Well, I took a little time this weekend to try and figure out the weird
behavior I was seeing when braking - clunking and to a lesser extent,
grabbing. Unfortunately I'm about 99% convinced that the clunking is play in
the wire wheels on the hubs. Groan. Tried to grab a parts car on eBay this PM
that had been wrecked soon after restoration with new chrome wires, tires,
knockoffs, and hubs. But it went a bit higher than I could afford to go.
I'm assuming that the wear is both in the hubs and the wheels. Is that
probably true? I can definitely see and feel the wear in the wheel where the
"excess" on the splines meet the area that is actually used. But I can't
really tell anything about the hubs. Can hubs be replaced separately from the
axle shafts, or are they pressed together and must be replaced together?
Anyway, I've about decided that while I love the look of wires, unless I find
that the play is ONLY in the two rear wheels and the hubs are fine (unlikely)
I'm going to swap to bolt on. What am I looking at for this conversion? The
front seems obvious - new hubs and rotors. But what about the back? Do I need
to swap differential housings? I'm also thinking about getting the Mini-Lite
style wheels that Moss has. I see they are a little wider - will that cause
clearance problems?
Anybody have the parts for this conversion going cheap? My wife has been VERY
patient with the large amounts of money I've put into this thing, and it
STILL can't be driven. And I think her patience is wearing thin.
Eddie
1971 Midget
|