Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

So what's the secret? I am having a time keeping the hubcaps on the rear end of my '49, 23 series. Have take a hammer and long bunch to bend the tabs back further on the wheel, the caps go on great. Here's what happened while taking her to the local Saturday car show at the Doughnut shop.

On a stretch of rough road and driving real slow, it bounced off, hit the fender well and got partial run over.

Attach file:

---

  (129.85 KB)

I don't know if this is any help since it's from the 1947 Service Counselor, but Vol 21 no. 10 Has an article about different size hub caps form 2111 and 2103.
Hope this helps.
Wes

Radial tires? Wheel balance? These are two other occasional causes.

There are 2 different hubcaps used for the 1948-50 models, depending on the wheel rim width.

The hubcaps for the 6" wide rims used for Super and Custom 8 models have an inner ring that is at the same level as the outer edge when a straightedge is placed across the back side. These hubcaps will fit on the narrower rim but there will be a gap between the outer edge and the wheel.

Hubcaps for the 5-1/2" wide rim used for Standard and Deluxe 8 models have an inner ring that is between 3/8" and 1/2" lower than the outer edge when a straightedge is placed across the back side. These hubcaps will go on the wider rim but the clips will not fully grip the inner ring with the result that the hubcap will come off easily.

Thanks for the information! I had no idea that there were different sizes of hubcaps. A little more investigation is needed on my part.

The tires are biased ply and appear to be properly balanced. I'll take it in to a tire shop I trust and have them checked.

Thanks again for your help!

B.

So for clarification, if you put a Custom 8 hubcap on a 5 1/2 inch rim the hubcap will stay on, but if you put a standard hubcap on a 6" rim it could fall off. Am I reading this right?

Quote:

That is correct.

Deskdriver,

I have had the same issue with my 23rd Series Super Deluxe 8. The issue that I had was occurring with both Bias 4 ply and Radial White wall tires. The issue that I found was the the trim rings that were on my car were not originals - they were too wide and matched the same diameter of the rim bead. What would occur was the when the tire would flex when hitting a bump, it would flex and hit the trim ring and pop it. Since ordering the correct trim rings from Max Merritt (WTR15-SS), I have had no further issues with the trim rings.

As for the hubcaps, I found that the clips on the rims would not hold the caps tight enough and could not be bent properly on the rim. To alleviate this issue, I drilled out the factory rivets and then bent the clips. Instead of "re-riveting" the clips, I (and against what many traditionalist Packard owners will yell at me over) bolted the clips back on the rim. This allowed for a tighter hold on the hub cap with the clips.

I have also realized that not all hub caps will fit all rims. Out of my four hub caps, only certain ones will fit certain rims. You may want to rotate your hub caps around your rims and see which ones fit the tightest on each rim. This has worked for me.

Good luck.

- Eric

I should have mentioned this before, but there is also an article in Service Counselor Vol. 22 No. 2 that shows a recommended method for re-shaping the retaining clips.

Vol 22 No 2

What a wealth of info you guys are! I will check all these things. The cap that is in the picture is the wrong size.
Thanks a lot for your help.

Barry