hub cap problem

There are "teething" issues when you buy one of these cars new for a few reasons

1) they are hand-built using a new fiberglass body and a modified beetle pan at least 37 years old. Each car has different fitment issues. Each car has usually a couple or three different assemblers and sometimes things are missed.

2) There aren't any new original VW parts available so the builders have to rely on aftermarket parts that are usually made abroad and are very poorly produced. As hard as they try to use the best available it's still a crap shoot regarding the quality. There are some quality parts still made but they're quite expensive and are usually optioned by the buyer during the build.

3) Most new owners put very few miles on their cars so it takes a while for the bugs to get worked out. I put 5-6,000 miles a year on my car and it still took A while to work all the initial bugs out. But I'm somewhat of an exception as I drive my car pretty hard.

Sometimes the new owner loses interest in his/her new toy because of the initial problems so they dump the car with low miles on them. The next owner picks up the car at a significant savings and usually has very few problems as most of them have been resolved.

My advice? Drive the piss out of it to shake out the gremlins. Better yet, have your boyfriend drive the piss out of it for a couple thousand miles to get the bugs worked out.

Then you'll have your baby all sorted out. 

TA....

Being a friend of Kirk & Mary, and having owned several Vintage tubs, I am sorry to hear of your

problems, sometimes this happens, as you stated one of the reasons you chose a Vintage is

because they were close, & I fully expect Kirk to do right by you, which I am sure he will....

Ok, with that said, could you please take a few more pic's of your hubcaps...I like the reflections

they produce...

TA, KIRK WILL MAKE IT RIGHT BUT KEEP IT IN MIND ITS NOT A BMW. THESE ARE KIT CARS AND WE ALL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THEM. AND TERRY IS SO RIGHT ABOUT SORTING OUT THE PROBLEMS AFTER A FEW THOUSAND MILES. HANG IN THERE AND U WILL BE LIKE JIMMY WITH 80K MILES SOMEDAY

These cars when newly done always need some sorting out, you must be patient. Once everything is all sorted out, of course anything can still happen. although these cars can be very reliable and fun, there's still maintenance checks and constant adjustments, that's part of deal.

One thing for sure you have a very good car from a reputable builder. With time you'll get to know and understand your car, when it's not idling right or there's a loss of power you'll sense it or feel it. It just like a relationship, none are the same.

In my opinion, this is part of the experience of owning the 356 speedster replica, sometimes it's frustrating, but when it's all right and your going down the road it feels good and well worth it.

Good luck....life is good. Art

thanks again, everyone, for all of your responses.

And, in the grand scheme of things, having a hubcap(s) fall off would be the least of my problems. I'd be more concerned with steering wheels, doors, wheels or engines dropping off which is probably not going to happen. Hang in there. Seems to be mismatched parts in my opinion.

I have to disagree, Alan.

I don't blame the young lady for being upset and concerned about the potential for more issues to arise with this car.  Too often, these cars are sold on their looks and fun appeal, and that is how they are marketed.

Unfortunately, the reality can be very different.  If I were to buy a new car, and the hubcaps fell off and then were glued back on, I would be incensed.  It speaks to the quality of the manufacturing process, hand crafted or not.

She's not whining; she has legitimate concerns.  Unlike many of us, she doesn't have grease under her fingernails, and is at a disadvantage in a situation such as this.  She paid good cash for the car, and should expect to get a good car in return, and not have to fiddle with it.

It may be that this type of car is not the one for her.

And that is a big part of why 356 replicas, with ridiculously low mileage, come on the market at regular intervals.

Annaliese.

Email me with your address and I'll send you 4 baby moon hubcaps that I took off of one of my cars and replaced with the nipple hubs I keep telling you about.  These caps are in like new condition and they are the correct size for 4 lug Vintage wheels.  Put them on your car and if they come off there will be no question that the problem is the wheels.  If they stay on, the problem was the hubs.

My email is vanatic99@yahoo.com

Ron--that's how I got mine.

My Speedster is also a VIntage but it's the same with cars from almost all makers.  I had issues to sort going alomg but to date absolutely no issue takes away from the pure joy of owning a car like this.  At some point you will get any Speedster fully sorted and it will be as reliable as anything on the road with basiacally only oil changes and valve adjustments.

