[Mgs] Wire wheels

[Barney Gaylord]

Tom,

It is mostly a matter of personal preference.  Wire wheels are very 
pretty (although beauty is in the eye of the beholder).  They are 
also a PITA for maintenance if you driver a lot or if you like 
spitired driving.  Original 48-spoke wheels will not hold up to 
regular spirited driving on modern radial tires.  60-spokes are 
(usually) okay for normal road use.  72-spokes have an entirely 
different "too busy" appearance, but are pretty much required for 
competition with sticky tires.

But if you still like the things, the switch-over is just a matter of 
money and one days work.  You need to change out the whole rear axle 
assembly (R&R the U-bolts), because the wire wheel half shafts are 
7/8-inch shorter each side (to make up for the length of the splined 
hubs).  You may need to change the hand brake cable.  In front you 
change the bearing hubs and brake drums (for drum brakes only).

You can take a shortcut and install bolt-on wire wheel 
adapters.  This increases track width, placing the tires closer to 
the fenders.  It seems to work with standard size tires (5.60/5.90-15 
or 155/165-80-15), but wider tires run the risk of rubbong on the 
fenders (especially in the rear).

Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
http://MGAguru.com


At 01:30 PM 4/10/2018 -0400, Thomas Gunderson via Mgs wrote:
>Should I change from steel to wire wheels? If so can anyone send me 
>info to do this task?
>Tom Gunderson
>1957 MGA 1500 rst