First Plymouth....maybe not...

Chrysler Corporations owns a 1928 Model Q Deluxe Coupe with "First Plymouth" painted in big white letters on the side. It was used by Plymouth for many years, passed off as the first Plymouth car built, but it was never Plymouth Number One; in fact, the car was the 23,426th Plymouth built. The car’s serial number (RW292L) shows that it was built between August 31st and September 15th, 1928, long after the first Plymouth was made (on June 11, 1928).

For publicity purposes, Chrysler said that the first Plymouth car had been sold to Mrs. Ethel Miller of Turlock, California. The story goes that Mrs. Miller, upon hearing that Chrysler was about to complete its one millionth car in 1934, wired Walter Chrysler and asked him to reserve the car for her. In August 1934, Mrs. Miller drove her 1928 coupe from California to the factory to take delivery; the 1928 coupe was then driven from Detroit to the Chicago World's Fair, where it was put on display - as had been the one millionth Plymouth, a PE sedan.

Following the stint at the World's Fair, the 1928 coupe spent many years knocking around various plant buildings. For some time it even sat outside under a tarp.

In the early sixties, the car left the factory grounds and went into the garage of Donald Wood, a Chrysler  employee and Plymouth Club member. After two years the car was returned to Chrysler, and has, fixed up, appeared at both the 40th and 50th Anniversary Meets held in Detroit

In 1988, on the 60th Anniversary of Plymouth, Plymouth Owners Club Membership Secretary Jim Benjaminson instituted a "Search for the Oldest Plymouth."

Jim began by sending news releases announcing the club's search to major automotive and club magazines inviting owners of 1928 Model Q Plymouths to send in the serial, body and engine numbers of their cars. A number of people responded, but none of these cars proved to have come from very early in the 1928 Plymouth production run.

Using the FEDCO code, it is possible to determine the approximate date a particular US-built Plymouth was produced. The Canada-built cars used a different coding system. As of this time, no way has been found to break this code.

The car  owned by the Chrysler Corporation and called "The First Plymouth" is actually #30 on our list!

According to the club records, the honor of owning the oldest known Plymouth goes to William Kelhi of Florida. Unfortunately, at the time, Kelhi was no longer on the club roster and did not respond to attempts to communicate. The car did show up two decades later, in Wainwright, Alberta. On August 8, 2010, it was sold for $25,000 (Canadian) to a buyer in Windsor, Ontario, where it was built.

The member who had the oldest Plymouth on the club's list was Doug Kennedy of Adelaide, South Australia, who had the honor of owning a right hand drive four door sedan  built in Detroit in early August 1928, and bearing an Australian-built S & W body.

Doug, together with his wife Lyn and friend  and fellow club member Barry Kenyon, was in attendance at the 1988 Grand National Meet in Detroit. One could tell on show day that he dearly would have loved to have had his '28 there with him. Congratulations, Doug!

However worthy a recipient we know Doug is, we hope the honor of owning the club's oldest Plymouth won't stay his for long. The search goes on. Who knows? Maybe one day we will find the first Plymouth ever made!

The Hubcap Lady

The Lady was actually built in 1983 by the owner of what was then a metal working company. He wanted to make a statue that honored women and their virtue and strength. He commissioned an 18-year old girl to design them, and she along with the women that worked at the metal company, spent time after work building it over the course of a year. The scales actually mean that "love outweighs everything else," according to the article. Very beautiful and moving works of art!!

The Poem reads,"I am your mother yet I am a woman standing in to the 'Winds of Change.' Expected to be better than good....The Winds force me to change yet I do not want to be anymore than I am. A woman - your mother Take my hand. We will stand togeter into the 'Winds of Change" --The Lady

We're not just another hubcap shop, we see the art in the industry...what's your dream?

Hubcapzone.com

WHEELSIMULATORS 1.0

Often mentioned as the best invention of mankind ever, the wheel is praised to the most precious of the 6 simple machines. A wheel could be used as a steering in an automobile, a flywheel, and could be employed to accomplish an assorted number of functionalities not one in automobiles but also in a lot of other machines. Of course when someone utters the word ‘wheel,’ the first thing that comes to our mind is a Car wheel. The parts of a car wheel have almost the same components as that of a wheel used in any of the modern automobiles.

 

• Hub: The Hub is that imperative part of the wheel by which the wheel could be attached to the axle as well as the brakes. The axle is inserted in to the vent present at the center of the hub and this assembly is held in place by means of lug nuts.

