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History Opinions: Poverty Caps

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by jazzfidelity, Apr 25, 2012.

  1. I've always liked them myself,,the original '54 Ford caps were a little big for my taste so I opted for the old tried & true '48 Ford "Poverty Caps".

    [​IMG]

    I think sleeper or hot rod comes to mind instead of shame. HRP
     
  2. atomickustom
    Joined: Aug 30, 2005
    Posts: 3,409

    atomickustom
    Member

    I am sure there are regional differences, and possibly other social/cultural factors as well. All I know is, when I lived in Northeast Ohio there were a lot of older guys (in their 50s-60s back in the 1980s, so they were young in the 1940s and 1950s) who talked about "baby moons" as if they were a gift from God. As in "you gotta get some wide whites and baby moons on that car!" They were usually the kind of rednecky guys who still slicked back their hair and loved Elvis. They also favored blue dots in their taillights.

    However, they were talking about nice, smooth chrome aftermarket "baldy" baby moon hubcaps, NOT factory dog dish caps!
     
  3. i love poverty caps gives the car the "all business" attitude
     
  4. I just put a new set of wheels on the '40 stake truck. Because the truck is mostly stock, I wanted to run the original caps on steelies. Bought some 15x6 fronts and 16x7 Wheel Vintiques "bare" gennies. After shipping, sandblasting and powder coating, came in around $750. Caps and trim rings, if putting new ones on there, would throw another $250 or so, puts ya at a grand. I think I gave about $700 for the set of American TTO's on my coupe.
     
  5. 59f100
    Joined: Jan 1, 2009
    Posts: 79

    59f100
    Member
    from USA

    My stock steel wheels came with the car. Way less than $750...but we digress :rolleyes:
     
  6. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    For me its poverty caps or 5 spokes,my 55 sunliner is going back to poverty caps when I find a set of rims.
     
  7. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,709

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    Growing up in the 70's, it was Cragar SS, Ansen style slots, or the Torque Thrust style "smoke" mags that were in style around here. Hubcaps were for the old mans car, and dog dishes were for fleet or police cars.
     
  8. titus
    Joined: Dec 6, 2003
    Posts: 5,145

    titus
    Member

    I think the term poverty caps is just a newer nickname for, it was just a cheap car from the factory. at least thats my opinion.

    jeff
     
    verde742 likes this.
  9. brandon
    Joined: Jul 19, 2002
    Posts: 6,368

    brandon
    Member

    I'm rockin a set of dog dish on my daily driver 84 c-10....and everybody thinks its gotta be some high hp bad ass.....lol. nope, just a old 305 ....love dog dish caps
     
  10. badlefihand
    Joined: Apr 20, 2007
    Posts: 318

    badlefihand
    Member

    We run baby moons in late 50s early 60s.Was nothing to do with cheap ,was a choice we made.
     
  11. Grumpy
    Joined: Jan 28, 2003
    Posts: 2,569

    Grumpy
    Member
    from NE Ohio

    I guess you can say Im gay for poverty caps..:cool:

    Even my DD truck got them..:eek:

    :D
     

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  12. 59f100
    Joined: Jan 1, 2009
    Posts: 79

    59f100
    Member
    from USA

    Yes, you are soooooo gay....in a happy way. I dont know how you can be "Grumpy" though with all those damn cool vehicles ...nice fleet
     
  13. Lone Star Mopar
    Joined: Nov 2, 2005
    Posts: 3,811

    Lone Star Mopar
    Member

    Who gives a fuck what some guy said. Guys ran em back then, guys run em now. Some people just think the way it was in thier little section of the planet is fact wordlwide. Newsflash... it aint.
     
  14. Grumpy
    Joined: Jan 28, 2003
    Posts: 2,569

    Grumpy
    Member
    from NE Ohio

    I dont own them all now. Just junk Ive had over the years. And I lost pics of a few that also had p caps.
    Thanks tho.
     
  15. jazzfidelity
    Joined: Sep 19, 2011
    Posts: 371

    jazzfidelity
    Member

    Imho, they look really cool when the wheel is detailed to match the car color as well..
     
