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My 55 F100 has 3 of the hub caps on the right and 1 of the other. I'm guessing the one on the right is correct for the truck, but what about the other one?
Believe it or not, neither are correct for a 55. The one on the left is close, however. Hub caps from 52-56 and maybe beyond were not stainless steel. They were steel painted argent silver. From 53-56 they had red FORD letters.
Here's a good used one I have hanging on my garage wall.
The two I got was from a neighbor when they were moving a shed, they were laying in the tall grass behind it and figured I'd be interested in them seeing I had the 56's
Thanks for the replies. I'm a little disappointed to find out they aren't correct for those model years, I'm not going to use them and I thought I might be able to find someone who could. Oh well, maybe I'll turn a couple of them into wall art like abe did.
In that condition, wall art is about all they're good for. Those appear to be for a 41 Ford. There's several of them on ebay that no one is biting on. Dennis Carpenter has a good selection of repro caps, most of which are reasonably priced.
Hub caps from 52-56 and maybe beyond were not stainless steel. They were steel painted argent silver. From 53-56 they had red FORD letters.
That is correct. It seems 90% of restored pickups end up with incorrect stainless car hubcaps. Question Abe, were these original issue ( not the latter parts dept. which look dull and flat ) clear coated?
That is correct. It seems 90% of restored pickups end up with incorrect stainless car hubcaps. Question Abe, were these original issue ( not the latter parts dept. which look dull and flat ) clear coated?
The 48-51 (or did 51 trucks have painted hubcaps too?) trucks had the stainless caps. The Korean War effort put a limit on stainless for domestic use.
The one on my wall I think is original. The reason it looks so good is that the inner rim is bent and probably would not stay on the rim. So it was replaced... or someone found it along the road and picked it up.
Here is a Ford Factory pic showing the hubcaps on a 56 F100 Longbed.
I like this truck of an early Ford Factory picture... It has stainless hubcaps and a bumper that was not put into production for 53-56.
I have one like Abe's in a drawer I picked up somewhere that was all dented, did some hammer and dolly work, bead blasted it and some day it will get repainted and made into a wall clock. I know there not original but neither is my truck but I bought a set like the Op's one on the right, I really like the Ford script logo.
Here is a closeup of one of the hubcaps on my 54. I had them blasted. then my body guy pounded out dents and dings. Then I primered them and painted them Argent with Dupli-Color rattle can spray paint. They look good but not as nice as the one on my wall. It has shine to it.
Would clear coat make mine look like that or is it because at the factory they were painted with a spray gun and not a rattle can?
Spraying them with a gloss clear would definitely shine them up. The factory apparently used a gloss argent instead of a flat or matte argent that comes in the spray can. Clear coat wasn't "a thing" in the 50's.
According to some experts I've spoken with 1952 trucks were supposed to have argent painted hubcaps. But every illustration and photo like the ones seen below clearly show a stainless or polished bare metal cap. I think they fit the truck well with all its curves. The painted argent ones somehow look good on the later 52-56 body styles, like more practical looking.
According to some experts I've spoken with 1952 trucks were supposed to have argent painted hubcaps. But every illustration and photo like the ones seen below clearly show a stainless or polished bare metal cap. I think they fit the truck well with all its curves. The painted argent ones somehow look good on the later 52-56 body styles, like more practical looking.
Interesting in those pics that the lettering on the caps and trim is body color. I have a set of NOS hubcaps still in the original boxes with black letters. But there is no distinction in part numbers that I can tell for each color. Anyone have any insight into the lettering color?
