In my quest to find 5.0" wide wheels for my ' 67 Midget vintage racer, I
have found problems with all the usual equivalent wheels. The Vega wheels
are 5.0 " ( the Vega GT wheels are 6.0") but have the problem of the center
hole being too small. The front hub and the rear axle flange won't fit
inside the center hole, thus not allowing the wheel to sit flat on the hub
or drum. The Vega wheel has a very shallow rear offset, thus placing it
closer to the fender lip. A 1/4 " thick spacer will solve the center hole
problem as long as you don't have a square fendered car like I have.
I just bought steel wheels from a BMW 2002 that are 5.0" wide and have the
correct 4.0 " bolt pattern. The center hole is too small but because of the
rear offset, I can use a 1/4" spacer and the wheels don't interfere with
the rear fenders. The 2002 also came with alloy wheels which should fit the
same as the steel wheels. The 5.5" wide wheels seemed to be much more
plentiful in the BMW junkyards I visited. My problem is that the two
groups I race with have different rules for wheels and tires. The VDCA
allows a maximum width of 5.0 " and requires street radial tires. When I
race with HSR, I can use my 5.5 " alloys and Hoosier A70s. So I need a
different set of wheels and tires for each group.
The key dimensions in fitting any other wheels to a Spridget are the bolt
circle, the center hole diameter, and the rear offset, especially if your
application is on a square fendered car. Every one I talked to said to
NEVER cut the center hole bigger to accommodate the hub and axle. This area
is where a lot of the wheel's strength is. Some of the old SCCA racers I
talked to used to machine the interferring radius off the front hub and the
axle flange rather than cut the wheels.
I made up a spreadsheet with all the various wheels I have gone thru and
their key dimensions that I can send to you if you are interested. I also
have for sale a set of Vega wheels I can't use but which would work fine on
a round fendered car as long as you use a 1/4 " wide spacer.
. At 10:56 AM 07/07/2000 -0700, Bryan Vandiver wrote:
>Does any one know if Fiat 124/x19 wheels will fit on our sprites??
>How about wheels from a triumph spitfire?
>
>How exactly are you supposed to measure the bolt pattern any way, isn't it
the
>diameter circle through the center of the bolt holes?
>
>Regards - Bryan
Regards,
Bob Spruck
Sharpsburg, GA
' 67 Midget Vintage Racer
' '72 Midget Weekend Car
4 parts cars in the woods
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