What is this "springy thingy?"

[Summershandy]

From inside the dust cap of a '54 Star Chief. I can't find any info on it and don't really know the purpose of it. It was kinda mangled so I straightened it out. Not sure if it's supposed to be flat or stick out some. Never seen one before. Thanks!

[JFranklin]

It stops radio static.

[Guest]

https://www.google.ca/search?biw=1280&bih=918&ei=PGFyWo_CMIHgjwPjl4joCA&q=front+wheel+static+collector&oq=wheel+static+collector&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i22i30k1l2.7136.15165.0.18082.22.21.0.1.1.0.135.2110.12j9.21.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.22.2114...0j0i67k1j0i131k1j0i3k1j0i22i10i30k1.0.vYYPAPePXBE

  Go up to forums and search static collector.  There are several posts about these.

[Summershandy]

Wow....thanks Tinindian and sorry for laughing at you JFranklin, thought you were being funny! I would have never ever guessed!

[Guest]

You guys should have been around in the 50's and early 60's when GM was trying to remove static from their cheap radios.  Buick Sonomatic radios never seemed to have any trouble but Chev and Pontiac were often terrible.  The worst cars were the v8 Corvettes.  They had condensers, static thingies and shrouding around the distributors. Many tune up guys and mechanics could never seem to get the shrouds back properly and of course we were working with the early carbon core wire.  What a mess.  Thank God for FM.