Nothing can derail a classic vehicle restoration quicker than having to buy generic aftermarket replacement parts when period-accurate OE parts simply cannot be found, but a new online tool makes it easy for classic Chevy owners and enthusiasts to look up original hubcap sizes, specs, and images, many of which were captured from original brochures.
H&H Classic Parts sponsored the creation of this new tool, which is essentially an online database of original Chevrolet wheel and hubcap info for classic Chevy trucks and some cars spanning 20 vintage years.
“Wheel covers are complicated,” says Tray Smith, Vice President of H&H Classic Parts, the company which sponsored the creation of the tool. “Chevrolet offered numerous wheel options for most of the models covered by our tool, from different wheel sizes to covers with and without spinners, with or without accent rings, etc. Collating this information was a massive undertaking,” says Smith, “but it’s the first resource of its kind for the classic Chevy community.”
Spork Marketing, who developed the tool and managed both research and web development, looked to find accurate wheel and hubcap data, going so far as to find and scan original vehicle brochures.
“We cross-checked our data by soliciting feedback from the classic Chevy enthusiast community online, and we received dozens of notes and suggested corrections,” Jason Lancaster, President of Spork Marketing, says.
While many people have offered feedback on the accuracy of the wheel guide, the discrepancies between original Chevy brochures and enthusiast feedback is often considerable.
“We’ve received dozens of notes from enthusiasts that directly disagreed with the information published in original Chevy brochures,” says Lancaster, “which just goes to show how complex this topic area can be, and perhaps suggests that not even Chevrolet’s own brochures were 100 percent accurate.”
To see the Classic Chevy Wheel and Hubcap Guide, click here.