• Rim: The rim forms the skeleton of the wheel. The rubber tires typically cover the rim, which gives traction to the vehicle. Rims are available in various forms and different sizes and they are typically made up of steel. Since, steel looks a bit dull and plain, chrome and aluminum alloys are the most popular type of materials used in manufacturing rims. Only the important parts of a car wheel are discussed here and this is the most vital of them all. A lot of wise folks, to save some money, will buy wheelsimulators  to cover the rims from the outside to give the car a posh look.
• Tire: This is part of the wheel that is in contact with the road usually made from rubber and provides traction and also works as a tertiary shock absorber. The particular part of the tire that comes in contact with the road is called as tread area that contains grooves which ensure good friction while braking and prevents the car from skidding on wet surfaces. The pressurized air inside the rubber tires provides comfort while riding and pneumatics.
• Wheel Simulator: As the name suggests, wheel simulators are the best cost effective way to simulate an expensive wheel that is made of chrome or aluminum alloy. Often known as wheel covers or liners or hub covers, wheel simulators can help you bring a fancy and mean look to your car. The main reason for a lot of people to go for wheel simulators is to cut cost and most importantly the steel rims that are going to hide behind your simulators are going to durable and rugged enough.
• Basically, these are the parts of a car wheel that you need to be aware of, as these parts are essential to your safety when driving. Be sure to get only the best quality brand for your car to ensure durability and reliability.
• For the most comprehensive inventory of all makes and models..come see us at:
   
• WHEELSIMULATORS.ORG

 

CONCEPT CARS..FUTURE OR FRAUD?

OK, below I have included 2 concept cars and one classic.While I don't want to nitpick each one in details, I have to ask you..which one is sexier? If you're under 30 I'm guessing you'd go for the concept cars..who could blame you? The BMW is also a hybrid so you can quell your green yuppie guilt for buying one and justify your smaller carbon footprint.

BUT..that beast of a muscle car is all about pure, raw power!! The kind that when you start that car up and it roars to life your heart actually skips a beat. It's about all-out loud, screaming hard rock-n-roll blaring with the windows down and the smell of the tires burning as you jump that throttle. Everything gets pushed backward giving your neck a little whip and before you know it you are climbing to warp speed before you can figure out how fast that first cop is going to nail you on the radar.

Now I ask you again...you want to be correct or do you want to twist Detroit, American-made steel monster block engines into some real fun?? Where has all the fun in cars gone.....til next time...

Calling all classic car enthusiasts!!! We want to see your "babies" posted on our facebook wall for everyone to see and collect your bragging rights! Go to facebook.com/hubcapzone and get your car's pic up there. It can be showroom ready, pretty messy, or a work in progress we want to see what you've been looking at this year. Whose got the baddest classic in the land?? If you're missing one of those classic, hard to find, factory original hubcaps or centercaps, don't forget to visit the website and send us a note.Many of our classic metal stuff isn't on the site and we get more and more all the time. We can track down what we don't have through our networks if needed. So, get out your phone and get a picture uploaded ASAP!! Don't let the old farmer down the road with that beautiful '56 Bel-Air sitting in his barn outshine you! Maybe we'll get a voting poll going to see who is really the top dog!!

Happy 2013! It's not the end of the world...is it?

It's a brand new year and everything will hopefully be better in the world with a fresh new start.Even North Korea has announced they will try to get along with South Korea so that's got to be a step in the right direction-right? First, I'd like to hit on a pet peeve that really hit home this December with Christmas shopping. Like most of you I'm sure, I shopped online this year. I decided to find a normally very expensive designer gift for my daughter hopefully with a little discount on that very famous site E***. Have you ever tried this? You hope it's not a hot item, you hope you can trust that the seller is honest with you, you hope it ships in time and that you don't think you're going to get gouged with enormous shipping charges to make up for the great discount. Well, I got screwed. I didn't get my item as described, the condition was awful, and to top it all off the seller didn't charge/quote me enough shipping so when I retrieved the box from the post office I had to pay the difference!! Of course the seller ignores my emails, and there is no shot at a refund-really? This is why Hubcapzone will not sell on these type sites! We are always willing to go the distance to provide you with website pics,email, and phone options. We also offer FREE shipping without a minimum order and we also offer a replacement or refund option to make sure you are 100% satisfied. Personal attention is our goal and we will bend over backwards to make it happen, you have our word. Don't fall for the oldest trick in the book where they price down an item to lure you in just to drown you in "shipping and handling" charges...what is handling anyway? Putting it in a box?? Give me a break..Give us a chance..you won't be sorry! Til next time..have a wonderful New Year!

God Bless America

Yesterday was a horrible tragedy in America and what makes it so devastating is how we harmed ourselves. We are so focused nowadays on foreign terrorists and yet we raised one in our own backyard.It takes a certain kind of sociopath to harm innocent children, and to do so deliberately reminds us that evil walks among us. Here at Hubcapzone we pride ourselves on supporting charities that contribute to helping children everyday.In 2013 we will be expanding our recycling efforts to our customers in order to raise green funds that will be channeled directly into worthwhile organizations like the March of Dimes and many others nationwide.Stay tuned for the launch of our new project! Happy Holidays to all of our friends and clients and we wish you and your families the very best of the season...