mx22

I was wondering if Porsche ever produced wheel centercaps with 74mm diameter?

As some of you may know, last year I bought Strosek wheels for my car, but they came with broken centercaps. I'm all but giving up to find a spare set of original centercaps... Wonder if by luck Porsche might have something in this size or, as a last chance, maybe there is a place that sells blank centercaps?

P.S. I would welcome any ideas on how to get these centercaps fixed...

Jerry Feather

Can you post a picture of the caps that you need to have fixed? Also, can you measure the exact diameter of the subject caps in inches? I have some Porsche center caps that measure 2.980 inches in diameter. 74mm is 2.91 inches, a little smaller, but not too much.

Jerry Feather

mx22

Here are the images I made last year.





Diameter is 2.9305in

Thanks!

Jerry Feather

Alexei, Assuming they cannot simply be replaced, as you suggest, if it were me I would take a set of alloy Porsche center caps and first turn them down to the correct diameter, in this case from about 2.980 to the 2.930 needed (not much) and then I would make an adapter for each of them that could be riveted to the smaller steel cup-like holder on the back of the Porsche caps that would then replicate the three or four prong fantening method of your caps. The adapters might even be made of some kind of aluminum tubing or pipe if it could be found in the near correct size. Whether or not you would then still need the out-pushing snap rings would remain to be seen.

If I were to try this I would need one of these caps and the snap ring and a good picture or two of the wheel center, and possibly some wheel center measurements. I already have a bunch of Porsche alloy center caps that I have been collecting for restoration.

Jerry Feather

WallyP

Neatly bonding them in place with clear silicone sealer would work.

mx22

Jerry,

How would you go about turning down the diameter? Also, do you have the link to the alloy center caps you are talking about?

Found these on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/D74-Universa...ht_2182wt_1333

Cheap plastic caps, but at that price I'm tempted to buy a set and see if I can make them fit...

Wally - which silicone should I use?

Thanks!

Alexei

WallyP

Any clear silicone adhesive/sealer. Clean both surfaces, use a minimal amount - you do want to be able to push them off if you need to balance the wheels, etc.

Jerry Feather

Alexei, To turn the hubcaps down to the slightly smaller diameter I would chuck them in my lathe holding them by the steel cup riveted to the inside of them and taking very light cuts turn off the necessary amount. Or, I would make a fixture for my rotary table in my mill and put them in it and clamp them down with one clamp and then mill the desired amount off by turning the rotary table in the mill.

There is no link to the alloy hubcaps I have accumulated. I buy them from time to time on eBay when I see them. Right now they are strewn around my place, mostly next to the utility sink where I have been stripping the old paint off them in anticipation of some various kinds of refinish, probably powder coating them once or twice or three times, once for the base coat silver, another for the black or other color to fill in the logo and finally a clear coat to seal it all together.

The link you have to the $7 set of caps, if they will fit, looks most interesting if you want to settle for plain caps, assuming they will fit, or worth the few dollars to simply try them.

Jerry Feather

davek9

Yep that will work and here is another method.

I have some hand painted plastic ones that never wanted to stay put and I did not want to loose them $$$!
So I clean the inside wheel center, insert the center cap and lay the wheel face down on a towel, then use Hot Glue on the inside tabs to build them up.
Never lost one yet and when needed the hot glue is easy to remove.

mx22

Silicone - is it the type I can purchase in local Home Depot or do they make one specific for cars?

Nice trick on with hot glue as well, might be worth buying it and covering remaining tabs with it just as an extra security.

One more question... I had body shop apply Strosek logos to original center caps. In my not so brilliant moment, I pried one of the logos off... Looks like they used some kind of black colored glue which now looks like a thin piece of hard plastic (ie can't bend it without breaking). Any idea what they might have used? I gotta put that logo back on center cap first.

davek9

they could have used two sided tape, but a strong 3m headliner or trim adhesive should work.

mx22

Davek - nope, it was definitely some kind of glue. Maybe some kind of hard black colored epoxy? I guess I can use silicone to put it back as well?

WallyP

They probably used an industrial epoxy - you can use any good two-part epoxy from Walmart, any good auto parts store, etc.

Slower-curing epoxies are usually stronger than the fast-cure versions. Use a good name-brand, high-strength two-part epoxy, following the directions exactly. You want this to be a permanent bond.

The silicone adhesive for the cap-to-wheel job can be any good name-brand clear silicone sealer/adhesive. The silicone adhesive will be softer, and will allow the caps to be removed without damage (if you use some care).

mx22

Wally - would this silicone adhesive work:

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=526764_0_0_

sorry for the dumb question

terry gt

Try ebay , lots of wheel cap there