I am in the process of "going through this" on an MGA. May I share some
info...??
At 08:20 AM 12/19/96 -0800, TeriAnn Wakeman wrote:
>At 10:05 AM 12/19/96 -0500, James Fowler wrote:
>>Any suggestions on the conversion to wire wheels for a 1960 TR3A? I
>>have a set of original wires that have been stored for 15 years in a barn.
>> What parts are needed; what are the pit falls; what do I need to do to
>>the wheels before they are installed?
First off, the old wheels when mounted 'bare' on the balancer and spinning
by hand, rolled like eggs! Nothing true about them at all. They were awfully
rusty inside, and looked downright dangerous. We had the benefit of
purchasing new 72-spoke Dayton chrome/stainless wheels.
But..wait...there's more!!
>Been there did that, redid that....
>
>Rule #1 the conversion is only as good as your wheels and splines.
>
>Check the splines on your storred wheels. The section of spline at the rear
>should look new as it normally sits behind the hub spline. The spline
>should look like a truncated equallateral triangle. If the spline comes to
>a point, esp if the spline's appear to lean to the side, the hub is worn
>out and needs to be replaced. Its cheaper to replace the entire wheel than
>to have a hub relaced.
>
>Take the wheels down to a place that can spin balance them and have them
>checked for trueness. If the splines are good and the wheels are out of
>true I recommend British Wire Wheels in Santa Cruz California. The do mail
>order truing and are one of the best in the business.
I spoke with BWW before working with the old wheels. The cost of their
redoing a wheel is only slightly less than buying new painted wheels. And
they didn't want to work on wheels from the 1961 MGA -- too old to suit
them. So you may want to consider getting new painted wheels. Classic
Restorations saved me some bucks by ordering them for me. If you want
George's number, e-mail me. He had BWW drop-ship the wheels to the tire company.
And, when you put the wheels on a spin balancer, balance them, then turn the
wheel 180 degrees and turn the balancer back on. There should be no wobble.
BWW literature says to do it this way. The tire place I went to said "that
won't work. The computer won't let us do that" and finally 'fessed up' that
they couldn't properly balance wire wheels! So, I'll be taking the Lil'
Darlin' to another place that balances the wheels while they are on the car.
I only mention this to save you some time! I spent a LOT of time getting
that far.
>Never put a worn wheel spline on a new hub unless you want a worn out hub
>as soon as possible. I purchased "very good condition" used wheels & hubs
>not knowing what to look for. Had a wobbily TR3 for a year or so and
>purchased new hubs and wheels. Made a big difference on the highway.
Our rub: the splines on the rear hubs are worn. Worn a lot. I'm glad I
mentioned that on the MG list. I have a step-by-step explanation of how to
check the splines that was sent to me on the MG list. Ours were definitely
worn. So...we're buying new hubs, now! Thank goodness we didn't drive the
car with the old hubs with the worn splines, or we'd have been ruining a
$250 wheel!
>Be sure to liberally grease the splines when assembling the wheel on the
>hub. Remove the wheels and regrease them about every six months or so.
Aha! Somebody finally said it!! I think that maintenance of the splines is
important, too, after seeing the condition of our hubs. Some drivers think
it's not necessary.
I have some instructions saved if you are interested, and I hope maybe I was
able to help a little bit.
Carol
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