a_l_hubcaps
Recent finds
Here are my first finds of the season. Since pothole season hasn't really started yet, I've mostly been searching highway bridge embankments, so there are a lot of center caps. A rundown of some of the finds:
Second from the back, center position, is an old Ford Mustang and Fairmont from the early '80s. The steel clip band is totally rotted away, but the plastic appears all intact. I think I have at least one nasty one with a good steel band that I can combine with this one if it cleans up nice.
The wire Buick on the left is another one that's partially rotted away. That type doesn't have normal clips; it's held on entirely by the lock nut in the center. The inner steel backing where the lock goes is rotted away, but the rest of the cap is stainless and very nice, so I'll try to fix it. I tried to get a location pic of that one, but it didn't come out. It was very hidden and probably fell off when it was nearly new.
To the right of that are two Alcoa-branded center caps for semi trucks. I find a lot of semi-truck stuff, and I leave 98% of it, such as those chrome "baby moon" center caps, because they're basically worthless. But these are the genuine Alcoa caps that are pretty expensive to buy new, so I thought they might sell. Both are in good condition with a few scrapes from falling off.
The chrome wheel cover with 5 lugs is not a uni...it's a very rare 1999 Chrysler Cirrus LXi. I've only ever found one other. It was when those cars were new, and I still remember exactly where I found it. I saw this one from the car while driving on the highway, partially hidden by leaves on an upward embankment. I drove by it a couple times to make sure it wasn't a uni, because it was a tight spot to stop, but I was convinced it was one of these, and indeed it was. It's all complete and looks like it will clean up very nice.
To the left of the black Phoenix trailer center cap is probably the hottest find of this bunch for resale. It's a Ram 3500 dually rear cap with the rare Laramie Longhorn badge, and all good clips! I've never found one with that rare badge before, and I've also never found this style with all clips intact. Those sell for big bucks at the Chrysler dealer, and good used ones are hard to find.
The 5-slot Nissan Altima and the metal trim ring (a 14" Toyota Celica or pickup) were both almost completely buried. I was reluctant to dig out the Altima because I was sure it would be scrapped, but it turned out to be complete except for the ring, and a couple bent clips. I've mentioned before here that I used to find and sell tons of those back in the day, but that's the first usable one I've found in years.
Recent finds
Here are my first finds of the season. Since pothole season hasn't really started yet, I've mostly been searching highway bridge embankments, so there are a lot of center caps. A rundown of some of the finds:
Second from the back, center position, is an old Ford Mustang and Fairmont from the early '80s. The steel clip band is totally rotted away, but the plastic appears all intact. I think I have at least one nasty one with a good steel band that I can combine with this one if it cleans up nice.
The wire Buick on the left is another one that's partially rotted away. That type doesn't have normal clips; it's held on entirely by the lock nut in the center. The inner steel backing where the lock goes is rotted away, but the rest of the cap is stainless and very nice, so I'll try to fix it. I tried to get a location pic of that one, but it didn't come out. It was very hidden and probably fell off when it was nearly new.
To the right of that are two Alcoa-branded center caps for semi trucks. I find a lot of semi-truck stuff, and I leave 98% of it, such as those chrome "baby moon" center caps, because they're basically worthless. But these are the genuine Alcoa caps that are pretty expensive to buy new, so I thought they might sell. Both are in good condition with a few scrapes from falling off.
The chrome wheel cover with 5 lugs is not a uni...it's a very rare 1999 Chrysler Cirrus LXi. I've only ever found one other. It was when those cars were new, and I still remember exactly where I found it. I saw this one from the car while driving on the highway, partially hidden by leaves on an upward embankment. I drove by it a couple times to make sure it wasn't a uni, because it was a tight spot to stop, but I was convinced it was one of these, and indeed it was. It's all complete and looks like it will clean up very nice.
To the left of the black Phoenix trailer center cap is probably the hottest find of this bunch for resale. It's a Ram 3500 dually rear cap with the rare Laramie Longhorn badge, and all good clips! I've never found one with that rare badge before, and I've also never found this style with all clips intact. Those sell for big bucks at the Chrysler dealer, and good used ones are hard to find.
The 5-slot Nissan Altima and the metal trim ring (a 14" Toyota Celica or pickup) were both almost completely buried. I was reluctant to dig out the Altima because I was sure it would be scrapped, but it turned out to be complete except for the ring, and a couple bent clips. I've mentioned before here that I used to find and sell tons of those back in the day, but that's the first usable one I've found in years.