Sports wheel covers

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Vinnie

Project manager "Project AmsterFoose"
7173 Mustang Supporter Member
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Location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
My Car
1973 Mustang Grande 351C 2V, built on the very last production day (July 6, 1973) for Grande's.
Hey folks,

I just ran into 2 sets of sports wheel covers for sale. One set is 100% chrome and the other set has a black center and black around the holes. The seller claims they come from a 73. I didn't realize there were differences in sports wheel covers.

Anybody know what's normal? Which ones should be on my saddle bronze 73 Grande?

Cheers,

Vincent.

 
They were all the same with the exception of a darker raised center section in the 69 70 version versus the 71-73 section. I have seen several examples where people have polished the center sections after removing the paint.

 
Yeah that's what I thought. The dimensions look similar though, should they be the same?

They'd need a sandblast and re-chrome anyway I think so I could paint them the correct way myself maybe?

 
I just refinished a set for my 73. The black around the outside with Argent in the center is correct. When you refinish you need to take the cap apart. You can polish the stainless with buffing compound pretty nice. If there is scratches you can sand them down by hand using 600, 1,000, 1,200 grit them buff them. It is pretty much impossible to remove dents since the cap has two layers of material you cannot get inside. The center plastic emblem you can also polish. DO NOT pull the foam pad off the back of the plastic. It might pull the paint off with the foam.

There are actually couple different versions of the cap for 14" and 15" wheels I believe. There are also two different shapes of openings for the valve stem. One is football shaped and the other is oval shaped.

NPD sent me the incorrect spray for the dark area but I used anyway.

You should scuff the areas to be painted with 600 grit or Scotch Brite to make the paint stick. You need to mask off the shiny border around the openings front and back then spray the flat black around the outside of the center. After spraying black and dry then start masking the shape of the Argent are. Just follow the tangent of the radius around the center. Spray about 3 coats of the Argent and when dry remove all of your masking. Peel off slowly the paint does not like to stick to the Chrome on the center part of the cap.

It took me about 6 hours to mask and paint 4 of them after I had polished and prepped the center part of the cap. I also cleaned up the fasteners before assembly.

When you put them on use a big rubber hammer or dead blow with a towel taped to the face to prevent damage. Here are some pics of mine. The all black centers are 70 or from Mercury. You should have the Argent in the center, see brochure for 73.

I make my own narrow masking tape for doing the tight radius turns on both hub caps and on consoles and dash panels. You can get a plastic cutting board found in the sewing area of department store and I use a rotary scissor to cut with a straight edge. That was I can cut any width I want. I used 1/8" to do the layout of the edge and then came back with wider to cover the large areas. Last thing you do before spraying is go around and press tape down good. Some people will spray clear on first so if there is any bleeding you cannot see it. Not needed on the covers nobody going to get down on knees to view. If you are painting the black on a hood then doing the clear first makes a cleaner job.

I went through 11 caps before I found 4 decent ones. Several had the fake lugs broken off from tire guy thinking they were real. One had all five twisted, he was a real dummy for sure.

The trim ring part of the cap had a sanded finish after polish. You can do this while on the car spin the wheel and hold sand paper against the surface. Sand stops about 1/4", 6mm from edge.

Last three I got at a swap meet were $20.00 for all three.



























 
I would also get the second set if you can afford it. It will be good to have the trim ring portion and it will give you options in selecting the best center sections and best chrome around the 5 openings.

 
I would also get the second set if you can afford it.  It will be good to have the trim ring portion and it will give you options in selecting the best center sections and best chrome around the 5 openings.
I'm bringing the money for the second set and will decide once I see them. Made a downpayment for the black ones which are the nicest, I'm very excited about them. Even if they are not perfect I found a very decent optionally ordered part of my car which I'll use to give it the original look again :)

Still thinking if I should also try to locate an old hood. Only part I'm certainly not going to bring back to stock is the single exhaust, keeping the dual.

 
I went back to the stock single exhaust, but for concourse it was required.  I have had several judges comment that they do not see many 71-73 with single exhaust.  The other bonus is that I found an original D2 muffler on eBay years ago that is also installed.



[attachment=47765]

 
I scored! Got 8 sports wheel covers and can make one good set out of them!

81fed9d9f02ad7831cd772004014bbc7.jpg


 
Is there also a certain type of wheel they need to go on? Are there cheap new ones? I had a quick look and I got the feeling that the offer is rather limited to small wheel sizes...

 
They fit in the standard 14" Ford steel rim. Just like the one the trim rings and hub caps go on. The series of formed parts of the cap around the outside get pushed into the diameter of the rim. With the raw edge it digs into the wheel and holds them on. Lots of the sport wheel covers will have the simulated lug bolts twisted off or bent. That is because the tire changers thought they were real and put an air wrench on them.

When putting them on I use a dead blow soft face hammer with a towel taped to the face. When taking them off I use a wide plastic trim removal tool. I can get pic maybe later to share. As I am sure you have noticed no way to work out dents on the outer edges of the caps with the double layer.

The center part of the cap is a zinc die casting and would be very expensive to have plated again. For the very small amount of plating that is seen, lugs and around the openings. Just polish them up and paint them.

I think there were also sport wheel covers for 15" rims but will not swear to it.

 
They did make a 15'" version as well.  It was also a deep dish design. Have a set of those as well.





A close up of mine on the stock steel wheel.

[attachment=47782]

 
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