Hey all,

Feels a little bit weird to be here, so some backstory, I own a 96 Firebird trans am, however recently bought a set of saw blade wheels for her. When I bought it they came without center caps (which didn't bother me as I don't really have a 'vette so would look a little bit out of place) and planned to buy a set of center caps with the firebird logo on it. Then recently I got an a very fortunate position where I am able to use a 3d printer which uses ABS (heat resistant plastic, unlike PLA the more common plastic for 3d printers) and thought about just 3d printing my own center caps, sanding them down, and then painting them so they match my wheels (Which got powdercoated). Looking online for a file of someone else who made them hasn't really helped (I haven't even found people talking about the dimensions a whole lot either) so wanted to ask if anyone has designed a center cap for their own wheels and has a file they wouldn't mind sharing. If not maybe some more info about center cap sizing or any advice would be greatly appreciated. I understand I am little bit far from my home territory of Firebirds, but hope that I can receive some help from the experts here!

-Mysticaltransam

 

Good idea

I'd be interested too

 

How much you know about 3d printing. Definitely not PLA. You may want to look to a local High School Tech class ,if you decide not to do it yourself. I am sure they could have you something in less than a week and maybe free

 

I know a decent bit about 3d printing, was not planning on using PLA as it would definitely deform and leave me with more problems than I want. At the school I go to I have access to a 3d printer which uses ABS and is free to use (within reason) so was planning on printing it at home with PLA as a test fit and then printing it at the school on ABS, sanding it down, and then painting it. If I decide to design it myself I have a lot of resources open to me (through the school) to be able to make it have the best fit.

 

Here you go. A beater, but cheap. You will be able to get the dimensions, having it in hand to measure. There are lots on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/19642699711...e1P-9ZA&edge=1

 

dang. If idda known they were sellable in thar condition, id have nearly $40😃

 

Heyyo,

Was working on it and saw this, I have it designed so its 3” long for the cap, and the clips are just over 2.5” so the will clip in place but it fits mine which has a 2.5” hole. If these dimensions seem like they would work for you, I am more than happy to share this file with you to help you out, just let me know!

 

Have you made these yet and tested them? The design issue I see with these if trying to reproduce how they attach are the clips. Not much meat on the clips, and they will almost certainly be printed perpendicular to the layer lines.

I contemplated printing these, but bit the bullet and purchased them brand new from zip corvette. $100. Yeah, pricy for a piece of plastic, but the amount of time I would need to finish these so they looked decent was time saved.

 

What color did you paint them?

If it happens to be the factory gray like on the '91-'92 wheels, I have a set of plain center caps that are pretty cheap. Let me know if they would work for you.

 

I tested the clips themselves with no center cap attached and they worked wonderfully, one had broken off prior to me even clipping on due to my own roughness taking it off the print bed but other than that they all stuck. With the newest design I had just tested, I used duck tape and ripped it off not caring too much about those clips and a few came off. There was still space in the clips for more filament so you could easily make those clips solid. I’ll update again once I get them printed for real out of ABS, printed and put on the car if the clips work at all.

 

My plan is to paint the background a gloss tuxedo black to match the lug nuts and the firebird logo a metallic bronze to match the wheels and other logos I am going to be painting. I appreciate the offer but fear getting a firebird logo plastered on would leave the logo very fragile and easy to break.

 

Can you share a pic and upload to thiniverse or printables? Did you make the face of the caps flat (stock are not flat), and what's the plan for the chevy logo?

 

The clips themselves came off of an already made thingiverse file which is located here, so a large portion of this project was completed early on by somebody else. I added a 3" wide cap with a slight bezel and is 2.5 mm thick so it is mainly flat. I'm putting them on my firebirds sawblades so I grabbed a firebird logo and stuck it on top (using fusion360 just added it in then made them touch) and that worked wonderfully. When i put them on they fit nearly perfect and with sanding, priming, and painting could easily look manufactured and not DIY. If you are looking for one with the chevy logo I can do something similar to what I did with the firebird logo relatively quick. Attached below is a picture of the finished center caps I made rendered with the colours I plan to paint them.

 

Ok, I thought it was a OEM replica. The OEMs caps are convex, not flat, FYI.