I was just wondering what original spinners have (any markings) that you can tell if they are originals? Also what would be the better route, to find an original set of spinners, and have the replated, or buy a set of repros. I am not looking for better value, but better quality. Any response will be apperciated.
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66 hubcap spinners
Brian,
First of all, when you say you are looking for better quality, are you saying that you are dissatisfied with the quality of the repro spinners? In my mind they look pretty good.
In terms of restoring original spinners I think you have your work cut out for you. The things that go bad are the chrome gets pitted, which could presumably be fixed if you know a plater that deals with pot metal parts. However, to replate would involve drilling out the peened over studs
that secure the unplated and probably rusty plate inside the spiner, which, in turn, holds in the spinner emblem. I know of no way to recreate the studs, so you would have to switch to screws, which is how the new repro emblems can be reattached to original spinners. In terms of markings on the repro spinners, they have most, but not all, of the embossing on original spinners. This includes an assembly number (3876544) and a part number (3876545). Original spinners also have a "General Motors" embossing that the repros I bought lack. All of these embossings appear on the inside of one of the 3 ears of the spinner. Conceivable these embossings could be seen with a mirror and a bright light and possible a magnifying glass or monocular with the spinner installed on the hubcap.
So, yes, one could, to a certain extent, restore an original set of spinners, but I've never heard of anyone doing that.
Gary
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