88 center caps

[Robert12]

I have a 88 corvette, Awesome shape. However, being a perfectionest I am in search of 4- new center caps. I check on line and they are so damn expensive. I cannot find any under $250 each.

Why is it that other year corvette center caps are pretty reasonable in price but the 88 are really high..

Also mine have a few scratches on them and it seems that they have some other issues as well. Is there anywhere or anything that works to repair the center caps. I see the same problem on other 88 as well.

 

[tonylong]

Depends on which wheels you have. some 88 coupes had the 17 in wheels - they have a large center cap which is held on by a security screw. Conv. and other cojpes had the 16 in wheels. they had inexpensive caps.

Look in the MAD and ecklers catlogues and compare the appearance to youjr wheels.

 

[jmhorn52]

I have an 88 too with the 17 inch wheels. My center caps were in pretty lousy shape. what I did with mine was sand them to get the clear coat off. There was some pitting from corrosion. I started with 150 went to 320 then wet 600 and wet1500. it did remove the machine marks and they are smooth now. I polished them and they look great now. Now the wheels dont look as good more work.

 

[Robert12]

Imhorn, yes my have a little corrosion around the center of the caps.. Not to bad but if you look close you can see the corrosion. I was told that Chevy had a issue with this on mostly all the Corvettes that had this type of Center Cap. It sounds like you have the same as me . 17inc wheels. I don;t have the tools to do what you did, but I am glad to hear that there is still hope. I want to get them refinished and I think it would be cheaper than buying new ones. My actual wheels are in real good shape, it is just the center caps that need work. Do you have any ideas as to where I can take them to get refinished.

 

[jmhorn52]

There really isnt much you need other than about an hour for each cap. I went to Advance auto and purchased a sanding block and the sandpaper. the sanding block distributes the sanding evenly. I didnt even damage the enblem in the cap. I was going to recoat with a clear coat but after reading information here i just left them alone and will polish them once in a while. You can do this yourself just a little time and elbow grease. The 150 and 300 grit is dry sanding and the 600 and 1500 is wet sanding.

 

[tonylong]

I used a kit to chemically remove the clearcoat then used mother's to polish the cap and wheels. i never replaced the clearcoat, just use Turtle Ice wax on them once or twice a year. Cost maybe $50 total, and the mothers polished up the plastic emblems too.

 

[jmhorn52]

I didnt want to use any chemicals and ruin the emblems. Advance sells the clear coat remover too. My surface on the caps had some pitting and sanding smoothed it out nice. when i get to doing the wheels which arent in to bad shape I may use the chemicals

 

[tonylong]

Remove the emblems before using the clearcoat remover!
I destroyed the emblem retainer clips in removing them, then used regular nuts with spring washers to re-install them later. I didn't re-install them until after all polishing was finished.

 

[Robert12]

Guys, so Advance has a clear coat remover? Tony what kind of chemicals did you use to remove the clear coat? Once I remove the clear coat I guess I have to sand the center cap.

Can you give me a step by step process for I don;t screw this thing up..

thanks

Bob

 

[muddywaters]

Zars Paint Remover took the clearcoat off my centers and wheels,then I polished them, it doesn't see the snow/salt so that's not a problem and yes their 17inch, it is, let's see how can I say this, a pain in the a$$...........

 

[muddywaters]

Since we are on the subject, I noticed the big o-rings in the centers needed replacement, does anyone know where I can find them? Thanks

 

[jmhorn52]

yes advance has a clearcoat remover. If i remeber it was some kind of aircraft finish remover. It was on the shelf by the sandpaper. I didnt use the chemical remover so i wouldnt damage the emblem in the cap. The emblem is recessed enough that when sanding it didnt get damaged. I have bought some parts from corvette central. They have the "O" rings there not a bad price if i rmemeber. I found them by going to google and searching corvette parts

 

[tonylong]

Since we are on the subject, I noticed the big o-rings in the centers needed replacement, does anyone know where I can find them? Thanks

There's a post here of where to buy the O-rings. I used the plastic beading used to hold screen material in the frams. It works great and costs about .10/foot lol
Their only ourpose is to prevent rattling.

 

[tonylong]

Zars Paint Remover took the clearcoat off my centers and wheels,then I polished them, it doesn't see the snow/salt so that's not a problem and yes their 17inch, it is, let's see how can I say this, a pain in the a$$...........

I used a kit i bought an an auto parts place. maybe $30.
I also bought Mothers polish and used a power buff on my drill, and then elbow grease. I just polished until I was satisfied/fed up. I'd say about a six pack of time.

There was some minor curb damage on the rim lip, now it's shinier curb damage. ha ha

My motto is "Don't fix it if it ain't too broke to work"
My rides aren't show cars, they're clean, look great, in good repair, and they gotta go wherever and whenever I go: Rain, shine, snow, sleet, ice, mud, whatever.

 

[muddywaters]

I've had 6 Vette's, never used any in the winter/snow, besides being usless, insurance reflects the fact that their used year round. I pay less than a grand for two with full coverage. Their laid up for three months, stiil covered for theft/ fire/ if someone plows thru the garage door, just can't be on the road. My Ford F-150 4WD is my daily driver, than I could just pull the cover off a nice clean Vette and enjoy The 06 Hyundai Sonata LX gets used once in a while, too.

 

[Robert12]

well sorry for the delay on this. I have been traveling. I got the clear coat remover at Advance Auto. I have to pick up the sand paper. wish me luck.

 

[johnny80]

"My rides aren't show cars, they're clean, look great, in good repair, and they gotta go wherever and whenever I go: Rain, shine, snow, sleet, ice, mud, whatever."

I am in the same legion as you!!! Love to just drive the Vette, keep her clean, do the minor things to keep her on the road. If I was wealthy enough to have a trailer queen, I still would want to just be able to hop in and take off.

 

[johnny80]

In regards to your center caps, I did the same with mine and had them polished them up as best I could. It's a bit of work, but worth it. Best of luck.

 

[Robert12]

hi everyone. well i finally got around to taking the clear coat off of my center caps. I only did one so far. The clear coat came off with a solution that i found at advance auto. I then sanded it down to take out the courison. However, now I am left with a lot of swirls in the center cap. I put some regular car polish on it but that seems to work a little but I am not satisfied with the result. How can I get the swirls out. Also i want to put a clear coat back on so the center caps match the regular wheels. It there a clear coat that you can buy over the counter.
Bob

 

[tonylong]

I used Mother's to get the final polish - no swirls, used a buffer on my drill. I didn't re-apply any kind of clear coat. Just used Turtle Wax Silver something. Looks great.