-----Original Message-----
From: owner-mgs@autox.team.net On Behalf Of Mike Lishego
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 1997 2:52 AM
To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: The truth about wire wheels
Ok, I've converted my MGB to run on wire wheels.
Comment> Sounds like you have your head screwed on correctly!
My '77 had wires, but I only drove
it a few times, and not for very long.
Comment> Surely this had nothing to do with wire wheels.
I'd like the skinny from someone who's had
them for a few years, and the problems they ran into with them.
Comment> The skinny: They're great and you will have minimal problems
provided you avoid hitting curbs, frost heaves, sinkholes and thick boned
varmints at speed.
I've got about 12 or
13 used wheels, how many of these can I expect to be good?
Comment> You should avoid forming any expectation without an inspection!
Check the wires. Are any broken or loose? Look into the spline - are the
edges sharp or are they flat? Flat is bad, sharp is good with the following
caveat - sharp can be bad but this is rare (if the wheel spline is so worn,
the flat edge begins to sharpen again due to loose fit and clunking and this
is very bad but also rare).
How do wire wheels handle
nog trips of about 10 hours?
Comment> Well, I have not made any nog trips lately (perhaps around
Christmas) much less ever made one that was 10 hours long. But let's say you
were to make a long trip of 10 hours or so. The quality of handling will be
determined by the quality of the wheel. Let's say you are using some of your
12 or 13 used wheels and neglected to do any inspection other than "Golly,
that one sure is purdy!" when you had your tires mounted and balanced. Now
let's say that the right side wheels had a few broken/loose spokes (say 20)
and the left side had flat/worn splines. Here's what you can expect. When
making a left turn you will hear a crunching sound. This will be the sound of
the spokes colliding into each other while other spokes join in on the break
up party. Now when you go to step on the brakes, as you pull over to see what
that terrible noise is, you will notice that brake function has disappeared no
matter how hard you step on the pedal and an even worse zipper like grinding
noise will appear - but don't worry about this worry instead about that parked
car you are about to hit (the emergency brake may help a little here). Truth
be told, the above is unlikely to happen because prior to all this tragedy you
will find yourself puzzled while still in your driveway. You see, the moment
you let your foot off the clutch in first gear, you will hear a zipper like
grinding noise again but this time from the rear. This will be the splined
hub spinning freely within the wheel spline.
The moral here Mike is to make sure you inspect the spokes and the wheel
splines. Equally important, check the hub splines. When both are in good
condition you can expect many miles of trouble free motoring provided there is
no significant abuse (hole shots, curbs ...). The splines should all have
nice sharp edges. When you put the wheel on the car **do not overtighten** (I
believe it's hand tighten then 1/2 turn although my recollection here could be
faulty) and then check to make sure the wheel is solid with a good 6/12 and
then 3/9 back/forth (in/out?) jerk (this checks to make sure spokes are not
loose or spline too worn!)
What is the average cost of having these babies tuned
and trued?
Comment> Never had them sent out but a recent post suggested that British
Wire Wheel charges $130 per to do a complete (like new?) rebuild. Be careful
who you have mount and balance tires on these babies. Make sure you are
convinced that they have some experience with wires - otherwise they could
damage your wheels and not balance properly. I'm sure others will have a lot
of suggestions on this from DIY to whatever - I use a service station locally
that's been around since the 50's (cost per wheel for mount/balance $6) - you
do what's comfortable and affordable for you.
Any facts about these prolific rims would be appreciated.
Comment> Has nothing to do with facts and everything to do with soul - glad
to see you're getting some!
Dr. Doug
A group of 69 MGs in my garage - all wired with soul!
--
Michael S. Lishego
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
Elementary Education Major,
English Minor, Class of 1999
R.A. of Winston-Salem Hall
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