I have had more cars than I can think of with wire wheels and have
only had one set of bad wheels. By the way I sold them to someone that
wanted wire wheels bad. To clean them I take them off the car and spray
them
with Turtle wax Wheel Brite. I have never had my wheels worked on and
never had a problem. When people say they are a pain I ask why and always
get the same stock answer. They are hard to take care off they don't last
etc. If anyone in my neck of the woods wants to trade for their MGB wires
let me know, I'll take your "problem"
...Art
On Wed, 17 Sep 1997, terry bettinger wrote:
> Andy,
> What I'm not hereing is how much time and money you have put into
> your wheels to keep them in condition where they take care of you.
>
> Terry
>
>
> Andy Ramm wrote:
>
> > I have never even DRIVEN an MG that doesn't have wire wheels. I have
> > done
> > thousand mile trips driving 10 hours a day. I have gone to get bagels
> > on
> > sunday mornings countless times, and have gone back and forth to work
> > many
> > more times than that. I have never had a problem with a wire wheel.
> > Take
> > care of your wires and they'll take care of you.
> >
> > At 02:09 PM 9/17/97 UT, doug russell wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >-----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
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Andy Ramm
> > aramm@concentric.net
> > DoD #1682
> > So much to brew, so little time....
>
>
>
>
>
|