Tuesday, March 11, 2008 • Meet Hubcap Bob Burns

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, March 11, 2008 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Some people might consider the nickname “Hubcap” to be uncomplimentary, but not Bob Burns. He revels in it. “I’ve been called ‘Hubcap’ many, many times,” said Burns, who is an inveterate collector. “I collect threaded hubcaps.”

And, indeed, he does. The ceiling joist in the garage beneath his Alturas, California, home is festooned with hundreds of them, all neatly arranged by manufacturer — foreign and domestic.

In the early days of automotive production, threaded hubcaps were once a vital, functional part of any vehicle, car or truck. Originally called grease caps or screw-on caps, they were probably the forerunners of the modern saucer-shaped hubcaps.

“The idea, of course, was to keep moisture and dirt out of the wheel bearing area,” said Burns, indicating that these caps were used primarily to cover the hub of the old, spoked wheels.

Each wheel had a cap in the center that was about the size of an average teacup. They were threaded and formed with facets for use with a wrench to take them off and put them on during regular lubrication and maintenance.

While they were quite plain to begin with, hubcaps quickly evolved into signature items, like hood ornaments, making them very collectable.

“Makers finally got wise and started putting names on the caps or a symbol that people would recognize,” said Burns, explaining how such inconspicuous auto parts could become desirable items. “And it usually coincided with the emblem that was on the radiator.”

Collecting threaded hubcaps is a rather exclusive pursuit in the wide-ranging field of collectables associated with antique vehicles. But Burns explained there is much more to it.

“Automotive memorabilia covers a wide panorama of everything you could possibly think of,” he said. “A lot of people collect nothing more than just the owner’s manuals. Some collect brochures, sparkplugs, radiator shells, hood ornaments or license plates. You name it. If it’s been in an automobile in some way, shape or form, there’ll be somebody out there who collects it.”

Burns, who can be described as meticulous to fastidious, began collecting hubcaps serendipitously “over 40 years ago.” He then owned two Chryslers, a 1924 model and a 1926 model.

“I had bad hubcaps on them,” he said, recalling the inception of his obsession. “So, I’d always go to old car swap meets. I’d keep my eye open for a better hubcap.”

Finding replacements turned out to be more difficult than he anticipated. He would buy one and bring it home, only to find that it did not fit.

“After about five or six hubcaps, I just started putting them up on the wall as kind of a decoration in front of one of the old, antique Chryslers.”

That decoration gradually grew into a collection.

“I bought a couple of other miscellaneous caps — they were like 50 cents or a dollar — and added to it a bit,” Burns said. “That’s when the whole thing took off.”

Now, he has over 620 caps on display.

“I’ve got a bunch more in boxes and such… Valuewise, I’ve turned down $900 for that cap right there,” he said, pointing to a beautifully polished brass cap. “That’s a valuable cap. That’s a rare animal.”

Those he considers to be truly rare are not even on display. “I don’t leave (them) out,” said Burns, a note of caution in his voice. “They’re worth quite a bit of money.”

An inveterate collector, Burns’ home is a veritable museum. A classic Victorian built in 1892, it looks like live-in history with its 12-foot ceilings, formal wainscoting, antique stoves, record player, chairs and other traditional furnishings. “My urge (to collect) started back with bottle caps, stamps and coins, when I was just a young kid,” said the nearly 70-year-old collector.

Collecting is really about history, Burns declared. “The hubcaps tell you a lot about history. They tell quite a little story about what we did and the feelings of the people at the time.”

Each cap evokes a history lesson from his encyclopedic reservoir of odd knowledge.

“Here’s one you will not see every day of the week,” he said, as if that were even possible in this day and age. “It’s an EMF, a forerunner of Studebaker. Flanders morphed into Studebaker when they bought this company. … It’s about 1911.”

Of another, he said, “This was made at a time in the Great Depression, the late 1930s. And, I don’t have to tell you that the production numbers plummeted. So, that’s a very scarce cap.”

Continuing his tour down memory lane, he turned to yet another in a cluster of mounted hubcaps, saying, “This is a Hanes. They’re pretty scarce caps to come by. That’s probably one of the best you’ll ever see. It was only made in two years: 1910 and 1912.”

Oddly, Burns objects to the use of the term “rare” when applied to hubcaps. “It’s badly overused,” he said. “It is applied, so many times, to articles in any kind of a collection that are really not rare. ‘Hard to find’ is a term that I (prefer to) use all the time.”

A vigorous trader, he said, “I don’t sell. I’ve never sold a cap in my life. I trade.

“I’m always trading. Sometimes I think more of my collection is going through the mail than there is on my wall.”

And, in case anyone out there has an interest in hubcaps, Burns wants to talk to you.

“I’m always interested in talking to people about hubcaps.”