Wide 5 wheel hub clip problem

[orr_niall]

I have spent the last week renovating my wheels, rust removed primed, painted and clear coated. I drilled out the old clips in prep for fitting new as have new hubs to fit.
However, few drill issues when removing the old rivets, used 4.5mm it broke, 5mm didn’t last too long either so I stupidly used a 6mm. Now the holes are too large for the 5mm rivets JK give to fit the new clips. Does anyone have any advice? I suppose having the clips welded on is an idea but looking to see if there is any DIY fix before I go and pay a welder a few £ to fix my error


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gas1man]

Sounds really crazy , but if you find a nut small enough to fit on the stud, you might be able to thread them.
Place a washer on, it might work.
Hey you never know. :lol: :lol:

J & P

 

[K@rlos]

Drill the holes out on the new clips and use bigger rivets.

 

[orr_niall]

Got it sorted, drilled new 4.5mm holes beside the originals. Has worked fine!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ozziedog]

Not sure if I’m telling you how to suck eggs but that paint job or powder coat might need a tiny rub back just in the region where the wheel nuts contact the rim, or there could be / will be trouble ahead when the coating softens as heat is applied under braking then all your nuts will come loose.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, no one really likes their nuts loosened :mrgreen:

 

[Moseley]

For anyone else reading this who might be looking to drill out their rivets - you don’t have to drill right the way through the wheel to remove them!

Centre punch the middle of the rivet, drill a small pilot hole and then use a larger bit to drill up to, but not against, the wheel face. A tap with a hammer and punch will break the remnants free with no fear of the drill bit damaging the rivet hole in the wheel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[orr_niall]

Not sure if I’m telling you how to suck eggs but that paint job or powder coat might need a tiny rub back just in the region where the wheel nuts contact the rim, or there could be / will be trouble ahead when the coating softens as heat is applied under braking then all your nuts will come loose.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, no one really likes their nuts loosened :mrgreen:

Will certainly look to tighten them again after I run it a few miles don’t want any wheels coming off! Thanks for the tip however easy to overlook


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[orr_niall]

I have now hit a new issue. Started a new topic on it as well but thought I would post here also. My wife ordered the hubs for my birthday, great surprise and good excuse to go and fiddle with the van in the evenings now.
Got the clips and all done used your tips for the rears and the rivets came out a lot easier. Now at the stage for refitting and fitting the hubs.
Front went on great, however the rear axle nut sticks out too far and the hubs won’t fit. Am I correct that she had ordered the wrong hubs? I checked the item on eBay today and have also contacted seller to check. Says they fit early bay......
Can any of you confirm I have the wrong hubs and perhaps share a link of the ones I need for the rear?
Any advise as always much appreciated!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ozziedog]

The hub caps are of one type only but painted or chrome. There are repros available but only in ‘summer chrome’ and much much lighter in weight, they very rarely want to stay with the vehicle and love to wander off on their own. Genuine hub caps are very similar to rocking horse pooo but not as plentiful :mrgreen: .








These are my genuine ones that have been cleaned and lacquered to preserve them in their own little world. I run them every so often with genuine steelies for a season then change my mind and go in a different direction. Not 100%sure that those hub caps are genuine and not too sure about the wheels either. Have a look for a date stamp maybe. :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,,beetle ? Type 3 ? Split ? perhaps?

 

[mike202]

This is my 70 rear wheel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[orr_niall]

I think they are reproductions but are good quality from what I can tell, with the new clips on they fit very tight on the fronts so hopefully the chances of one coming off is reduced with this. If I had not have changed the clips would have been a different story.
From some research I believe I need spacers for the rears to clear the axle head but.
Question is now what size spacers to get, and if doing the rears assume I should also put spacers on the front, another added expense and also will need the longer lugs to safely secure them!
The joys of early bay ownership when a seemingly simple job turns out to be more and more


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[orr_niall]

This is my 70 rear wheel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Looks the exact same as mine. Do your hubcaps fit or do you need spacers fitted?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[orr_niall]

In fact Mike it might be different actually join closer inspection mine appears to have ‘veins’ where the axle protrusion meets the main face yours seems smoother


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ozziedog]

I’ve also got some repro chrome hub caps and they fit and cover the rear hub without any spacers or extensions whatsoever. There’s something there that ain’t quite right, I’m not sure if the wheel rims are from a different model VW or if the hub caps are from a different model VW but there’s something there that don’t ring true. It’d be useful to park next to another early bay and swap a couple of hub caps round to see what’s what. I’ll get some closer piccies when I get home from work later on if I get a chance and I’ll photo some hub caps too.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,, something fishy here :mrgreen:

 

[matty74]

Hi mate, those hubcaps look exactly the same as the ones I’ve got ... mine fit no problem.

1970 with new CSP drums ... are you sure that the new clips aren’t preventing it from going on?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[orr_niall]

No definitely the axle protrusion being too much. Put the hubs from the front on the rear still won’t fit and u can see where the nut of the axle is hitting the inside of the hubs and marking it. Only about 5mm that’s causing the issue stopping them from slipping over the clip. Clips are fine as they went on great and snug when I tested it before putting wheel back on.

As you say there must be something that’s just not quite right, exact same clearance issue on both sides of the van also. In Northern Ireland not as big a camper scene here and am yet to see another early bay of the same age, chances of finding another with the same hubcap setup on etc are unfortunately limited

The only way round it that I can see is some spacers....annoying added expense for them and the new M14 longer lugs I will need also to properly fit them.....and if spacing the rear to keep things symmetrical will need the fronts done also.....

Thanks for all the help guys!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[matty74]

Is your hub nut correctly torqued? Difficult to see from the pics but mine and Mike’s seem to be showing a bit more thread.

Granted that isn’t going to change the end of the stub axle length, but the nut going on a little bit further might give you the clearance needed where it’s hitting the hubcap?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mike202]

Where did you get the hub caps from?

No spacer should be needed to fit them. Is there anything between your wheel and the axle at the moment causing the wheel to stick out more on the axle than it should.(actually that would be like a spacer effect so reduce the problem so it can't be that)

Also as Matty says, is the hub nut torqued up enough?

 

[ozziedog]

I’m not sure if I’m trying to hard to see things? That hub cap dosent seem to be big enough to fill out to the rim of where the cap should sit, it looks like you have a five mill gap around it.

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,, am I just inventing things maybe ??? :mrgreen:

 

[matty74]

I have the same hubcaps ... the picture of all 4 on the original post looks like the picture from the eBay listing where I bought them.

Speaking from personal experience (I’ve had a split pin fail and rear wheel come off) I’d check nut torque and renew split pins first ... I’d even buy 2 new hub nuts as the one in the pic has had its claws banged in by the look of it ... it’s always easy to say that after the event though init [emoji85]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk