1941 hubcap issue

[rivgs]

So, last Friday returning from a late cruise in, I heard a Ting- ting, ting, ting after making a left turn. It was dark and there was no place to stop safely and I forgot to put a flashlight in the glovebox.  When I got home, sure enough the right front hubcap was missing. I went online and ordered a replacement hubcap from CARS ( Bob's Automobilia has them also) The new one arrived today and it is 11" in diameter and the hubcaps still on the car are 10" in diameter. Both sellers state the hubcap will fit 41-50 Buicks. My question is, are there two sizes of 1941 Buick hubcaps? do I have the wrong wheels? or are the sellers wrong in their description of years it will fit. Both hubcaps look like each other, just the diameter is different. The car is a Limited 90-S.

 

[Matt Harwood]

Uh oh. 

 

You need to go back and find that hubcap, no matter what it takes. The 90 Series hubcaps are 100% unique, both larger and deeper than the other models. The repros will not fit, not even close. Limited wheels are unique, too, so if the wheels are on your car they're the right wheels. I've been looking for a replacement hubcap for almost six years--I have one that's pretty bashed up and I hide it under the fender skirt, but I'd like a better one since they're almost impossible to restore due to the double-layered construction. I have never even seen one in the wild and have had other owners call me and ask if I had one to sell. They are VERY rare. 

 

Go back and scout around where you lost it; you need to find that hubcap or you're going to be out of luck. Good luck in the search!

[Jack Welch]

9 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

Uh oh. 

 

You need to go back and find that hubcap, no matter what it takes. The 90 Series hubcaps are 100% unique, both larger and deeper than the other models. The repros will not fit, not even close. Limited wheels are unique, too, so if the wheels are on your car they're the right wheels. I've been looking for a replacement hubcap for almost six years--I have one that's pretty bashed up and I hide it under the fender skirt, but I'd like a better one since they're almost impossible to restore due to the double-layered construction. I have never even seen one in the wild and have had other owners call me and ask if I had one to sell. They are VERY rare. 

 

Go back and scout around where you lost it; you need to find that hubcap or you're going to be out of luck. Good luck in the search!

Kevin: Matt is right on with this one. Limited hubcaps are unobtainium.

[rivgs]

Matt/Jack.

I went back the next morning with no luck. After reading you posts I went back again and expanded my search. Eureka!  I found it 100 feet from the road in a line of trees. It is dirty but not damaged except for two small shallow dents that may have been there prior. I also found out why it came off, the ring that the wheel clips hang on to were bent so the clips would not hold well. Needless to say that will be corrected before I reinstall the hubcap. Thank you for the information

[Matt Harwood]

Woo hoo! Great news, Kevin. What a relief!

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 7/18/2019 at 9:35 PM, rivgs said:

 I went online and ordered a replacement hubcap from CARS ( Bob's Automobilia has them also)...

 Both sellers state the hubcap will fit 41-50 Buicks.

 

Great that you found it!  Now you definitely

must tell CARS and Bob's Automobilia that their

hubcaps do not fit Limiteds.  That will save someone

else the confusion in the future.

 

If they knew this, the person you spoke with should have

told you.

[Matt Harwood]

Bob's probably knows they won't fit and hopefully would have said so--they're the ones who asked me if I had a spare wheel and hubcap.

[rivgs]

Bob's  DOES state it doesn't fit Limiteds if you click on  the part description, which I didn't the first time when I compared pricing. Live and learn.

[Marty Roth]

Kevin, glad you were able to find it.

I know from experience that a hubcap, or even a runaway wheel, can travel a pretty good distance, and sometimes to the opposite side of the road. 

Years ago, maybe around 1963 my '58 Impala convertible had a power steering bracket welded, and the "mechanic" APPARENTLY DIDN'T TORQUE THE LUGS". I drove from Linden, NJ to a resort hotel in the Catskills, played trumpet with my band over the weekend, and started home around 3:00 AM. A rattle which I couldn't identify, turned out to be the lugnuts of the left front wheel. As I headed back toward Monticello on the Quickway (Hwy-17) The wheel took liberty of the Impala. I couldn't find it in the dark and mounted my spare with one nut from each of the other three wheels. The next day we found the wheel - hubcap and all had crossed the 4-lane divided highway and grass median, and had rolled down a hill into tall grass. Only the gleam of the sun reflecting off my spinner hubcap made the recovery possible - and the lugnuts were still between the cap and the rim. The cracked brakedrum was replaced with one from a junkyard and I made it home without further excitement, thanks to my dad's advice and reassurance.

 

Hubcaps, as well as wheels can travel a pretty good distance, and not nesessarily stay on the same side of the road.