52 hubcap problem

A

artron9

Senior Member
Hi! My 52 Vic has original hubcaps. On occasion, one has fallen off. I've carefully bent the prongs close to the original position but I think the metal is getting tired. I want to keep the original caps and do not want to pay for new ones which will probably be in the same condition as mine. I was thinking of putting a clear silicone bead around the perimeter and pressing them back on. Any other ideas? Thanks for your input. Ron
 
I have never used the silicone idea myself, but I have heard of guys whom have had success with it . Give it a shot !! - F F
 
because radial tires flex and roll ,and those old wheels aren’t strong enough to keep from movements sideways ,common problem ,bias ply tires don’t do that ,but radials are the way to go to get it to ride and handle better,i went to a salvage yard and found a good set of newer wheels with the same size and bolt pattern ,something in the 80s ,even if it a little wider makes it look great good luck
 
Ron, I had the same problem on my '53 and '54 cars and tried it all. I kept slightly loosening the tabs on the wheel-covers from a firmer position and finally they stayed on,original rims,radials and all. After several years and 13K mi, none have fallen off. Good Luck, Don
 
Just a story; A V8 member was a retired county deputy and he had saved all the 52/53 full hub caps cause the mechanics removed them from the new police cars.. failure to stay on on new cars during hard manuvers. I bought them all in about 2000. Newc
 
Have you tried to add small sections of "grip tape" on the outer edges where the "teeth" of the hubcap bites in? I used this method on my 1969 Falcon and it worked.
 
My 52 Merc only had one surviving full wheel cover when I put it into service in 2015. Installed Cooper radials and did not drive many miles before that wheel cover jumped off into the ditch. Luckily I was shooting video at the time and caught it so was an easy find. After that I just went with the smaller "poverty caps". I like them just fine and they never fall off. I've put the full wheel cover up as a wall hanging.
 
Volkswagen and Chevy use to use clips that were attached to the rims. I had the same issue with my 52 F1 and picked up a set of those clips from an old chevy parts vendor and after mounting them on the rims using self tapping sheet metal screws and some washers to adjust the depth I got them to grip the inside of the hubcap lips. Never had another one fly off. Chap
 
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