  16. bobwop
    Joined: Jan 13, 2008
    Posts: 6,115

    bobwop
    Member
    from Arley, AL

    it goes to the same vein as why Fords and Chevys are more popular, and often more valuable, than Oldsmobiles and Mercurys.

    It is what most of the folks had and it is what we grew up with.

    only difference now, we are all snobs about having a two door. I bet most of us rode around in a four door as kids.
     
  17. It's all good. I was just making the statement that due to the big picture, such as wanting to run radials, the fact that the stock 1940 wheels were only 4" wide, etc, caused the need for a wider wheel, both front and back. My choice to keep the "low buck" look was actually more expensive than getting a set of TTO's.
     
  18. 6t5frlane
    Joined: Dec 8, 2004
    Posts: 2,399

    6t5frlane
    Member
    from New York

    Not many people I remember used them. They are called " Poverty Caps " for a reason
     
  19. They look silly on a luxury car. Like tennis shoes with a tux. It's a muscle car thing, I guess.
     
  20. Was there no such thing as "sleepers" back in the day? I've heard plenty of old timers talk about the tricks they did to fool people into thinking their ride was stock.
     
  21. There were sleepers back when. A '62 Bel Air with a lumpy idle and cheapie caps was no sleeper.
     
  22. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    I drove moms 51 Chevy 4dr until I saved up enough to buy my own ride when I had no other option but a 4 dr for me would not do. I wanted a 58 Bel Air HT but settled for a 58 Plymouth Savoy HT. A 58 Bel Air 4dr would not get my money.

    We all wanted the bargain basement 2 drs with rubber mats to get the lightest car in the line which usually came with the poverty caps but some kind of hotrod wheel combination would be mounted ASAP but we all remember the look of the cheap light cars with the PCs. When the muscle cars started showing up with them in the 70s, they hit a great memory and the rest is history.
     
  23. It's funny you mention that, I was this close to selling my 55 for a 62 Biscayne, gold on gold, 4 speed, 409, 4.11 posi this time last year. Not original or numbers matching, but hot damn. Po' boys and all. Sitting there, it looked innocent enough, unless you knew better. I think that was the point, fool the people who didn't know better.
     
  24. Falcon bottle caps
     

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  25. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    I wish I could go back 40 years to when the caps were called "Dog Dish Hubcaps" instead of today's dumb term "Poverty Caps!"
     
  26. Judd
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 1,894

    Judd
    Member

    I like the dog dish caps. I replaced the full covers on my Buick with 39 caps and trim rings and I'm glad the original dog dish caps where still on my 406 Galaxie.
     

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  27. 50Fraud
    Joined: May 6, 2001
    Posts: 10,101

    50Fraud
    Member

    My '60 Catalina circa 1993:

    [​IMG]
     
  28. Yep, hit the nail on the head. Seems that everyone thinks SOCAL and magazine cars were the norm. Might of been what we wanted, but not what we had.

    PS: Never heard the term proverty caps till just lately and not many car guys I know use the term. Maybe I'm just to old:eek:
     
  29. damagedduck
    Joined: Jun 16, 2011
    Posts: 2,341

    damagedduck
    Member
    from Greeley Co


    {poverty caps} first time i heard that was back in the early/mid 90's,when i ran a set of caps on 1 my 55 Pontiac wagons-geeza i caught so much sh*t from the old dudes about not running a 'mag' style wheel! i always like the "NOT" rod look,made em wonder what i was running-but i'm the same guy who painted my engines to look stock W/quite exhaust too.:D
    P/S wtf is HCC?:confused:
     
  30. The Continental
    Joined: Aug 23, 2011
    Posts: 363

    The Continental
    Member
    from Texas

    I've noticed the same thing, a lot of times 4 doors were more expensive and luxurious too. I like a lot of the luxury brands, so perhaps that's why I'm more apt to appreciate a 4 door.

    I like color matched wheels too and those go well with some dog dish caps.
     

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