MTFCA Forum

I got a set of 28-29 original wire wheels and i got new hub caps , and i cannot seem to be able to put them on ,i have vent the clips on the edge but no go, any sugestion ???

thank you Lorenzo

1st you only need to bend 4 or 5 of the tabs not all of them. You bend the tabs after the caps are on the wheels. Most of the repo cap will be loose, you can use an O ring to take up the slack or dabs of silicon after they are in place.

The caps i got have lots of tabs all around ,Could i have the wrong caps??

Mark Gregush wrote: ↑

Sat May 30, 2020 9:23 pm

1st you only need to bend 4 or 5 of the tabs not all of them. You bend the tabs after the caps are on the wheels. Most of the repo cap will be loose, you can use an O ring to take up the slack or dabs of silicon after they are in place.

Just like Mark said the hubcaps have tabs all around but no need to bend them all. Here are pictures of 1928-28 caps and 1926-27. Both have tabs all the way around but notice the difference of the center '28 circle - '26 hexagon) . I'd say you got the correct ones

I put four dabs of Ultra-Black right where the cap meets the wheel then bend four tabs only like the others advised. Works real god.

lorenzo26 wrote: ↑

Sat May 30, 2020 9:09 pm

I got a set of 28-29 original wire wheels and i got new hub caps , and i cannot seem to be able to put them on ,i have vent the clips on the edge but no go, any sugestion ???

thank you Lorenzo

Let me guess -- did you buy the stainless caps? The tabs on the ones I used weren't formed quite right and some had to be unbent a little to get the cap on. They aren't intended to snap on if that is what you are thinking, but they give that impression because of the incorrectly formed tabs. Because the stainless ones are made from material that is tougher than what was used originally the tabs have a lot of spring-back and you can't bend them enough once installed to get them to hold tight, hence the silicone as others have suggested. The originals I have installed before were much more agreeable.

Even Ford's instructions were to only bend a few tabs, leaving the others for a future re-installation. Yes, the shape makes one think they are a "snap 0n" cap, but they aren't. One suggestion is to use a large "0" ring on the cap before installing.

Then you have to measure the hub hole where you are trying to install the hubcap.

The 1926/1927 rims have a hubcap with FORD Made IN USA on it.

The 1928 rims are identical, except the 1928 rim has a 3/8th inch larger hole with a hubcap that only has FORD on it.

The 1928 tabs all have to be bent slightly in to put the hub cap on the rim.

The book says only bend four tabs to keep the hub cap on.

Use 4 TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT and RIGHT T tabs, then keep the others for future use.

Yes walter they are stainless , can i perhaps cut some of the tabs and bend them back from the other side ??

You don't need to cut anything. Bend the tabs back enough to get caps on and install. With the wheel laying face down on something padded, bend the 4 tabs that you are going to use down as tight to the wheel as you can (I use a piece of shafting or such to tap them down and get as tight as I can). Place few dabs of silicon around the edge where the wheel meets the cap and let setup over night. Install the wheels. I have yet needed to do any cutting when installing the 28/29 caps, a little massaging yes.

Got it -- bent a little more and bingo-[[did not have to cut]] thank you all for the input

Fantastic!