We’re back to test your hubcap knowledge and car-spotting savvy. In Pt. 1 I introduced you to my uncle’s hubcap collection which he inherited from his dad, who collected most of them as runaways yearning to be free when driving around as a mailman in Iowa from the 50’s through the 70’s.
They represent that Peak Hubcap Era well, reflecting what was commonly on the road in the Midwest at that time, so most are not exactly exotic and shouldn’t pose too much challenge for the CC readership to identify. He has close to 100. I’ve picked 63 which I split up into three parts over the three weeks. If you want to play, write the brand, model or models, and years for each picture you know. I have a number template at the bottom of the article if you want to use which you can cut and paste into the comments.
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Ironically, I’m a Buick guy and a few of the Buick caps were hardest to pinpoint.
1. 57 Plymouth Belvedere
2. 75 Monte Carlo
3. 73 Dodge Polara
4. 75 Plymouth Fury
5. 77-79 Chevret Caprice
6. 80-81 Buick Century
7. 63 Buick LeSabre (?)
8. 56 Buick Special (?)
9. 67-68 Buick Special/Skylark/GS
10. 66 Buick LeSabre
11. 69 Ford Galaxie 500
12. 70 Ford Galaxie/Custom 500
13. 71-73 Buick Electra
14. 73 Impala
15. 68-69 Mopar disc brake (Fury/Polara/Road Runner, etc.)
16. 69-70 Buick Electra
17. 67-68 Ford Galaxie
18. 68 AMC Ambassador (?)
19. 84 Ford Tempo (?)
20. 63 Impala
21. 79 Pontiac Catalina
Nice job, Rhett! I have not verified every hubcap on here, so I can’t say if you got 100%, but I’d say pretty darn close. This batch was very Buick heavy, never a bad thing!
I am not very good on nailing down the GM covers, so will only ID those I (think I) know:
1. 57 Plymouth
3. 72-73 big Dodge, possibly later years on pickups and vans
4. Plymouth Fury 74 through the end of the B and C body Fury/Grand Fury, and Plymouth Trail Duster and vans
11. 68 and 69 big Ford
12. 70 big Ford
15. 68 Chrysler with disc brakes
17. 67 big Ford
20. 63 Chevrolet
Those NO. 3 Dodge covers were notorious for flying off their wheels. My best friend’s dad bought a new 73 Dodge Royal Sportsman van and self-separarating wheel covers had him into a set of slotted aluminum rims after about 6 months.
I never really paid attention to wheel covers all that much. So if outside the Cougar and Mustang I’d score zero. However, #3 is an exception since I have a 73 Polara with a slight twist of the one pictured here since mine is a Spring Special. I will also concur with you that they pop off like a pop tart out of a toaster quite easily. So mine are stored and I use a 70 Polara cover that grips like no tomorrow. Almost forgot I can score well if any from a 67 Parklane and 72 Ambassador. The ones the Ambassador had were downright ugly.
I believe #16 is Monte Carlo as well as set #2.
The only ones I’m feeling confident in guessing are:
#1: ‘57 Plymouth
# 14: ‘73 Chevy Belair or Impala (base wheel covers).
This is just a guess, but No. 19 looks like the wheel cover from a Fox body Mustang of the early to mid eighties. Not a GT, more of an LX or lower.
And, although it looked familiar, and I couldn’t place it right away, the first two guesses above are right about No. 20 being a ‘63 Chevy Impala. I think I recall ‘64(s) sporting this wheel cover too.
No. 19 is from a Fox body 83-85 Ford LTD
I think I’ve seen #5 on 80s Caprices too, it might have spanned the entire 1977-1990 era
I’m sure I’ve seen them as late as 85. They did a very minor facelift for 86 and I’m pretty sure they revised the hubcaps a bit there. That one was probably not offered 86-90.
Dad wrote our name and address on the inside of the Fiat’s hubcaps in New Guinea. Not that it would have done much good when we took it to Europe in ’71.
Back to Aus, Dad updated the details for our rental house. Then a year later, for the new family home he designed.
It did work. Dad had the Fiat serviced, came back with 4 hubcabs. A week later a chap turned up at the front door and handed him one of the marked hubcaps.
It seems the mechanic had lost a hubcap during a road test, and replaced it with one from their stock