LOSING Hubcaps!!

Cape Codder

Cape Codder

Well-known member
I have had my wheels powder coated installed new tires and tubes and bought NEW hubcaps. I prepared the hubcaps with the tool sold in the Restorer. After a drive around town (approx. 2 miles) I came home and was preparing to wash the car for an event. Much to my disappointment I discovered I lost one hub cap.:mad: Well as the story goes I ordered one more, installed it and off to an event. When I arrived at the event I discovered I had lost TWO hubcaps (both rear ones).:mad::mad:

Sorry for the long story of events but my question is has anyone had this problem with the tool AND is it better to just bend over the tabs the old fashion way?:confused: My concern of just bending them over is my old ones where always rattling so I don't want that.

ALL suggestions would be helpful as I'm waiting for TWO new ones to come.

Thanks to all.
 
If the tabs are truly bent over I can not see how the cap can fall off unless you have a severely damaged wheel or the axle is protruding. I bend them by hand and use a bit of clear silicone under the cap to stop any potential rattles.
 
Cape Codder,
I too have purchased this tool, love the design and the idea, but cannot get my hubcaps to snap on and stay on. The tabs do not appear to made for this application. I will soon be installing all of mine as they were intended.

I am using reproduction hubcaps and if anyone out there has had better luck with certain hubcaps and this tool, I would love to hear about it.
 
I install them basically the same as J. A little silicone, set the cap and wheel on a piece of carpet, and bend 4 tabs with good pressure on them. No rattles.
 
Clear Silicone applied from the back is foolproof. You never pop them anyway. The wheel is the way to the hub.
 
I bend the tabs on my 30-31 hubcaps with pliers so that they will snap on and off . It is a simple job. So far none of my hubcaps have fallen off . All of the hub caps on my cars that I bent the tabs over inside the wheels are slightly loose . While you wait for new hubcaps to arrive , Why not try bending the tabs on the hubcaps that you removed with pliers so that they will snap on and off ? Its not rocket science, and what do you have to lose, you are losing caps anyway.
 
First, thanks for all the responses and suggestions.
In my original post I failed to to say that the tool does make a nice rounded end to the tab and therefor you have to SNAP the cap on, which I did with the heel of my palm. When I installed them they were tight against the wheel and in view of the fact I had lost one, I feel I was much more critical of its attachment. I was unable to even get a fingernail between the wheel and hubcap. I used five of the ten tabs available on the hubcap and bent the remaining five down to the hubcap.
 
Patrick L. said:
I install them basically the same as J. A little silicone, set the cap and wheel on a piece of carpet, and bend 4 tabs with good pressure on them. No rattles.
Click to expand...

I do mine the exact same way as Patrick and have not had a problem and all rims on my five Model A's are powder coated !
Wayne
 
I think that most of us do not ever try to pull off the hub cap to get to the wheel nut. We always take off the tire. Every hub cap I have seen has tabs that can be bent over and hold in place and should be installed from the back of the wheel. If the tabs were meant to be a spring steel such that they could compress when you pushed the hub on, then spring out to hold the part, then your method with the tool might be good. These are definitely not spring steel and the act of pushing them on is moving the tab back inward and it does not spring back to the original position.
 
It seemed to me this system was better then bending over the tabs as my old ones are.
After I bent the tabs with the tool they were very tight like I said.
Guess I will go back to the old way of just bending them over like everyone else.
Thanks for all your responses!
 
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