Olds Fiesta Caps fall off

[48bill]

I have had repop 1955 Oldsmobile Fiesta hub caps on my 48 Chev convert. but they don't want to stay on.  The rims are 15" Chevy ralley wheels ( 70's style) with Diamondback radials wide white tires.  The rear rims are original 15 X 7's and the fronts are repop 15X6's.

Short of drilling holes in the hub caps  and matching ones in the rims to screw them on,  is there any way you folks have had sucess with in keeping them from falling off? They have fallen off both the front and rear wheels.

Last time they fell off I almost wiped out a friends 34 grille and fender.  I retrieved the miscreant roller and took the other three off imediately.

Thanks for your help.

Bill

[wayne petty]

just curious if this is what the back of your hub caps look like..

the latching tabs.. not the rust..

http://forums.aaca.org/attachments/f169/88710d1305773509-fiesta-starfire-what-hubcap-dscn8246.jpg

i wonder what the outside lip of the rim looks like.?



there was a little discussion over where i found the image.. but not of how to latch them on tight...

http://forums.aaca.org/f169/fiesta-starfire-what-hubcap-303932.html

[Charlie Chops 1940]

That problem is pretty typical for full disc caps on later rims, especially rally wheels.  

I use 10/32 button head S/S screws about 1/2" under the head - 3 per wheel. Drill and tap three equally spaced, or 4 if it's easier, around the rim right next to the hub cap edge. The button head of the screw will overlap the edge of the cap and hold it on. When you stand up and back away 5 feet the screws will be almost invisible.

I've never lost a cap with this method. Throw a couple allen wrenches in the glove box or under the seat.

Charlie

[Rrumbler]

If I recall correctly, the original wheels had a slight bead around them where the lip turned in to form the bead seat, and that provided a purchase for the clips to bite.  In addition, the caps are "old", now, and the clips have most likely lost some of their tension, or gotten slightly bent, and probably the teeth on them have dulled.  Newer wheels, like your rallys don't have that bead, so the clips just slip off under any sort of stress.  Holding them on with screws is one way of doing it, and has been done by quite a few folks in my memory.  I have a set of Fiestas that would probably give me the same trouble if I ever got to run them.

[enjenjo]

You are dealing with two problems here. The first, radial tires cause the wheel to flex more than bias, making the caps walk themselves off. And two, the repro caps didn't have that good a clip to begin with.

What I hav done in the past was to get some later model hub caps, and reove the clip ring from them. Then adapt that to the Olds cap. The later model caps had a different type of clip that seems to hold better with radial tires.

You can also ue the antitheft retainer from a wire wheel cap, and secure the cap with a bolt or bullet to keep them on.

[UGLY OLDS]

Bill....
To see what Frank is talking about , find someone with a late Chevy "Work Truck" ... They have a trim ring on the work truck wheel that I use on my Olds with Rallye wheels ....There is no "Gripper Clip" but a series of little metal "barbs" that actually dig into the metal of the wheel ..
 I have had these on my Olds since I built it & never lost a trim ring .... The down side is that they will put a rather nasty "gash" in the surface of the wheel.  But then that area of the wheel is covered by the wheel cover or the trim ring.....  Added Bonus ....THEY'RE STAINLESS & dont rust .....

Bob ........

[parklane]

I have heard of guys getting their mig welder out and welding some very small tips in several ares around the perimeter of the rim. so the clips have a bit more to hang on to.