So, I've got an 82 Trans Am with the black bowling ball hubcaps, and they don't seem to stay on the rim while driving. I've tried things like epoxying sandpaper to the pressure clips, but they still fall off.
I've gotten really tired of having to repaint each one after it falls off, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience on making a more secure attachment.
I looked at older posts involving this issue (https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/whee...-trans-am.html) , but they talked about zip tying it on, but I don't see where the zip ties attach to.
I'm thinking more along the lines of a bracket that effectively bolts the hubcap onto the wheel using the lugnuts, but then I thought about throwing the wheel out of balance. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

The zip ties are secured by drilling holes into the plastic tabs on the inside of the hubcap. Do so at your own risk....Pontiac recalled the rims and hubcaps back in the day, because the caps would not stay on the rims. Just watch some of the Knight Rider episodes closely. After doing a "turbo boost" there are moments where you see the caps flying off the wheels! I have a set of 14s and a couple extra caps. Usually, you can find a set of 14 inch caps for like 150 bucks on ebay...not too shabby. Personally, I am thinking about making some custom aluminum caps that bolt to the rims.

 

Aluminum caps that bolt to the rim would be nice, never run the risk of them falling off. I talked with my dad and we're probably going to put a right angle valve stem on the tire, and epoxy the hubcap to the rim. It's kind of cheep, but I won't be keeping these rims forever, I like the gold GTA's better.

Oh, and thanks for responding! The first out of 205 people.

 

The best way is the zip tie method. Pontiac made some metal brackets to help hold them, but the zip ties are going to hold them securely. Do a search and you will find out exactly where to drill the hole. Unfortunately, once you do that, you need to remove the wheel with the hubcap on when the need arises.