Customs alternate hubcap for chrome smoothie wheels

I have a custom with chrome smoothie wheels on it. It currently has the moon hubcaps.

But it needs something more than the moon caps.

I kind of like the Shannon style, or the bullet style.

would anybody know of anything else that would look cool on an early 60's custom? I will need a source of these cool caps as well.

or maybe you can suggest a modification or addition to the moon cap?

thank you!

Bob

 

You didn't mention what the body style is but if it's a "boxy" car how about chrome lug nuts, push through center cap and some vintage tri-bar knock offs. Sourcing the knock offs would take some legwork but would be worth it to have something period correct and different.

 

Spiders.

 

Some factory ''poverty'' caps look really good on a chrome wheel. Seems there was a guy on here who had a set of '59 Chevy dog dish caps on an El from that era with that treatment.

 

X2....on a side note does anyone market 4 lug spiders?

 

The Smoothies I have will not accept regular caps of any kind. The '59 Chevy probably had chrome reverse wheels and not smoothies.

 

Maybe a small flipper, like a single bar on the moon?

 

Spiders are on the short list. But the Shannon caps seem to work better in my mind

 

Here's what you can use on your smoothies:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/bullets-and-baby-moons-i-think-not.937867/#post-10557117

 

I understand about wanting a change of pace now and then but your Merc is a killer @##$%^ car and just looks perfect like it is!!!!

 

How about making the baby moon body color

 

Maybe do the spiders and fog in some Maroon paint in the center behind the Spider cap. Nice ride.

 

thanks for the compliments

 

this one could use something a bit more flashy as well

 

Would stock 49 - 53 Chevy passenger small caps work? Or perhaps 57 Chevy pickup caps? The type that when used on original wheels, used the clips?

 

like these?

 

or these?

 

Only if the Merc has a Chevy engine.

 

Those are "smoothie" wheels. Probably no oem hubcaps will work - the hubcaps fit totally different, registering IN the wheel rather than around a lip.
I think both cars look fine as is. You can add a spinner to the hubcap but in my opinion they just look tacked on. Either enjoy them for what they are or put full wheel covers on them. Fiestas would suit both of those cars I think.

 

Bob, why don't you chuck the baby moons in a lathe, and drill a small hole in the center to bolt on some modest size chrome bullets?

 

these are supposed to be for smoothie wheels. What I call a Shannon cap, or bullet cap

 

Either one. As already mentioned, (by Atomickustom), caps on smoothie wheels fit IN the wheel center, rather than around a lip. 1949 - 1953 Chevy passenger car and 1957 - 1959 Chevy pickup caps also fit in the wheel. However, they use clips that are rivited to the stock wheels, (to retain the caps), rather than the bumps that are used in the smoothie wheels.

I do not know if the stock caps will directly fit smoothie wheels, without modifying the caps. It would probably depend on the diameter and design of the inside retaining ring of the stock cap. I've considered doing this with the smoothies that are on my 55 Cameo. However, I haven't tried it, yet.

 

I was online and found these caps. Supposedly, they are designed to fit on smoothie wheels. I will research this and let you know.

 

I like that look a lot Bob..

 

Spyders would be the bomb on that one. They also make a moon that we used to call a pan cake, it would fit the same but with almost no crown.

My go to option was always no caps and chrome acorn nuts. If I was feeling froggy I would paint the center body color. I mad an amazing discovery once (drug induced) if you rough the chrome up so that it will stick candy paint over chrome looks really cool.

 

I've been searching through old threads about hubcaps for smoothie wheels. The wheels I currently have on my A measure about 7 5/8" where the nubs are in the recessed center of the wheel, but when I've found hubcaps for smoothie wheels they usually are listed at 7 1/2". Just a difference in the way it's measured, I suppose.

Anyway....everywhere I've looked it seems the only "small" hubcap that is available for the smoothie wheels is a baby moon. To each their own but I don't like baby moons. If the wheels weren't dual bolt pattern I'd go with chrome acorn nuts and possibly trim rings and call it a day, but the extra 5 holes just ruin the look.

Someone on another thread posted some "fake" lug nuts to go in the extra holes but the 10 bolt look just doesn't look right to me either. The suggestion was also thrown out to use the small metal snap in hole plugs and I might buy 5 just to see what they'd do to the look. I'd rather not buy a different set of wheels, although if there are no other hubcap options or other ideas on how to hide the extra holes and the coining around them I may have to bite the bullet and buy other wheels. If I do, I might look into something like a Torque-Thrust 5-spoke. I never thought hubcaps would be such a problem on the smoothies or I would have bought OEM type steel wheels the first time. Live-And-Learn.

Lynn