Is the lug cover metal or plastic

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Erict

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My bird is in storage now, but I have been inquiring about having the painted 21 spoke wheels chromed. In Canada chrome wheels were not available, god knows why Ford was stupid enough to withold that option up here, on a classic car like the Thunderbird.

Anyway.

I am wondering about the lug cover, someone I was speaking to, mentionned that I may have a problem with the lug cover as it may be plastic.

Since I dont have access to the car, its stored about an hour's drive from home, would someone be nice enough and tell me what is the material composition of the lug cover? Is it metal or plastic?

If it is plastic, does anyone have the part number handy for the Chrome version of the lug cover so I can order them?
 

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Erict: The lug covers are plastic. I ordered the crome ones and all the other goodies ( lites,bezel,mats etc) picked up parts last thursday when I took delivery of triple black bird. Crome lug cover part # 1W6Z-1130-BA $39.65 List price. I also picked up another set of 21 spoke painted wheels to have cromed, so far I`m hearing aluminum is not eazy to crome.If you get a price, let me know.

Was triple black #2 of 2 Vin Less
Now Triple black #3 of 5 1FAHP60A12Y107854
 
I have a price to chrome my 21 spoke wheels...

We are talking 550$cdn per wheel, triple plating process that includes copper plating as as start for durability and depth.

The big cost is the bedding they have to prepare so that the plating gets on each spoke evenly and the polishing that has to be done by hand.

I visited the chrome shop and the kid (he's no older than 21) is real passionate about his work.

He gets a ton of business from the classic, high performance car crowd and the Harley Davidson crowd.

Here is the address and phone number.

Polissage Et Placage G G Inc
Phone: (450)651-5190
907 Taschereau, Longueuil, QC J4K 2X2

They are a mile south of the Jacques-Cartier Bridge (South Shore of Montreal)

BTW, Did you buy chrome wheels or did you get that spare set of painted, to get them chromed?

I am still hunting for a set of 7 or 21 spoke already chromed.. 7 spoke preferably.
 
Got the spare painted set, to have cromed. Also ordered $69 tires from tire rack. Going to visit uncle in Bedford Ohio to pick up tires, die cast cars, and press kit.Better than having them shipped across the boarder.
 
Erict
Get the 21 point chromed. You will be much more satisfied than buying the already chromed 7 point wheels. For whatever reason,(cost is my guess) they chose not to polish a lot of the chrome on the 7 point.
I have had mine 5 weeks now, and still trying to figure out how to finish what they started. Probably would have been pretty good if they just polished the entire wheel.
As an afterthought, if I had a $800 credit, I could get some pretty cool aftermarket wheels at a price under $1300 that would make me very happy.
Your description of the plater doing the triple chrome wheels sounds like he is right on tract. I get a lot of chroming done, and if they don't triple plate it, forget it.
Don't waste your time and money on the stock chrome 7 point wheels.
Dean

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greyfox11
yellow,yellow,prem #8415
 
Thanks for the heads up... I had not seen the 7 spoke wheels up close and personal. Only pics and they did look good from that angle.

But now that you tell me the only thing buffed is the facing, and not the entire wheel, that's bad news for future chrome peeling.

The guy at GG plating actually buffs the whole wheel, even the inside...

Quite an impressive finish, I saw some Porche mags ready for delivery and what a difference from a set coming in for plating.

What was the price of those painted 21 spokes Tbird EH?
 
The seven spoke chrome wheels are the most horrible item on the car. Stick with the painted wheels and get them chromed. No matter how good or bad they come out, it has to be better than than the seven.
In every ad you will not see a chrome seven.
They are all 21 chrome spoke.(not even the painted)
You can almost bet Ford has recognized the error(ugliness)and they will come out with something different for '03.
 
I don't think the 7-spoke chrome wheels are that bad, though I like the 21-spoke version better. They are reminiscent of the solid chrome hubcaps of the 50's. They are easy to clean too.

I searched Ford's Canadian website to see if I could find the reason for no chrome wheel option - thought it might be an import restriction - but no explanation is given. I did find a fun page of Thunderbird postcards missing in the US site.
 
the 21 spokers are very hard to keep clean and frankly, I didn't like the 7's either. But now I really LOVE them -- easy to clean, and they really do put a sparkle on the road.
 
I for one feel the seven spoke wheels are great looking wheels. You'll be hard pressed to find a wheel whose refection from the sun sparkles on the ground while your moving as much as these do. They are also about 400% easier to clean than the N.M. 21 spoke chrome wheels.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V
 
I really like the 7 spoke wheels too. I agree, they can be cleaned easily!!! I've had other cars with wheels having lots of spokes and while they are beautiful to look at, they can really be a chore to keep good looking. The 7 spoke wheels really do create some beautiful reflections when the sun hits them at just the right angle!

Speaking cleaning wheels, there is nothing as bad as the wheel dust that coats BMW wheels after just a short drive! I'm glad that the Thunderbird is not like that!!!
 
Not to be nasty...but we have all these discussions about babying these cars with multiple coats of polish/wax etc and we're complaining about the wheels being difficult to clean? It's really not that bad considering how thorough I am in detailing the car anyway.
 
The chrome 21 spoke is the best wheel for the 2002 Birds. It is beautiful and I get many compliments when I show off this car with the NM wheels.

I live in Colorado and like to drive a minimum of every 10 days, so I purchased aftermarket tires and wheels.

I have the tools and ability to make the change of four wheels in less than an hour in my garage.

The chrome 7 spoke was not priced as good as the aluminum silver painted-polished wheels on sale at Discount Tire.

The other major reason I changed from the 21 spoke is the Pot Hole mess we get after a major storm with freeze/thaw. We had one last weekend that swallowed wheels causing flats and massive wheel damages. I would cringe at having to get a replacement wheel while doing a 20 mile maintenance drive. Below is link to photos, after getting to Yahoo click -New rides- folder, then -Neiman W- folder. http://photos.groups.*********/group/newtbirddata/lst
 
About every other time I drive my car I take the air compressor and a 3' extended blow nozzle that I have and blow the dust out of the calipers and from behind the wheel. Sometimes I blow them off before & after a trip. Brake dust on the wheels has not been a problem for me since I started doing this.

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Yellow/Yellow Prem. 02 Bird w/full accent
1999 F150 Super Cab 4x4 Off Road
1998 Taurus SE Sport 24V
 
FDCAPTAIN, I think I agree with you, those 21 spoke chromes on the NM are fantastic. I bet that if Ford hadn't tried to do something special to make the NM's different, then the premiums would have received these chromes and not the 7 spokes. But I like the 7 spoke chromes too and that's why I changed my mind and will get a premium model.
 
coupple things,

02thunderbird - im actually looking at 2 different ads with the chrome 7 spokes.

FDCAPTAIN - Thoes wheels you have look great!! you cant really beat a nice set of 5stars.

to anyone that has the chrome centercaps, can you measure the diameter for me. i need to see if they will fit on my wheels, 96 Sport rims.
Thanks

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1996 Thunderbird LX 4.6l
1966 Thunderbird "Q" code conv.
 
I have been thinking about the chrome 7 point myself since I bought the car...never been too excited about the look...little gaudy. I think the painted 21's have a sportier look. Anyone ever consider trading my chrome 7's for some 21 painted? not sure how we would pull it off. Just think'in.
 
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