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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - wire wheel to alloys conversion

My friend has wire wheels on his 1970 midget.
Problem is theyre all out of shape.
We cant find anywhere to sort them out here in Thailand though i'm tempted to give it a go myself.....

For a quick , easy resolution as he has to use the car daily, is there some sort of adapter flange available which will allow you to put a steel or alloy onto the existing splined hubs ?

Ive never worked on splined hubs so i'm not really sure what i'm dealing with.
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

You can get Minator alloys with splined centres, although they are quite expensive.

Alternatively, you can fit original bolt-on hubs. The fronts are easy, as they are a straight swap, although you do need the correct brake disc for bolt-on wheels.

The rear could be more problematic, as the wire wheel axle is narrower, so the wheels would not sit in the correct place and may rub. Also, the halfshafts may well not fully engage.

There is always a chance that someone may have converted it to wire wheels using the standard steel wheel axle.

Might be easier to just buy some new wire wheels.
Dave O'Neill 2

Yes, if we were in UK that would be the easiest thing..
sadly, its much more difficult out here, shipping costs and time etc as well as the 'vagaries' of the customs process here.....

it seems to be easy to go from steels to wires, but not the other way around...
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

In the UK going from wires to steel is easier and cheaper than the other way around simply because the parts needing to be changed are the same but there is a surplus of steel wheel parts on the second hand market. Wire wheel parts are in quite short supply and carry a premium.
Graeme Williams

Andy

Are there any motorcycle repair shops near you that could help fix wire wheels?

Or may be try a swap to a locally available rear axle for booth on wheels? (Suzuki Carry?) plus making sure PCDs match front and rear and have your front hub adapte...

Cheers
Mike
M Wood

Yes we looked for motorbike shops that would do it, there are lots of them here but all for little bikes such as honda C50 types...

There is a place in Bangkok that apparently can do them but they want 25k thb each (500 pounds)(according to my friend). Some things out here are cheap but other things are ridiculously expensive.
Also you get people trying to rip you off all the time...

There is a guy in the car club that has a set of wire- to - bolt on wheel adaptors on his MGA, i'll ask him where he got them...

Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

I have re-spoked motorbike wheels and it isn't that hard - just don't remove all of the old spokes in one go! I set the wheel on a vertical spindle and made an adjustable guide pointer to align to the rim. As you rotate the wheel on the spindle you can quickly see where the rim is out of true and adjust the spoke tension to correct it. Once it is true in both vertical and horizontal planes you then go round tightening every spoke by the same amount until you get the same nice "ping" noise from each. A hub held in a vice would do nicely as a spindle.

If your friend has a spare wheel he could at least give it a go on that one and see how he gets on.
GuyW

yes, thats what i think, just needs a nicely fitting centre to start off with...
Takes time thats all... theres some national holidaysd coming up soon, maybe time to give it a go.

Would be easier to bolt some steels wheels and an adaptor if available though....
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

but there is a surplus of steel wheel parts on the second hand market. Wire wheel parts are in quite short supply and carry a premium.

theres your solution right there.. find another spridget person and do a straight up swap... they get a great deal to convert to spokes and you get the availability of lots of steel wheels and parts and no body is out any cash so the savings can be applied to the incidentials needed to finish the projects... he may need new wheels you may need new brake rotors

prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Carefully measure the length of the spokes! Buy new ones. Count revolutions of the niples if you re-spoke. Adjust the rim and ET, control the tension. After a thousand miles adjust again. In Thailand and spritely driving, perhaps after a few hundred miles. Counting the revolutions is the key.


Flip
Flip Brühl

If the holes in the hub are oval, the hub is shot.
Look at you tube at borrani wheels.
Flip Brühl

Andy

Some tips on wire wheel rebuilding:

http://www.austin7.org/Technical%20Advice/Rep%20Wire%20Wheels/

http://www.mg-tabc.org/library/wires.htm


Guess you have checked out the cost of new wheels from MWS?

There are people on here and the classified pages of this website who would probably have bolt on wheel front hubs and rear axles for sale (as well as try 'Stadt' - Alan Trew - on eBay and Andy Jennings both in UK) - would import be possible as parts are old, even though still cost of shipping and disappearance looms?

Why not get a pair of secondhand bolt on front hubs sent from UK or Australia and do a local conversion with a Suzuki Carry rear axle?

Cheers
Mike
M Wood

Andy

Have you checked with Orsen Equipment to see if they have a suitable hub adapter?
http://www.orson-equipment.co.uk/MG-MGB-Hubs

Cheers
Mike
M Wood

I've E-mailed to Orson equipment, lets see what they recommend...

Thanks for link.

Andy
Andy Phillips (frankenfrog)

This thread was discussed between 29/02/2016 and 01/03/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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