The Great Looking 1963/64 Cadillac Wheel Cover

[Jason Edge]

Someone just "liked" this picture from my FaceBook page and reminded me how cool I think the 1963/64 wheel covers are. I always cringe a bit when people put wire rims with a 50's center cap, and 3" whitewalls on the 1963 & 1964 Cadillacs. I think if I were going custom I could come up with something more creative than using the look from the last decade Cadillac wheel.  I personally think a nice original wheel cover complements the 1963 & 1964 Cadillac body style perfectly!  Of course we all have our own personal likes and dislikes.

[austingta]

That is a nice wheel cover. The 66 is quite similar. Cadillac knew a good thing when they saw it!

[Doug Houston]

This reminded me of an amusing occurrence at Cadillac's final assembly line in the Clark Street plant (Now gone),

The local CLC group, or possibly the local CCCA bunch was having a tour of final assembly. Recall, if you will, that the wheel covers were painted to compliment the body color of the car. That necessitated "broadcasting" the wheel covers for the car that was coming down the line. It was an added cost of manufacture for that reason.

Dave Holls was among our group that evening. He was probably head of the Chevrolet styling studio a the time. As we approached the station where the wheel covers were installed, Dave broke out laughing, saying "Lord Oh Lord...Broadcasting WHEEL COVERS!!!" .  It was something that only Cadillac could get away with at the time. It lasted for only 63 and 64, if memory serves.

[Lucas Feininger #15674]

When I bought my 1963 convertible it had 70s-era faux wire wheel caps on the wheels. I was just starting in the hobby so I didn't know any better and did not pay much attention to them. After a year I had been to a few car shows and saw the genuine 63-64 caps and decided to go back to the originals. I got a set of authentic hubcaps from a fellow CLC member that were in good shape. However, being almost 40 years old the paint on the "turbines" had faded, so over the winter I repainted every black line on the four caps. Then I polished and waxed the caps. That made the emblems look shabby so I got a set of "new" emblems from McVeys which I clear coated with a clear spray from the hardware store. In the spring I found out that two of my wheels were not able to mount the original hubcaps because they were from a later year, so it was off to my friend John Gately here in Boston for two authentic wheels. A bit of work (and expense) but once I got everything together the only thing I could think of was why didn't I do this sooner.
If you look at the caps closely you will see that parts of the caps are matte and other parts (like the rims) are bright. If you keep the caps nice and clean the turbine vanes are reflected in the concave portions of the hubcaps. This attention to detail and design is what Cadillac is all about and what makes our cars "the standard of the world".

[Grant Owen]

I never liked 63 64 caps that's why I put polished 61 caps on my Hearse , as for White Walls the wider the better.

[Rich S]

While growing up, I recall awaiting the next model year's Cadillac hubcaps with anticipation--once I had seen it, it was so impressive it became instantly etched in my memory--from then on, a Cadillac (sometimes identifiable by a single-year factory paint color) just did not look "right" with the Cadillac hubcaps from a different model year! The '63 & '64 wheel covers are stylish and compliment those model year Cadillacs quite well!

[76eldo]

64 Caps are a work of art.

Sometimes it's amazing to focus in on one aspect of the car to ponder and admire.

Brian

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Well, I don't have a story to tell (which those who know me would be very surprised to hear) so I will just say that is a very nice looking picture.  White wall is perfect.
Jeff

Actually I do have a story.  Dad had an 85 Riviera with the wire wheels.  Twice a year he would take them off, disassemble them, clean and wax each spoke and put them back on.  I have looked at wheels from then on.

[Michael J. Cascio]

Correct me if I am wrong, but color keyed hubcaps are unique to 1961 & 1962 ONLY.  1963 & 1964 had black keyed hubcaps regardless of body color. 

[76eldo]

Mike,

Correct.  The black accents were on all the caps regardless of body color.

Brian

[Lucas Feininger #15674]

I must compliment Grant on the picture of his 1964 Hearse. It is one of the best "graveyard" shots I have seen. The antique headstones, with the red one tilting slightly, the gray sky, the weeds growing up through the asphalt, the telephone pole in the background, all perfect.

The hearse is beautiful, the whitewalls look great as do the hubcaps, even if they are not "correct". To each their own.