Technical 56 Lincoln premier hubcaps

I bought a set of these to fit on my 51 Mercury and was hoping they would tap into place.I think the stock merc wheels don't have enought inset and they're making contact on the rim before the tabs can take hold
does anyone have a solution.I have thought of tacking some 15" beauty rings to the back of them and using them to hold them on

 

I've had them on my '50 Merc and I was running 15x6 wheels. You have to use a rubber hammer and hammer the hell out of them to get them to fit. It just takes patience..

 

On one of the 56 Lincolns I had, the left front wheel would not keep a hubcap on worth a sh*t.
And, (as straykat mentions) used a big rubber mallet to try to get it seated, but it just squirmed around and never did seat properly.
Tried duct tape on the inside of the wheel rim....lasted a while but on my way to a carshow on the north side of town on a busy street, it came off and I immediately pull off to a side street. Jumped out of the Lincoln and trotted back just in time to see a service truck of some kind run over it; and as my son would say; "smooshed it".
Found a replacement for not too much money on eBay.
But started to wonder why just that wheel.
I swapped out the spare tire/wheel and never had any more trouble. Must've been a slightly different wheel profile.

As the OP said, the Merc wheels may not have quite enough inset at the rim, or what's there is at some angle causing it to tend to slide out....like my Lincoln's wheel.

 

i think i'm going to tack the 15"ford beauty rings on and take that option.Bit of a shame they dont go all the way to the edge of the rim but nice looking hubcaps

 

really nice.....sometimes wish I hadn't sold the '56.

 

I think everyone must have pushed in the center to install those. Mine show that the center rubs on the nubs of the wheel. I thought about trying to press the centers back out.

 

Reverse your wheels ... then they'll fit right.

 

FYI, the more expensive hubcaps from the 50's were chrome plated. Muriatic acid takes off the chrome and leaves a nice stainless surface to polish. Too bad your rims and caps don't jive. I've gone thru the same issue with my 64 Ford wagon trying to match 15" caps from other years.