This week, I fancied tackling something a bit different so I thought I'd have a go at fixing the hub caps to my wheels.
I'm getting near to the point of getting a set of tyres for my wheels and thought it would be easier to fit the mounting studs for the hub caps before the tyres are fitted. It's much easier to put the bare wheels on the bench for drilling holes, etc without the bulk of the tyres.
I decided to use grease nipples for the mounting studs which is an idea I am copying from other builders.
I chose these 45 degree grease nipples to mount the hub caps to the wheel. I chose these as they have a good shape to match the edge profile of the hub caps and a deeper shoulder than the standard grease nipples.
Hub Cap fitting by
Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
It looked like the tips would unscrew but that turned out not to be the case. I initially tried hack sawing the tips off but this left a nasty scar across the body. I then found drilling them out left a nice clean finish which I filled with a blob of epoxy resin to stop any rusting.
I marked out the positions and then drilled and taped a m6 threaded hole. I did a dry run on a sheet of steel to get the positions right. After trial fitting the nipples, I screwed them in with Loctite threadlock and finished of with paint on the back to seal.
Hub Cap fitting by
Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
Here's the first one fitted. A nice tight fit and unlikely to fall off.
Hub Cap fitting by
Sabrebuilder, on Flickr
The hub caps are for a Singer Super 12. I need to make or find a suitable tool for removing the cap without scratching the wheel's paint finish.
Well that's one done and I now need to do the other 4 wheels......
Next week I've got some new gates to fit so next update in about 2 weeks, hopefully
....peter