[bhw3]

I recently acquired a 1955 Nomad. The car is great, with one exception, it did not come with stock wheels and tires. My personal preference is the original wheels with full wheel covers, and wide white wall tires. The car has disc brakes on the front. I discovered that an original riveted 5” wheel would not clear the calipers. I bought four 15 x 6 Rally wheels from Summit, and modified them by welding nubs around the wheel to hold the wheel cover on. The process was relatively simple. After the welding was completed, I had the wheels sandblasted and power coated the car color. They turned out great. I’m anxious to get the tires mounted on them and on the car. I’m posting some pictures for anyone who might be considering doing the same thing.

 

[bhw3]

I’m not a welder, but I found a very experienced man who used a Tig welder to build up the material. I gave him a sample of a stock wheel, so he knew exactly where to put the welds. Then he took a cone shaped grinder and smoothed them into shape. I’m very pleased with how they turned out. The wheel cover fits perfectly. Now, I’ve got the look I wanted with plenty of clearance for the disc brake calipers.

 

[bhw3]

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t considered that possibility. But, then again, I have no intention on driving this car on any gravel road. Have a great day!

 

[bhw3]

That’s a consideration. But, will the beauty rings fit now that I have welded on the nubs? Who sells that particular center cap?

 

[bhw3]

Does anybody produce a reproduction 1955 center cap that will fit a Rally wheel?

 

[bhw3]

Exactly! Thank you. I appreciate all the feedback, but I still haven’t heard who sells the center caps that fit a rally wheel.

 

[bhw3]

I think I saw those on Summit’s website. They were just chrome, without the bow ties around the edge. The white bow tie strip you added looks good. Did you use a stencil of some sort?

 

[bhw3]

I like what you did with wheels. That really is a nice clean look! Now that I’ve seen the rally’s like this with the wide whites, I may do this instead of the full wheel covers. Thanks for the pics. Great looking car!

 

[bhw3]

Thank you. That was my intention. But, I’m mounting 205/75r15 with 2 1/2” wide whites on the wheels. Other than the disc brakes, my car is completely original. Just my opinion, but I think these cars look their best in the old classic style.

 

[bhw3]

The wheel and tire swap is finished on my ‘55 Nomad. Here are some before and after pictures of the transformation.

 

[bhw3]

If you’re wanting to go to a center cap instead of a full wheel cover, like I did, then you’ll need a rally type center wheel cap. The aftermarket has a lot of different styles to choose from. Not sure if that answers your question. I wasn’t sure what you meant by “OP”.