't have those "nubs", they're not Corvette wheels - may be from a passenger car, and there's no way your wheel covers will stay on the wheels without the "nubs".

[Dennis C.]

Tom, Just for the record...

...full wheel covers in 1962 were not an option. They were standard production on every 62 except those ordered with the(RPO 276) no cost option of 15 x 5 1/2" "wide wheels"... In addition, this wide wheel option had nothing to do with whether the car had HD Brakes & Steering or not. Those options were not related at all, though I'm sure many HD cars were also optioned with the wides.