OLD Centerline wheel center cap removal

[bill dedman]

I finally got a new set of slicks for my "race car" and when they went to balance the wheels, they couldn't get the center caps off the wheels.

The center caps appear to simply press into the wheel, no little tabs with nuts or bolts to hold them on, so we asummed they just push in, from the inside. No amount of hammering (with a rubber mallet) from the outside would budge either one.

I think that center cap has to come off to fit the wheel onto the balancer.

What am I doing wrong, here? You can turn the caps with your hand, but they don't "unscrew."

Anybody have experience with this setup? The wheels are old Centerlines (solid center with rivets around the outside of the center disk.) Probably were built in the 1980s.

Any advice will be appreciated.

TIA,
Bill