referring first to fig1 fastening means for a vehicle wheel comprises a threaded wheel stud or bolt 2 which extends from a vehicle hub ( not shown ) to be slidably received through a hole in a vehicle wheel 3 . a nut 1 is threadably engaged on the stud 2 so as to prevent the separation of the wheel from the hub . the tamper - proof device 10 of the present invention is shown in position over two of the three fastening means . fig2 shows a tire theft prevention device , in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention , in a position to be attached to a fastener . a threaded stud 2 protrudes from a vehicle hub ( not shown ), through the wheel 3 , and has a nut 1 threaded upon it . the sealing sleeve 4 is shown about to be positioned over the fastening assembly . a portion of the inner flange 6 of the sleeve 4 is visible . the sleeve is essentially cylindrical in shape and , as can be seen best in fig4 has three inner diameters , a , b , and c . while this sleeve can be from a variety of materials , the material gt styrene has been found to produce good results . the inner diameter , c , defined by inner face 9 , slightly exceeds the outer diameter of the nut 1 , so that there is defined a slip gap 8 between the facially opposed surfaces 9 and 11 . the slip gap enables the slip ring to rotate freely about the nut 1 so as to prevent a gripping member from turning the nut 1 by turning the sleeve 4 . in an exemplary embodiment of this invention , the slip gap 8 is 1 / 32 of an inch wide . the sleeve 4 has a flange 6 for preventing the sleeve 4 from being axially removed from the nut 1 after the cap 5 has been forced onto the end of the stud 2 . flange 6 has an inner diameter b which is 13 / 8 &# 34 ; in the exemplary embodiment . this diameter b is slightly smaller than the typical 1 7 / 16 &# 34 ; outer diameter g of the locking cap 5 . thus , when cap 5 is attached to the end of stud 2 , the flange 6 prevents movement of the sleeve 4 in the axial direction of the stud 2 and thereby prevents removal of the sleeve 4 from the nut 1 . preferably , the sleeve 4 is of sufficient length so that it will cover the nut 1 and allow the locking cap 5 to be approximately 1 / 8 &# 34 ; recessed within the sleeve 4 when the locking cap 5 is in place . in the exemplary embodiment , the sleeve 4 is 21 / 8 &# 34 ; long , the locking cap 5 measures 15 / 16 &# 34 ; along its axis and the bolt 2 is 7 / 8 &# 34 ; wide . the inner diameter a of the sleeve 4 slightly exceeds the larger outside diameter g of the locking cap 5 so as to form a slip gap 13 between the inner opposed faces 12 and 14 of the sleeve 4 and the locking cap 5 respectively . in the exemplary embodiment , the diameter g of the cap 5 is 1 7 / 16 &# 34 ;, the diameter a of the sleeve 4 is 11 / 2 &# 34 ; and the slip gap 13 is 1 / 32 &# 34 ; wide . the slip gap 13 allows the sleeve 4 to rotate freely about the locking cap 5 so as to prevent a gripping member from turning the cap 5 by rotating the sleeve 4 . the locking cap 5 has a radially inward extending shoulder 15 . in the exemplary embodiment , the diameter e of the shoulder 15 is 1 5 / 16 &# 34 ; and the diameter g of the head 20 of locking cap 5 is 1 7 / 16 &# 34 ;. this reduction in diameter from the head 20 to the shoulder 15 of the cap 5 forms a planar annular shoulder 16 which is in the exemplary embodiment is 1 / 16 &# 34 ; wide . the cap 5 is dimensioned so that surface 31 of the shoulder 15 will contact surface 32 of the nut 1 approximately 1 / 16 &# 34 ; before surface 16 of the cap 5 contacts surface 17 of the flange 6 of the sleeve 4 . the sleeve 4 will therefore have a small amount of play in the axial direction of bolt 2 . fig3 is a schematic drawing of the locking cap 5 . part of the cap is shown broken away so as to show the deformable inner members 29 which deform to grip the end 18 of the lug bolt 2 . the deformable members 29 are designed to change the inner shape of the head 20 of the cap 5 so that this inner area matches the shape of the portion 18 of the bolt 2 which protrudes through the nut 1 . in the embodiment shown the deformable members 29 are constructed to form a square cross - section but it is to be understood