Hubcap positioning?

G

Graham Freeman

Senior Member
Just wondered if there is any confirmed way of which position the hubcaps go on the wheels.
Bottom of the V pointing at the valve stems or the opposite way round?
 
I would doubt that Ford workers would look at how the hubcap was placed on a wheel going by an assembly line.

I have a 36 Ford 5W Coupe and I did locate the hubcaps with the point of the V8 pointing towards the valve stem, just my opinion.
 
Ha, Ha, I thought I was the only silly bugger that pointed the pointy end of the V8 of the hubcap to the valve stem. A good reason for this is that it makes it quicker to find the valve stem when checking your tyres. Regards, Kevin.
 
This makes about as much sense as aligning screw slots all in one direction, a practice possibly having its roots in the AACA judging camp.
 
Beside the hubcap orientation, I also aligned all of my chrome plated slotted bolts for my doors all in the same direction and my rear bumper bolts on the body to have the flat side of the stainless steel bolts all horizontal. Maybe it was just me!
 
Gary Tosel said:
Beside the hubcap orientation, I also aligned all of my chrome plated slotted bolts for my doors all in the same direction and my rear bumper bolts on the body to have the flat side of the stainless steel bolts all horizontal. Maybe it was just me!
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I've seen that done on the V8 Concourse, along with a dab of paint on each bolt head. By the rules, they get one point deduction for every five incorrect. But then, it's your car and your rules in your own driveway, so, whatever floats your boat! In all fairness, I see it as attention to detail in a degree above and beyond, in a way that is obviously enjoyable to the owner.
As an aside, I once lost an original oval head screw in my driveway, which almost brought tears. Two days later, I celebrated finding it with a stiff shot of bourbon and a beer chaser! I didn't feel silly at all, just a little tipsy!
 
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My dad was a builder and owned a 1946 Ford Deluxe Sedan.
He kept his tools in the boot, and on wet days, when he opened the boot lid, rain would stream in.
His solution was to add an Aluminium Strip to prevent water entering when the boot lid was open.
Check out the alignment of every screw. He was a perfectionist.
 
I have my own tire machine and balancer, so I always line up the tires name with the valve stem. Then I line the hubcap up with that too. I figure why not; it doesn't cost a thing. My dad used to do that when he was restoring Model A's, I'm just carrying on the tradition.
 
Yes, I do it too (when I remember).
Tyre brand aligned with valve hole. Hubcap aligned with valve hole, but I align the top of the V8 with the valve.
I try and do it with screw heads. Traditionally (as illustrated above) it was a sign of craftmanship.
Mart.
 
As for tire positioning on the wheel, I clock the tire’s heavy side to the wheel’s light side, thereby reducing the need for wheel balancing weights. It’s extra labor, but I hate those ugly lead weights.
 
I have a friend on the mainland that recently restored a WW2 White half track. He pointed out that the hundreds of slotted screws holding on the armor plating were specified to have the slots aligned vertically. The reason was that water/dew droplets would drain off more readily, lessening the chance of the vehicle 'glistening' in a distant nazi spy glass.
 
GB SISSON said:
I have a friend on the mainland that recently restored a WW2 White half track. He pointed out that the hundreds of slotted screws holding on the armor plating were specified to have the slots aligned vertically. The reason was that water/dew droplets would drain off more readily, lessening the chance of the vehicle 'glistening' in a distant nazi spy glass.
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GB, A plausible story, but word of mouth suspect. There may have been individual field units that utilized specific instructions to that effect? Without a MilSpec, it's unlikely that any supplier would go to those lengths. Ask your friend to substantiate his claim.
 
I walked completely around it and teased him because I couldn't detect any at 89 or 91 degrees to the horizon. Perhaps he had a huge box of 1/4-20 flat head slotted machine screws to keep trying til he got it. The guy is the military vehicle collectors version of our 'Kube'.....
 
I believe it is not unknown when in a studio photographic session to jack each wheel up so it can be rotated to be the right way up and let down again.
 
I saw a car at a show with all the wheels positioned with valve stems up and hub caps aligned. So i mentioned it to the owner who laughed at me and said, huh, that's just the way I drove it in.
 
I had Halftracks, The story about having the screw heads clocked correctly is widely known to anyone rebuilding one. Pretty much all the visible armor screws are oval head 3/8 fine with nuts on the inside.

And there are hundreds of em!
 
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