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01-07-2021, 10:01 AM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,304
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AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
My newly acquired AA truck although mid 29 came with wire wheels but of course no hub caps . I know these are very hard to find. About thirty years ago I sold 5 NOS hub caps to a person in Finland these were still in their "Ford of England" packaging and were stainless steel my 31 English AA has stainless hub caps also . Anyway I could see that the front wheel bearings really do need some kind of weather protection what to do what to do . I thought of cutting down a yoghurt pot or similar and fudging it into the hub .Suddenly a flash of inspiration hit me how about a regular 21" hub cap I knew the hub cap hole was bigger by a little in the AA wire wheel hub and maybe a little tweeking could make it work . The repro stainless hub cap is ideal for this as the tangs are slightly longer and bend easily without fracture . I flatten the tangs with a visegrip and then bend them vertical with a cable stripper this works a treat as the tang root tears a little which gives more length . I enter the cap in the wheel and lay the wheel face down (on the kitchen carpet) and with a drift flatten the tangs in a inwards/outwards direction . Do a trial fit before final setting as if you are off centre you wont be able to move it laterally afterwards .I have seen many wire wheel AA truck pics on the internet and many have no hubcaps and none with my patent fix . I think it looks cool and of course they have the "Ford " script . Hopefully my son will post pics for me .
John in very cold Suffolk County England . |
01-07-2021, 10:14 AM | #2 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,304
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
Thinking about it I cannot be the only one to think of this over the last 90 years or so but I have never seen this pictured . I have wondered why the originals go missing maybe they get damaged during a tyre change if the mechanic cant be bothered to remove them .
John in same place same weather |
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01-07-2021, 10:29 AM | #3 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Tennessee
Posts: 11,533
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
John, I purchased the factory print with the thought of making a small reproduction run of these. I later found a mint set of original hubcaps for $1k and decided that would be cheaper for me on the short term to go this way instead of making some.
Personally, if I were in your shoes, had a lathe, and didn't really care about authenticity, ...I would make a small form out of MDF and do some metal spinning using either brass or stainless to make a close facsimile. |
01-07-2021, 11:27 AM | #5 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 6,344
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
Great idea! Looks a lot better then an empty hole.
While the early AA wire wheel caps are rare, try finding the caps for the Lincoln style wire wheels used on the ambulances (for example) that were built later on the truck chassis.
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I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! |
01-07-2021, 03:12 PM | #6 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: La Mesa Ca
Posts: 1,168
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
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01-07-2021, 04:27 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 125
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
I think I have a set of AA hubcaps.How do I post pics on here?
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01-07-2021, 07:36 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 430
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
Get John’s son yo do it for you!
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01-08-2021, 07:22 AM | #9 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Phoenix AZ/Bath UK
Posts: 481
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Re: AA Truck wire wheel hubcaps
Sure why not
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