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

[Six-cylinder]

I think these were the worst standard wheels trims on any of my cars. New when my dad got it and after only 52,000 three had fallen off. I changed them for 16v alloys I hated then so much.

Come on Citroen what were you thinking this is the sporty GTi model.

[JeeExEll]

Early 70s Hillman Avenger 1500GT.  These trims look a bit Toyota / Datsun.

US MOPAR styling, the 'slots' look open but they're just painted black.

Should they have little round centre-caps?  Would guess so but don't know.

[davocano]

I always liked the polished ally effect trims on Series II Carltons

Not sure about this one tho (attached to a 1.8 L)

Definitely like the Omega trim

[Lord Sterling]

Never been much of a wheel trim man myself, although I do like original wheel trims on a car. Aftermarket wheel trins can get tae fek.

When I had my Zafira, I went out the way to buy the exact same wheel trim as the rest of the originals on the car:

Many years ago, the wheel trim on Ma_Sterling's Blue Micra flew off never to be seen again. I actually went to the Nissan Dealer in Birmingham to buy an original after scouring the roadsides and finding nothing. The scrapyards then weren't quite as full of later facelift K11s as there would be today.

The replacement roffle Micra came with these desperate things:

And I must admit, the colour looked great, not too out there but still fairly original looking. It's a shame they didn't have lacquer to keep the paint on. I recently replaced them with similar original items with thier original paint:

My Rover 820e has some pretty rare wheel trims:

I also have a similar set I planned to fit if/when I am able to put it back on the road.

[JeeExEll]

Mini, Princess, P6, maybe more. 

Were they a BL option on Allegro, Maxi, Marina??  Vaguely remember Dunlop Denovos on some police-issue Triumph 2000/2500s but could be wrong.

[MarvinsMom]

52 minutes ago, MisterH said:

How hard is it to lose wheeltrims? 

surprising easy! even now with the Mini 1000's shiny hubcaps cable tied onto the wheels i live in fear of hearing the "clang -clangclangclang......" of one of them falling off and ending up in the side of the road.

last time was on the A169 near the Whole Hogg farm shop, and it took us a good 20 minutes to find the flippin' thing, even though i stopped almost straight away, AND cos i had leggings and trainers on my ankles got nettled to death, with the bloody thing landing in the middle  of a thick patch of nettles.

the one exception to this is the odd occasion when i do want the hubcaps off.

then of course they may as well be welded on!!!!

[sierraman]

I’m afraid for me these were the best wheeltrims bar none. A real bastard to keep clean but they looked fantastic.

I remember buying a Mk2 with a set of really shit trims, they were that bad that I chucked them in the bin on the way home from buying it, whacked a set of these on and it transformed the car.

 

[sierraman]

I don’t know why but my dad always used to take the factory trims off and fit the cheapest wankest looking hubcaps he could find. He once picked a set up in a French hyper market and they were something like a fiver for the set, they looked fucking terrible but he HAD TO HAVE THEM. Took the factory trims off the Astra he had and then went and put a coat of that shit that made the grey bumpers go jet black like they’d never been on any Vauxhall ever. Then he garnished the doors with those big clunky ‘door protectors’. I think it’s a miracle I made 34 without dying of embarrassment as a child. 

[High Jetter]

Surely, that way you have perfect factory trims to put back on the car at sale time, ensuring maximum* revenue?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

46 minutes ago, JeeExEll said:

Mini, Princess, P6, maybe more. 

Were they a BL option on Allegro, Maxi, Marina??  Vaguely remember Dunlop Denovos on some police-issue Triumph 2000/2500s but could be wrong.

As you suspect, they were only available on Mini 1275 GT, Rover P6 ( possibly only 3500 and 3500S) the Princess , or more correctly the Leyland 18-22 Series and the SD1. No other BL cars had them as an  option. Even the ESV series of safety cars only featured them on the Mini, the Marina had Avon Safety Wheels.

The only other company to market them in the U.K., was, I think, Fiat. I knew they were available on 126s, but have only just discovered you could get them in 131s too. I’ve never seen such a thing.

 

[dozeydustman]

This is on eBay as a genuine part, but I can’t helo thinking it’s a poundland special with a badge over the middle.

[Rod/b]

I still cant decide whether the Datsun 120Y trims are cool or dreadful. 
 

