67 Hubcaps

[gt350cs]

Bob,

Would you happen to know if the Shelby hub caps were Thunderbird caps with the inserts installed over the Thunderbird emblem? If they began life as Thunderbird completed units, were the Thunderbird inserts removed or were the Shelby emblems installed directly over the existing?

Thanks in advance.

Dennis

[Bossbill]

I believe it is Jim Cowles from "Shelby Parts & Restorations" who offered the lug nuts for the hubcaps.

Contacted, Paypaled with the lugs in the mail.

Thanks to you and Jim!

[Bossbill]

JD's reply #3 has a picture of the hubcap disassembled. It shows the blue T-bird emblem.

While at our assembly of "Largest assembly of Mustangs in the World" at Bellevue's Roundup an original, unrestored (one repaint early in its life) and often driven GT350 hubcap car showed up. It has its original caps (according to the owner) and has lost 2 of the Shelby cap emblems over the years due to the glue failing. I took a picture of the blue cap. The other 2 caps were correct, if faded, with the outline showing.



Hope to see what Bob thinks!

[Bob Gaines]

JD's reply #3 has a picture of the hubcap disassembled. It shows the blue T-bird emblem.

While at our assembly of "Largest assembly of Mustangs in the World" at Bellevue's Roundup an original, unrestored (one repaint early in its life) and often driven GT350 hubcap car showed up. It has its original caps (according to the owner) and has lost 2 of the Shelby cap emblems over the years due to the glue failing. I took a picture of the blue cap. The other 2 caps were correct, if faded, with the outline showing.



Hope to see what Bob thinks!

Sorry . I don't buy it . I am skeptical of the glue failing story. Call me a cynic but I have heard too many stories(literally hundreds over the years ) to justify a non original as original in my life. The easiest explanation is typically the most plausible - they got replaced . That is what I think since you asked .  Regardless it doesn't really matter if the owner is spinning a glue failing story to justify a non original part or not because it still is just as much a problem if original or if a replacement from a T bird because it is missing the emblem. FYI T bird hubcaps are great donors. That is what the picture JD showed . It was my picture that I posted in a for sale ad showing what you could use off of a T bird hubcap to help make a Shelby hubcap better. I had a excellent T bird hubcap I was selling. The outside plate is the most often damaged part because of curb rash on the Shelby hubcaps.   

[Bossbill]

I'll trust you, Bob.

But it still begs the question.
How is the emblem center of the Shelby hubcap constructed? What's under the Shelby Cobra foil emblem?

[alexgt350h]

The Shelby foil emblem was glued to the blue t-bird emblem. But, the foil emblem(like the t-bird plastic emblem) is larger than the opening, so it makes it hard for it to fall out.
The plastic center is held firmly in place by metal tabs on the back side. I have had Shelby foil emblems that had no glue remaining (dried out) but still held in place by the metal tabs. The are actually wedged between the hubcap housing and the plastic emblems with the metal tabs.
Brent

[Bossbill]

I realize some of you may have tired of this discussion, but I was not party to the initial thread in V1.0 and some of the pics posted in this thread were from that version in different posts without all of the background info from those posts.

Brent has raised an interesting point about emblem size and how it was installed.
If one were to stick an adhesive foil on an existing T-bird emblem from the outside of the cap it could be no larger than 1.70 inches -- the inside diameter of the 5 spoke's emblem area. That is the maximum size, so any emblem would have to have a slightly smaller diameter for production variances in spoke and emblem.

I took the pic that JD posted of the emblems:


and edited it show just the first emblem. This appears to be of an emblem put on after the fact. If the emblem were installed as Brent says, there would be no dark background around the edge of the emblem. The off center nature also suggests this.

Any emblem put on top of the T-Bird emblem and installed from the rear of the 5 spoke could be up to 1.865" (the OD of the T-bird emblem) and then it would be held captive in the cavity.

At least that's how I see it from the information you guys have given me.

[JD]

just so some don't mis-understand I believe these emblems are aluminum but not "foil" thin - they are heavy enough gauge to be rigid. 

The only emblems that I'm aware of that were foil were the steering wheel horn button emblems

[Bob Gaines]

just so some don't mis-understand I believe these emblems are aluminum but not "foil" thin - they are heavy enough gauge to be rigid. 

The only emblems that I'm aware of that were foil were the steering wheel horn button emblems

+1