The early teething pains are over and it is just great in every way.

I'm glad to hear you are determined to get the car in good shape.  Yes, a good VW mechanic who knows air cooled engines will be a necessity.

And I would not say you are a worrier.  Anyone with a new car wants it to be perfect.

Atta girl, Adoliese!  You are definitely going to make it!

The only thing to see that's better than a Speedster is a gorgeous gal driving it!

That's cool.

When it comes time to do routine maintenance, I wouldn't hesitate to try it yourself.  There are several great books that lay everything out clearly and you'll then know exactly what's been done to the car and how it was done.  It's ideal for a worrier in that respect.  

"How to Keep your Volkswagen Alive" by John Muir is a mainstay and tells you what you shouldn't bother doing yourself.

The "Volkswagen Beetle and Karmann Ghia (Type 1) Official Service Manual: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969" is more thorough and is really helpful in figuring out what your mechanic is doing (or supposed to do).

The downside of doing it yourself is that it takes time and you can't blame anyone else when something goes wrong!  That said, there are probably vw mechanics or people on this forum who are nearby that would be willing to double check your work.

I know that in 2007 a new manufacture of the 4 bolt rims stated producing them and the wheel was slightly off so the caps where a problem(I have a set of four on my car).

I ordered nipple caps from Empi and while they fit I do notice that there orientation on the rim can make a difference in the fit. So when I snap them on I test them by prying with my fingers both hands from a few sides and if they pop I turn them 90 degrees and try again. Using this approach I have found that I can get them to stay on so that even using the cap tool it’s hard to pop them.

Seems the combination of cheap pressed caps and inexpensive wheels isn’t a recipe for success but it’s what’s available if you what a sum what authentic look.

Best of luck

Peter

Troy - You're the man - offering up your old moons!  Another thought - do you have a spare tire?  Is it a matching chrome wheel - if not try last cap on it.  If no spare - buy used VW 4 lug one (go for 4" or 4.5" one) - should be $10 but you'll most likely have to sand and repaint.  See if last cap fits it.

Never has so much been written about so few...buy some Fuchs or wide fives and get over it. *I'm long on baby moons.

FUCHS ROCK!

This also happens when they sandblast the wheels too much and then chrome, the bumps that hold the hubcaps are not protruding enough to hold them tight, you can carefully use an anvil and hammer punch to make the inner lip of the hubcap a little distorted so it grabs more of the bumps, but most of the times is just cheap crappy hubcaps

i forgot to post a follow up to this-- apparently it wasn't just my car and was happening to a number of cars due to a change that either the wheel or hubcap manufacturer made. kirk sent someone over who fixed it. no problems so far but i've only taken the car out once since then.

Do you know what he actually did to fix it?  After all these emails, we need to know!

i actually am not sure. the guy who came by to fix it showed up late and i had to take my dog to the vet. it was an emergency. i left him at my house. i am guessing whatever the fix was was actually more complicated than they thought because kirk said it would take twenty minutes and the guy was at my house for hours.

...no doubt waiting for you to return from the vet?

no he left before i got home. the car was outside. there was nothing he needed from me before leaving. my roommate was here with the keys so he could take it for a drive to make sure the hub caps were secure.

Sure, a 20 minute fix and hours of test driving. Makes sense to me. How else to wind down a long work week.

If he was there for hours, it had to be a modification of the hubcaps.  The wheels could not be modified and if he was replacing them it would have been a wheel and tire swap out, which would have been quick.  If he was replacing the wheels, but putting your tires on the new wheels he could not have done that in your driveway.  Had to be a modification to the hubcaps or like Carl said, he just wanted to see you again!

I was wondering what became of this - thanks for the followup.  I hope whatever the guy did has fixed the problem and, most importantly, that your pup is o.k. 

I had this same problem on a Karmann Ghia I purchased. Turns out, the previous owner had some work done and the mechanic bent the kotter pin over the face of the castellated retaining nut on the wheel. That crowded the hubcap and made it so the hubcap couldn't get a bite on one of the four retaining bumps on the wheel. Simple fix, I pulled the kotter pin, and inserted a new one with the bend around the nut rather than over the face.