Cleaning S1 2000 Hubcaps/dress rims

PNP

Member
Keen to clean up my hub caps.

Are they stainless or anodised mild steel?

If stainless, are they able to be polished.
 

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They are stainless steel & respond well to T-Cut or similar for general cleaning up. Deep scratches or dents are almost impossible to repair properly, so replacements are a better bet & often come up on eBay etc.
 
Thanks Phil,

They are in very good condition. Just did not want to ruin then by polish off any anodising. Have seen it done before.
 
They are stainless steel & respond well to T-Cut or similar for general cleaning up. Deep scratches or dents are almost impossible to repair properly, so replacements are a better bet & often come up on eBay etc.

Those are very early ones - pre-66 - so don't come up that often. Hold onto them at all costs :)
 
That's interesting because my car is definitely a 68 model. I wonder if the exported cars got what ever was left in the warehouse. Thanks for the tip. I see them come up in ones and twos every now and again so I'll consider grabbing a few spares if I get the opportunity.
 
Those are very early ones - pre-66 - so don't come up that often. Hold onto them at all costs :)
I didn’t spot that. The triangular valve holes are the giveaway.

....in fact, if anyone has a spare they would sell me, I’d be grateful. I only have 3 original ones on my ‘64 2000.
 
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Mine, all be it a much later type, have a brushed stainless steel finish. They sort of remind me of ashtrays that used to be in pubs and McDonald’s. I’d be worried that if I polished them too much, I’d remove the brushed finish, but they seem to clean up well with Silvo.
 
I didn’t spot that. The triangular valve holes are the giveaway.

....in fact, if anyone has a spare they would sell me, I’d be grateful. I only have 3 original ones on my ‘64 2000.
I think that style was used st least until 1969, my 69 Rover 2000 had them. They have a tendency to fall off. I now use series 2 hub caps. I do have spare series 1 hub caps, but they are in Australia. I think you can find them more local to you!
 
I think that style was used st least until 1969, my 69 Rover 2000 had them. They have a tendency to fall off. I now use series 2 hub caps. I do have spare series 1 hub caps, but they are in Australia. I think you can find them more local to you!

Not quite. From 66 onwards, the holes were somewhat wider. Until you see them both side by side, you don't really notice the difference.
 
The triangle hole version is very rare, at least in North America. I've got dozens of hubcaps (have I mentioned I'm a packrat?) collected from the many, many cars I've parted out over the last 40 years and I think I may have one or two of them. By the way, the reason the caps come off the car easily, and walk around and cut the valve stem as well, is that they or the retaining clips are too stiff. Steel wheels bend a remarkable amount on the road (both out of round and laterally), and the retaining clips "walk" over the wheel's rim as a result. I once tried gluing a bit of rubber to the wheel, so the cap couldn't walk forward or back, but after a couple of weeks that cap flew off the car and was lost. Obviously a reach to link the two events, but it seemed plausible and as that was before I had dozens of them I stopped experimenting.

Yours
Vern
 
S2 hub caps are readily available here in Aust, I might clean up a set for everyday use and look after these ones. Thanks for the advice.
 

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Not quite. From 66 onwards, the holes were somewhat wider. Until you see them both side by side, you don't really notice the difference.
I see the difference. It might explain why in one of the early reviews of the car, it mentions the hubcap moving on the wheel, and starting to cut off the valve stem. Such a small hole would make it harder to fit the hubcap.

I just looked in my 1966 parts manual to see if they changed to a new part number. There was no asterisk next to the number, so the part number may have stayed the same. This might explain them appearing on a 68 model.
 
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