 

[Jamie]

WHY OH WHY TESLA (yes i know its for aerodynamics) But those alloys look so much better!

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, Rod/b said:

I still cant decide whether the Datsun 120Y trims are cool or dreadful. 
 

 

They'd make good jelly moulds

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, dozeydustman said:

This is on eBay as a genuine part, but I can’t helo thinking it’s a poundland special with a badge over the middle.

That was a thing back in the day, some little Ford/Vauxhall/Whatever badges in the centres of some generic trims. Nobody was fooled though. 

I think all this sparked from when hubcap theft was actually a big problem in the early 90’s. There was a shop in St Austell market that just sold sets of holidaymakers  used wheel trims. One did have to wonder where they all came from. 

[davocano]

A selection of Astra trims:

Hmmm. Grabby.

I can go for that.

No can do.

Three-spoke alloys were mostly awful so why homage them? GM had bought half of Saab by then tho.

Don't pinch that valve

Oooh.

 

 

 

[dozeydustman]

I was never a particular fan of these.

as fitted to:

 

And despite the Wedge being an executive car, the black halo hubcaps as fitted to poverty spec Princesses (and the earlier 18-22) always looked really out of place and I don’t think suited the car on their own.

The embellisher fitted to HL models made them look more complete and much smarter.

 

[willswitchengage]

22 hours ago, davocano said:

mm. Grabby.

Is it just me or have these proliferated as an aftermarket trim too without the Vauxhall badge? Look smart for a moduhn.

[Timewaster]

I don't know if they are still going, but there was an importer doing knockoffs of at least 3 of those Astra trims, including the hideous 3 spokes.

We sold hundreds of them.

[davocano]

26 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

I don't know if they are still going, but there was an importer doing knockoffs of at least 3 of those Astra trims, including the hideous 3 spokes.

[davocano]

On 6/27/2021 at 12:06 PM, willswitchengage said:

We haven't had the BX 'Z' wheeltrims yet, photographed on something not a BX:

[davocano]

Did we have this one yet?

 

[Isopon]

I've always been a fan of simple caps over steel wheels:

But I also like some of Renault's efforts in the 90's

[AndyW201]

This Fiesta is identical to the 1.4S I had back in 1993. Always loved the wheel trims on these, especially on a white one.

[Dick Longbridge]

On 6/29/2021 at 7:59 AM, sierraman said:

That was a thing back in the day, some little Ford/Vauxhall/Whatever badges in the centres of some generic trims. Nobody was fooled though. 

I think all this sparked from when hubcap theft was actually a big problem in the early 90’s. There was a shop in St Austell market that just sold sets of holidaymakers  used wheel trims. One did have to wonder where they all came from. 

St Austell Market? Are you Cornwall based?

[AnthonyG]

On 6/28/2021 at 11:51 PM, Rod/b said:

I still cant decide whether the Datsun 120Y trims are cool or dreadful. 

So bad they are good I reckon, I love them now but thought they were tragic in 1985!

[AnthonyG]

On 6/28/2021 at 6:30 PM, JeeExEll said:

Early 70s Hillman Avenger 1500GT.  

US MOPAR styling, the 'slots' look open but they're just painted black.

Whoever did them moonlighted on the Cortina GT trims you mentioned on the previous page, or maybe both designers were told to come up with something a bit like Triumph’s fake Rostyles, but that whatever they do it must be much, much, cheaper to make. And doesn’t it show?  

[NorfolkNWeigh]

9 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Whoever did them moonlighted on the Cortina GT trims you mentioned on the previous page, or maybe both designers were told to come up with something a bit like Triumph’s fake Rostyles, but that whatever they do it must be much, much, cheaper to make. And doesn’t it show?  

I think both Ford and  Chrysler had quite a back catalogue from their Transatlantic parents to choose from and if you look at any 60’s prototype pics from them and Vauxhall , they’ve all got American looking full wheel trims. 

Apart from the Corsair/Zodiac trims previously posted ( available in 13” &14”) 

I can only think of 3 other full wheel covers, before the Granada came along

These 2 alternatives in 13” on the Corsair 2000e.

Both pretty rare and these are the only pics I could find.

In Europe Escort XL and possibly GT often came with these in 12”

Can anyone think of any others ?

[chancer]

5 pages in and i dint think these have been mentioned yet.....

[JeeExEll]

SM.