Ghibli Wheel Centre Caps Project

general_piffle

general_piffle

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397
OK, so I've been looking for new Ghibli wheel centre caps for around 7 years and found little to nothing. Although, I did manage to get hold of original transfers from Italy. I approached Maserati Legacy & Classic a few months ago about reproducing them, but heard nothing back. Similar with McGrath, who said they had a lot of enquiries and interest but not the time to commit to recreating them.

So, I've decided to try and reproduce copies myself. I've sourced a variety of similar blank 'chrome' wheel caps to test. And have commissioned a graphic designer to reproduce artwork, including CMYK colour references, keylines, measurements etc. for printing, based on photographs of an original cap.

The artwork files are ready, caps on their way, it will just be a case of whittling what I can down to try and create as close a match as possible.

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dickyb

dickyb

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432
That looks like my kitchen table!

There’s a coincidence, I have also decided to revisit this project and have obtained 6 sets of new chrome centre caps that are a perfect fit. The only slight difference is that the outer rim is slightly thinner, perhaps 1mm different. A few years ago I also managed to obtain the last 2 brand new original centre caps that were in stock at the factory, there are no more. All that’s needed is the decal which is probably not too difficult with the right expertise, looks like you’re going to do a good job there Joel.

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general_piffle

general_piffle

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Messages
397
dickyb said:
That looks like my kitchen table!

There’s a coincidence, I have also decided to revisit this project and have obtained 6 sets of new chrome centre caps that are a perfect fit. The only slight difference is that the outer rim is slightly thinner, perhaps 1mm different. A few years ago I also managed to obtain the last 2 brand new original centre caps that were in stock at the factory, there are no more. All that’s needed is the decal which is probably not too difficult with the right expertise, looks like you’re going to do a good job there Joel.

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Richard, you clearly have excellent taste in kitchen tables, as well as cars.

Funnily enough, I have the opposite challenge to you. So, I've found a 'chrome' centre cap the right diameter, with the same outer rim width. But it's about 2mm higher than the original. I need to try this on the car; at the moment I know they'll fit but I'm not sure if they might sit about 1mm proud, or if there's enough depth in the centre cap well of the wheel for them to sit flush. I suppose if they were say 1mm out it wouldn't be the end of the world. I'm still working on my 'being more accepting of imperfection' mantra.

I'm confident I can get vinyl centre stickers printed, that will be very, very, close to the originals. Certainly in terms of dimensions, type of trident, colours, etc. However, the original stickers look like they were printed on paper (vinyl print would have been in its infancy back then) with a varnish (no doubt for gloss and protection) and the 'chrome' edge to the trident looks like a foil as it is slightly raised.

Now, I've made enquiries about both vinyl and paper stickers. Both are bespoke, but it really depends how far to go. Also, the vinyl will look better for longer, so while it might not have the slightly raised feel of the foil it won't weather as quickly.

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general_piffle

general_piffle

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The original wheel caps are such a tight fit they have to be very gently prised out with thin plastic trim tools. Normally it looks like you'd take the wheel off to pop them out from the other side. Very Italian, very practical...

No stickers yet, but the new alternative wheel caps are a great fit! However, they are very slightly loose, so there is about a mm of 'wiggle'. It's not terrible, but it's not perfect. The slight height difference isn't really noticeable when they're popped in.

I've got another set of potential wheel caps coming, but similar to dickyb's the rim is a fraction thinner.

I have thought about going the route of offering a spare one up for 3D printing, then painting, but this would be painfully expensive for simple wheel centre caps.

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general_piffle

general_piffle

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397
First attempt with artwork. This is on the very slightly (1mm) too small centre caps, but with the correct thickness of outer rim.

I'm planning to continue exploring what options I can, both with centre cap and finish of sticker.

But I'm pretty pleased with them. The photographs exaggerate things quite a bit, on the car you'd have to look very closely to spot any differences. I should be able to refine these even more but until I explore a few options I won't know by how much.

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Corranga

Corranga

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1,223
I love these little projects and the ingenuity they bring, even simply the concept of trying to replicate something made en masse using factory techniques in your own home is fantastic.

Great job!
 
general_piffle

general_piffle

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Quick update. So, my alternative centre caps have arrived that have a thinner rim but the extra 1mm required of diameter to make them a snug fit.

I 'think' perhaps these might be the same as the ones dickyb tracked down. I do like that they have more holding tabs than the slightly smaller ones with the thicker rim.

Stickers will need to be 50mm diameter. I've updated the three firms I have looking into stickers/inserts to get new quotes. Ideally I'd like them to be produced on a paper or light card with varnish and a foil edge to the trident, to replicate the originals as closely as possible. Although there are positives for vinyl 'if' they can be produced accurately enough they'll last longer, but I'm struggling to imagine that they'll ever be a close enough match for the originals. Only experimentation will tell.

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general_piffle

general_piffle

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397
OK, another update. The initial batch of stickers have arrived for the new centre caps. They are bang on. I'm really happy with the results, after multiple rounds of amends with the designer. These look as original as possible.

However, I have another sticker supplier sending me samples of foil printed with varnish on a polyester. These could end up being carbon copies of original, but even if not, I'm very happy with where these are now.

The 30% solid silver within the CMYK values for the background has worked really well, and this was the hardest part to replicate (beyond just finding chrome centre caps with a rim to fit). Much happier.

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Nayf

Nayf

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2,746
general_piffle said:
OK, another update. The initial batch of stickers have arrived for the new centre caps. They are bang on. I'm really happy with the results, after multiple rounds of amends with the designer. These look as original as possible.

However, I have another sticker supplier sending me samples of foil printed with varnish on a polyester. These could end up being carbon copies of original, but even if not, I'm very happy with where these are now.

The 30% solid silver within the CMYK values for the background has worked really well, and this was the hardest part to replicate (beyond just finding chrome centre caps with a rim to fit). Much happier.

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Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out how your viewing suggests (like a pain in the ***)
 
general_piffle

general_piffle

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397
Quick update.

New stickers for the caps have been developed by a different printer. I'm really happy with these, and I'm confident they're as close as I can get to original. Because they have the actual chrome/silver edge of the trident logo as a foil, which is a separate component in the printing process. This means they match the originals a lot better, with that textured 'edge' of the foil, it's difficult to photograph but a couple of the pics capture it well.

I ended up sending an original wheel centre cap to the printer's studio so they could sample colours, texture, etc. with it in hand. Definitely makes a difference from just relying on photographs.

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R

Randy

Junior Member
Messages
36
My car is undergoing various refurb, wheels being part of it, so keen so get a set of these... One question though. The centre caps I currently have are a completely different colour (pic attached) - are they non-genuine or from a different model? 110546
 
R

Randy

Junior Member
Messages
36
general_piffle said:
Randy, is your car a '90s Ghibli? Or a different biturbo?
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Thanks for your response - Its a 1998 Ghibli GT. Its on its standard wheels, no upgrades or anything on the car anywhere and these caps looks very old so they could well be original ones.
 
general_piffle

general_piffle

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Messages
397
Randy said:
Thanks for your response - Its a 1998 Ghibli GT. Its on its standard wheels, no upgrades or anything on the car anywhere and these caps looks very old so they could well be original ones.
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How strange! I've never seen those caps on a Ghibli before, GT or otherwise. If they're the 17" GT spoked wheels or the smaller 16" Miglia wheels, my caps will definitely fit. Good luck with your project!
 
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