Wayne,
I changed from the original steel wheels to a set of "stock", rebuilt 48
spoke, painted wire wheels when I restored my '58 TR3 several years ago. You
are right they are beautiful! I believe that they helped the car win several
1st in Class trophies in some fairly prestigious shows. However, if you are
going to drive the car a lot I would NOT recommend the 48 spoke wheels!
I have put way over 7000 miles on my car since the restoration and I have
had to rebuild one wheel that had a broken spoke and several loose spokes,
plus I have to tighten my spokes every few months. They just loosen up.
Within the next few months I am going to go back to the original steel
wheels just to reduce the hassle!
If I had it to do over again and had a lot of money I would go with at least
the 60 spoke wheels and the 72 would be better. Of course you are not going
to be "original" and it will lose show points, if that is important.
Good luck!
Jim Bauder
'58 TR3
Scottsdale, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Wayne
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 6:46 PM
To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Subject: * Rennovate 48 Spoke Wires or buy 60's *
Hi everyone!
I have 5 - 48 original spoke wires that would look awesome on my 3A. They
need to be checked for balance and integrity and then painted. In the
Chicago, Illinois area does anyone know a place I can take them for a check
up and quote?
I plan to rival Fred, Randall, and Ken Gano for miles driven come spring and
I know the 48's are marginal, but how high is the risk of failure?
If it turns out that the cost to rennovate is too high, who can help with a
source for new? There seems to be some debate between Dunlop and Dayton...
Thanks for the help!
Wayne
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