that deformable members 29 may be designed so as to create any desired cross - sectional shape . the internal diameter d formed by the deformable members 29 is smaller than the length of the cross - section along line f of the bolt 2 ( fig2 ). in one exemplary embodiment , the cross - section f of the bolt 2 is 13 / 16 &# 34 ; while the diameter d formed by the deformable members 29 is 3 / 4 &# 34 ;. however , due to the fact that the members 29 are formed of a deformable material , i . e ., acetal or polyester resin , the cap 5 may be forced over the portion 18 of the bolt 2 . the force should be applied to the surface 19 of the head 20 of the cap 5 . a metal piece 7 is advantageously embedded in the head 20 of cap 5 to add structural strength . after a sufficient force has been applied to the cap 5 the structure of fig4 results . the deformable members 29 are made to be of such a length that surface 31 of the cap 5 will come into contact with surface 32 of the nut 1 before surface 21 of the bolt 2 contacts surface 22 of the cap 5 . the sleeve 4 will then cover all of the cap 5 and the nut 1 . the surface 19 of the cap 5 can be embossed with the logo of the company using the seal or with any other suitable decorative design . the sleeve 4 can be provided with a serial number embossed upon surface 26 so as to prevent anyone from merely changing the sleeve 4 and thereby defeating the tamper - proof nature of the device . the tire theft prevention device described above operates as follows . the sealing sleeve 4 is mounted over the lug nut 1 and lug bolt 2 . then the locking cap 5 is forced into place over the end of the lug bolt 2 by applying a force ( using , for example , a hammer ) to the surface 19 of the cap 5 . sleeve 4 is freely rotatable about the locking cap 5 and the nut 1 so that rotation of the sleeve 4 cannot result in rotation of the nut 1 . since the sleeve 4 also prevents a tool from gripping the nut 1 , there is no way to remove the nut 1 from the bolt 2 without first breaking the sleeve 4 . if one attempts to force the cap 5 and the sleeve 4 off of the bolt 1 by inserting a screwdriver or other type of tool between surface 27 of sleeve 4 and surface 28 of the wheel 3 ( fig4 ) the sleeve 4 is so constructed that it will break before cap 5 could be pryed off the end of the bolt 1 . this is achieved by forming the end wall of the sleeve 4 with a sufficiently thin wall thickness h ( of the order of 1 / 16 &# 34 ;). as a result , once the cap 5 has been forced into place , the sealing sleeve 4 cannot be axially removed from the lug bolt 2 without physically breaking it , thus giving immediate visual notice that the tire has been tampered with or removed . in an alternative embodiment , fig5 the sleeve 4 is made with stress grooves 30 . the thickness h of the sleeve 4 is reduced from 1 / 16 &# 34 ; to 0 . 02 &# 34 ; along these grooves 30 . this reduction in the thickness h further reduces the chance that someone can successfully pry cap 5 off of bolt 2 by inserting a prying tool between surface 28 of the wheel 3 and surface 27 of the sleeve 4 ( fig4 ) without breaking the sleeve 4 in the process . devices constructed in accordance with this invention have operated quite satisfactorily and confirm that physical deformation alone of the cap 5 ( when it is driven onto the wheel stud 2 ) is sufficient to prevent the cap from being removed without having to break the sleeve 4 . alternative constructions of cap 5 are , however , within the scope of this invention . one such alternative is shown in fig6 . in this embodiment hooks 33 are embedded in the head 20 of the cap 5a . although only one hook 33 is shown in fig5 it is to be understood that a plurality of hooks can be used . the outlying portion 34 of the hook is shaped such that the hook does not interfere with axial movement of the cap as it is driven onto the lug bolt 2 , whereas the hook shape at 34 applies a substantial bias frictional force against removal of the cap once it has been forced onto the bolt 2 . as a result , the hooks 33 grip the portion 18 of the bolt 2 when the cap is forced on and thereby increase the amount of force needed to pry the cap 5 off of the bolt 2 .