AMEN BROTHER!!!!
Andy
> 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....
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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