Hubcap Repair

[Friartuck]

Hubcap in question is a 1951 Cadillac "Sombrero" for a series 62 Caddy. The cap is in good overall condition and slightly distorted. It won't stay on the wheel and recently popped off on a club run. Is there a vendor that specializes in hubcap straightening and/or repair? A search on the Forum did not reveal any.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I wonder whether a man who straightens and restores

moldings would be prepared to do this.  If so, I can give

you the name of a guy in Chambersburg, Penna.  (south-

central Penna.)  PM me if you'd like his contact information.

Edited December 23, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Spinneyhill]

Is this really a hub cap problem and not a flexing wheel?

[old car fan]

A good chrome shop,should be able to fix it,is minimal.

[Spinneyhill]

Surely it is just sheet metal panel working so a panel beater  ("body man"?) should be able to deal with it?

[Marty Roth]

While I cannot vouch for the accuracy,

I've been told that radial tires on early rims will cause the rim to "flex", causing the cap to choose an independent direction of travel.

 

You might try reshaping the "teeth", bending them slightly outward to get a better grip on the rim - just a thought - it helped on my (former) '63 Impala

[61polara]

Are you running radial or bias ply tires?

[Spinneyhill]

19 minutes ago, Marty Roth said:

've been told that radial tires on early rims will cause the rim to "flex",

 

This was discussed a little while ago on these fora somewhere. Radials do load a rim differently to a bias ply tire, over a shorter length of rim.

[Paul Dobbin]

i tried full wheel covers on my car trailer with radial tires, not a workable plan.

[60FlatTop]

Have you tried using a pair of pliers to spread the gripping edges out a little more to help it grip better? That has worked a couple times when I had problems.

Bernie

[Mikefit]

Hi there my fix was to use a sharp center punch (put about two rows of punch marks just where the cap has the tabs to hold it on) don't worry about rust the tabs already have the paint damaged there. Will work believe me.   Mike. PS. Talking about the rim.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Mikefit
Additional info (see edit history)

[Friartuck]

Thanks to all who replied. This thread was for a fellow collector who lives near me. Turns out the vehicle had front end work performed and it appears the shop used a flat blade screwdriver to remove the "sombrero" wheel cover. It got distorted and screw driver impressions are clearly  shown in the dish portion near the edge. Some scraps and rough edges when it flew off at 40 MPH. The wheel/tire are not radials so flexing is not suspect, however, the teeth on the edges need attention. I believe that was the problem.  John S in Penna provided sources for repair in a PM.

[60FlatTop]

Sherwood be interesting to see a followup.

Bernie

[drwatson]

Invariably I find the average mechanic will damage hubcaps when servicing wheels, and therefore I remove caps myself before leaving a vehicle off for service.  Whether taking off or putting back on [should I say "hammering"] the marks of callous handling seem hard for some to avoid.

[old car fan]

I would ca[[ time and pachents you need them both.