Hello Jack,
About Morgans and VW's...
VW Beetle wheels will fit the Morgan bolt pattern, but (and this is a big
"but") while the inside of the wheels may clear your brake calipers and/or
drums, the OFFSET may not be correct.
The OFFSET determines where the centerline of the wheel is positioned in
relation to the hub.
The offset on VW aftermarket wheels varies considerably. Lots of VW nuts (yes,
I was one of them) liked to have their wheels stick out beyond the fender. It
looked "cool", as we used to say back then (not to be confused with "kewl" as
they say now).
The downside of this, beyond appearance, is that a large offset could place
undue STRESS on your WHEEL BEARINGS causing them to fail, probably at an
inopportune time. It's kind of like holding a bucket of water at arms length
as opposed to holding it at your side.
The upside is that there are hundreds of nifty looking aftermarket Beetle
wheels out there to choose from. Surely some of them will include wires, or
even a nice retro-look alloy (like Mini-Lites, etc.)
Now if you can look up the offset of a standard Morgan wheel and use that as a
guide when shopping for VW wheels (the manufacturer should be able to supply
that information) you should make out all right.
Let me know if you pursue this path... it sounds kewl.
Joe DeLuca
'62 yellow Morgan 4/4
VW Convertible
Sparta, NJ
PS: Only wheels from the OLD Beetle will fit - not those from the new one.
***************************************************************************************
:-) Morgan friends,
:-) I was brainstorming on how I could expand my options on converting my
:1956 +4
:-) to wire wheels. One of my wilder ideas came to me as explained below. Can
:-) anyone offer any comments as to whether this line of thinking has any
:-) validity?
:-)
:-) 1) Morgans have a lug pattern similar to later Volkswagens, I think.
:-) 2) Volkswagen chassis were used in some kit cars, I think (I never paid
:them
:-) much attention).
:-) 3) Wire wheels were common on the VW chassis kit cars, I think (I never
:paid
:-) them much attention).
:-) 4) VW chassis kit car wire wheels will possibly fit Morgans?
:-) 5) What were those wire wheels used on kit cars with VW chassis (type &
:-) manufacturer)?
:-)
:-) (I told you it was a wild idea, but now my curiosity is up!)
:-)
:-) Jack Claxton
:-) 1956 +4 4 seater
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