dad has a 59 impala with the factory steel wheels. his hubcaps (1960 chevy) and his 59 caps both come off way too easy when driving. anybody have a fix for this or run in to this problem? thanks the wheels are the correct inner tab ones.
Old school fix,,take a pair of pliers and bend the tangs outward,,then use a strip of duct tape around the area on the wheel where the tangs come in contact with the wheel. HRP
Sometimes a fresh coat of paint gives the tangs just enough "bite" especially if the aforementioned tangs have scratched the wheel surface down to bare metal. I like HRPs idea as well.
The comment about use of radial tires is based on the belief that radials contribute to wheel flex in turns due to radials different sidewall construction and grip characteristics. I do not know if that is actually occurring, but is thought my many (some?) to be so. I have a friend who had this very problem with his '55 Chevy Bel Air. As I recall, we fixed with tape.
If he is they might just be bailing out because they dont want to be associated with horribly inappropriate tires for a '59 Impala.
On another thread, someone suggested silicone adhesive/sealer on the tangs. I have two cars that have had the problem. My '40 Ford has custom '53 Ford wheel discs with chrome bullets. After losing the first one (it passed my car and went into high weeds) and subsequently driving out to Bonneville with caps off my '53 Studebaker (and continually having to re-seat them), I looked on the HAMB for a solution. My Studebaker with stock wheels also wants to pop them off. Both cars have radials. I sanded the wheel surface where the caps' tangs had removed paint, painted the surface with POR-15 and let it dry overnight, and put silicone adhesive on all the tangs. IT WORKED!!! As I shouldn't have to remove the caps very often, I consider this a good fix. Thanks to all on the HAMB who have contributed to this problem and its fix.
My '55 F100 had nice '50 Merc wheels that I reversed, fronts reversed with the 5.5" Merc rims, rears got Buick (or Olds) 6.5" rims. Bias plies, 6.70 X 15 front, 8.20 X 15 rear. Nice N.O.S. '50 Merc 'ash cans' (dog dish) caps all around, NO problems, 7 years of driving everywhere, Bonneville & back twice, etc. Replaced tires with good Michelin radials, 205 60 R15 front, 235 70 R15 rear. Tire pressures set 34 front, 30 rear. Rode like a new Caddy...smooth...quiet... then, "CHHINGGG.......Gaaaahhhhhhhhhh..." My left front Merc ash can went into the left lane, up a driveway, and pranged some guy's garage door. Scratched the cap around the circumference, but polished it out later...(stainless) I examined the rim, the external nub looked like all the rest...I scratched the paint off, and just refinished the edges of the nubs. Rotated the cap for 'best fit', and put it back on. 3 days later, we were coming out of the Santa Cruz mountains with a Christmas tree. As I pulled out on 17 from Black Rd., that blasted left front went south again! (well, south by south east, actually...) My wife got out and climbed the hill after it, never actually 'lost' one! I reluctantly agreed with tire gurus that the reversed wheels aggravated it, but the radials actually aided in flexing the wheel enough to tweak the center! I have Romeo Palamides pre-Torq Thrusts on it now... but I miss my Mercs!
Do '59 Impala hub caps even have tangs on them, or are they like the '57 caps that require the little nubs on the rim to snap over. I know you can't put a '57 cap on a later wheel since the little nubs aren't on it. Not talking about dog dishes, the full wheel covers.
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