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Wheel trims - The Good, The Bad and the downright Shocking


DoctorRetro

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5 hours ago, captain_70s said:

Pre 1976 Dolly hubcaps = good.

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Post 1976 Dolly hubcaps = bad.

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I also had the chrome embellisher rings, nicked from my 1300, non HL Dollys all came with generic dog dish hubcaps.

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Those plain chrome hubcaps fitted to non HL Dolly 1300 and 1500s, were first used on the Toledo, but my favourite use of them was on Met Police 2500s . Presumably the full stainless trims would fly off in chases and the 2500S alloys too extravagant.   
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In the spirit of this thread, I have now removed the trims from my Hyundai.

Bit of a bugger as you may notice the chrome wheel nuts. They hold the trims in place so it was out with the jack...

I'd like to source some centre caps for it if they exist, a bit like the ones that fit on an Escort Mark 3 L/Popular/base. 

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Quite like these on my base spec Fiat Doblo   

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Have to jack up the car and take the wheel off to remove them. Tjey are quite heavy things.

Unlike the MkI Mondeo GLS I had in the mid 90's. Right front wheel trim popped off and was last seen spinning along Thame High Street.

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2 hours ago, Jerzy Woking said:

Quite like these on my base spec Fiat Doblo   

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Have to jack up the car and take the wheel off to remove them. Tjey are quite heavy things.

Unlike the MkI Mondeo GLS I had in the mid 90's. Right front wheel trim popped off and was last seen spinning along Thame High Street.

Fiats always have 1 hole in the trimz which will go over the bolt head, so you can put the wheel on before the trim, or take it off without removing the wheel . Just make sure you line the valve up !

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On 6/25/2021 at 11:28 PM, AnthonyG said:

Triumph PI ‘fake rostyles’ also a favourite. Never really understood why Triumph didn’t just fit proper Rostyles as the PI was hardly a cheap model.
Maybe it was a Triumph vs Rover thing - Rover used the real thing on their P5. 

triumph_2_2.jpg

Because the Triumph only had a 4 stud hub and 4 stud rostyles don't look as good. I mean they're OK on a Chevette or Midget but not on a perceived quality car. So you put a fake 5 stud trim over the 4 stud wheel and bingo, you get that executive look for a fraction of the price. Marketing genius. 

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The Jaguar XJ40 Sovereign must be one of only a handful of cars which came with alloy wheels as standard which listed hubcaps as an extra cost option. These stainless steel hubcaps are rare and were £250 extra on the later Sovereign, more on the standard XJ6. I like them but my favourite hubcaps are probably those fitted to the Rolls-Royce Silver clouds and early Silver shadows.  ACE wheel discs are splendid things too, from an earlier era.

 

 

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Skoda Felicia. 

For the first year or so the came with these little black caps. A bit basic. 

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But then they got these which are far more stylish and compliment the steel wheel nicely. 

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At the same time you could have these full size plastic discs. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as the which cars got which. I've seen all trim levels with both types. Maybe you got to choose when buying new. 

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But I think the little silver caps are by far the best. I actually think they look better than many of the alloys that were available at extra cost. Wear your steelies with pride*.

 

 

 

*He says with his own Felicia sitting on Ronal R10's. I can see the hypocrisy before anybody says anything. 

 

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21 hours ago, captain_70s said:

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I remember my dad cursing those hubcaps while trying to hold them and the wheel in place while getting a nut started

20 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

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My MK1 Sierra ended up with some aftermarket trims that took their inspiration from those. I think at this point I had 13" on the front and 14" on the back...

 

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WTF are these?  Aftermarket??

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They were available for around a year on the first of the Mk3 Cortina 1600GTs,  late 1970 - to maybe early 72, on plain steel wheels, as an alternative to the Rostyles.  Trims discontinued in the UK when the 'dartboard' sports wheels became standard issue but possibly continued in other areas.  

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Now very rare in the UK.

Have never seen them in any pics of other period Escorts or Capris (Euro Taunus?)  but maybe they were available at that time.

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Basically any Volvo 480 with wheel trims looks abhorrent:

Volvo Enthusiasts Club

The Little Volvos | Ran When Parked

 

And I have a particular dislike for the dustbin lids they put on Sunbeam Rapiers, they need to be Rostyles on there:

1972 Sunbeam Rapier – Project Profile | Car & Classic Magazine

 

But some Wheeltrims I love are the ones they put on the Subaru XT:

1986 Subaru XT 4WD Turbo - original immaculate condition For Sale | Car and  Classic

How hard is it to lose wheeltrims? I would forever be driving paranoid, especially if it was something rare

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6 minutes ago, MisterH said:

How hard is it to lose wheeltrims? I would forever be driving paranoid, especially if it was something rare

Depends - some fall off with regular boredom, some, like the ones my Passat was equipped with, and the Sierra GLS ones I posted yesterday grip like limpets and are a fight to get on and off without breaking them.

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These stainless steel trims are also rare, supplied on the first of the Mk2 Granada 2.3L saloon and estates from around late 1977 - 79, as seen in the 1977 launch brochure (which I had once but can't find online).  Only used by Ford on the Granada 'L' models although limo and hearse builders used them too.

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