Every one I’ve seen has the thin board behind it and is crimped very lightly into place at the edges. If the new piece is cut and beveled properly, it should just pop back in, then the piece behind keeps it pushed toward the crimped edge to prevent rattling.

Those actually ARE the hubcaps. They are rattling around inside the wheel cover. Anyway, I can’t imagine why they would be loose unless they are the incorrect parts or have taken a “set” of a compressed size. Should be standard so try NAPA for replacements.

Is it possible that your car has the battery Optima tray? I’ve never seen one but know that they are quite different than the stock one.

There was a series of retro cars some years back that looked pretty much like it. Supposedly they were so proportioned that even their front fiberglass parts would fit an original car.

Is anyone still making the solid state conversions?

According to moparpro, they make only one tank for 1948-1950 but they made many listings for it on eBay. Some listings are for the years all together while others are for the individual years. None, however, have the long filler pipe.

It appears that you’ll have to remove the manifold anyway as it’s broken but typically you don’t need to when changing the exhaust. Of course, I am no expert on the V8 models so someone here may have additional details.

It should aim upward too, not too the side where it would heat unevenly.

My 1951 tank is also filled with holes but seems to have sealed well with a can of Hirsch’s Tank Sealer and I will be adding a couple more coats too. I was not too impressed with the Hirsch etching solution though so used something else.

I have a new relay made for the purpose at my shop. Years ago, though, I had a battery what was made specifically for the purpose and was basically two 6v batteries in one housing with the relay mounted to a pair of leads posts coming out the top. This relay on my site will do the same thing but will require two batteries.