|
Technically, the "hub cap" is the cap on the end of
the spindle poking through the center of the wheel. It covers only the hub
where the bearings are housed and packed in grease thereby keeping dirt and
water out of the bearings and keeping the grease in. Think of the
cars of the very early '30s (like a Model A F__d) and earlier where the "hub
cap" truly coverd the bearings and grease on the spindle. Once the wheel
caps covered the hub caps for ornamentation, and to give a larger place to
promote the brand of the automobile in large chrome and bright colored letters,
people confused the two terms.
A "wheel cap" is any appearance item that attaches
to the wheel to cover the "hub cap" and lug nut area. Thus whether
the wheel cap is small covering only the center of the wheel (small or
standard wheel cap) or is large covering the wheel to or almost to the tire
( large, full, or deluxe wheel cap) they are ALL wheel caps.
Not all wheel caps were chromed or bright stainless either: in 1942, when
some "blackout" models were built for the war years, they had black or gray
painted wheel caps.
I don't know who invented the term "dog dish hub
cap" but it became popular sometime after the muscle car era and it still sound
silly to me. Its a "dog dish" if you leave it off the car and it fills up
with rain but under no conditions is it actually a "hub cap".
Wayne
| 
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network