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MG TD TF 1500 - To wire wheel....or not

To wire wheel or not to wire wheel, that is the question!!

I just came into 3 grand that is burning a hole in my pocket. I love wire wheels...for looks anyway. If I spend my 3 grand on chrome wire wheels from Moss, what if any value have I added or subtracted from my 52 TD. It is not a show room original, what with having an XPEG engine in it and tired paint and interior, which will also get taken care of over time. Everything else is quite original. The metal rims now on the car are quite beat up at the edges, and need rework and blasting and painting in a bad way. Just what is the wisdom out there about the conversion....good or bad in the world of T's?? Will I get my money back out someday if I should be stupid enough to sell the car??

Wire wheels...hmmmm????

Harry
harry

Since you, like the rest of us, have already shown the wisdom to buy a TD, a 50 year old car without modern creature comforts and safety devices, and with sub-modern performance I have every faith you will arrive at the right answer. Something like "it is as you see it grasshopper".
Seriously, I think you ought to do what you like. I might go for a supercharger and have the first TD "rat-rod" in the area.
If you go for the wire wheels remember how one thing leads to another -- new tires, tubes, might as well repaint the drums to show off the new wheels, and then the brakes while I'm at it, and maybe touch up .....
What did you do about the air filters and clearance?
Regards,
Dennis
D F Sexton

Harry, If it is what you want go for it. I did it for my TF and love the look. Try British Wire Wheel for the parts. Might do better on price. You may want to consider the "bolt on" wire wheels that bolt directly to your drums. To change to authentic knock off wires you need splines and drums. Don't forget the spare!
Also with the "bolt ons" you can go back to the steel wheels no problem.
Dan H.
Dan Hanson

Harry,
Not sure what the cost of conversion is...but you might want to look into the Dayton 60 spokes for the wheels. Discount Tire (a national chain) hooked me up with 5 of these with new radials, tubes, balanced tax & all for $1600.00. These are a wider wheel (7.5) and there is a world of differance in handling between them and my painted 48 spoke orginials with bias-ply tyres. I love the look of the chromes on my TF.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

Don't know why but wires on a TD appear to be very much a "US thing". There are some conversions around in the UK but not many. Personally a TD is the one car that I think looks better with steel wheels. TFs are fine providing the wires are not chromium plated. I've used a company called Motor Wheel Services for wires for my 1966 MG midget and the price and service was very good.

Jan T
Jan Targosz

So ...there you have it...all kind of a matter of personal taste as to: wires / no wires / painted / chromed.
Damn Jan....lighten up a little...."TFs are fine providing the wires are not chromium plated"... but then again my wife wears the "skirt" in my family so I guess as far as I am concerned: Skirts are fine providing they are worn by women!
Hope you have some sence of hummor or should I be on the lookout for a madd Scottsman carrying a telephone pole around "on-end"? ;-)!!!! Even with one leg I think I could outrun you with that set-up!
Cheers & Best Regards,
David 55 TF1500 # 7427 (w/60 spoke chrome wires!)
David Sheward

A TD owner that has three grand in his pocket. That is as rare as our friend Jon (aftermarket oil filter) with his "single" oil leak from his barn find TD.
Tony
Tony Cove

Tony ...Your right...don't "NEMGT" by-laws require that a "T" owner share this windfall with us?
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

David
How do the 7.5 inch wheels look on the TF? And is breaking and roadholding much improved?

I have been collecting the bits for a wire wheel conversion for my TF for some years and have been toying with the question chrome or not. My wife says not. In our locality once a year, the local authority has an inorganic collection when residents put their old tv's etc. out for collection and most of the junk gets picked up before the "collection" by those on the other side of town (every city has one). Recently someone up the street put out a set of 15" 5.25 inch wide, 72 spoke painted wire wheels which I claimed.

I find that the cost of having them chromed approaches that of new wheels so have not done anything with them yet, they could be repainted. It seems that although not listed by suppliers, the 72 spoke wheels are quite popular on TF's refering to contemporary illustrations in magazines and books and they are often chromed.

They still only take the same 165/SR15 Michelin tires that I currently have fitted to the standard 4.5 inch steel rims and wider tires are not recommended.

My solition to the question re "chrome/painted" and "48/60/72 spoke" would be to have a set of 48 spoke painted wheels with bias tires if I ever wanted to show the car and have another set of 72 spoke chrome (with radials) of whatever width, for looks and everday use.

Peter F
Peter Falconer

Can you get non chrome wheels a lot cheaper? If so you may be able to have your cake and eat it too (at least get a healthy start on the supercharger). I personnal don't like the chrome wire wheels. They seem a bit garish. Painted wheels look better to me. Also the 60 spokes seem to much. I would opt for 48.

BTW the only reason the TD's did not have wires was the factory was to cheap to offer them. After huge demands from their customer based the restored them in late 53 TF's.

Chris
Chris Couper

Here we go again...I always thought the TF would look good with chrome wires. When I contacted Dayton Wire wheel (from a lead on this BBS) they quoted $450.00 per wheel to convert my 48's. The part I did not like (besides the $$) was they would chrome the wheels and install stainless spokes. Chrome & Stainless do not "play well" together...my fear was the stanless would at some point "chip" the chrome plating and I would then end up with rusted (unsafe) wheels.
The cost of new 60 spoke chrome wires was 1/2 the cost of destroying the orginials....so it was a "no brainer" as far as I was concerned. I opted for what Peter said, my 48's wear "correct" bias-plys and are stored...for driving I run:
Tyres are: General American G4S (code 32196) P205/70R-15 ($45.00ea.)
Wires are: Dayton 60 Spoke D452 15X4.5 5-4.5 (code75516) ($225.00ea.)
All & All Discount got me "out the door" (Wheels / Tyres / Tubes / Balancing) for $1616.14 for all 5 Thought that was reasonable.
There is no comparison in handling & braking it's like driving two different cars. Having just got in from a ride and playing "dodgem" with a couple of "bambies" on a country road on the way home...I still like my fat little radials for driving!
I might feel different if I had a TD, the TF is a little more "rackish" in styling than the TD so it works for me...but it's a matter of personal taste.
Peter : I will send you a couple of pix off line.
Cheers,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

I own a TD because the car and myself are of a similar age and I have nostalic memories of seeing them as every day cars when they were new. I have no interest in improving the handling by fitting wider tyres or multi spoked wheels but am pleased that some people are. I have noted though that the first thing many Morris Minor owners do is to uprate their shock absorbers to telescopics. I believe this works especially well at the rear where if they are angled correctly they prevent axle wind up. Would this not be a better option for a TD / TF ? I know that MGB owners do this as well and more recently have been using MG RV8 wishbones to covert the front suspension to ball joints - another option for upgrading the handling on a TD TF ?


Jan T
Jan Targosz

Jan,
I also am of simular age as my TF (she a bit younger in fact) and my love for this car goes back to my fathers TF1500 when I was 3 years old. That's when they tell me I made the statement that "I will own one of these some day". John Twist did some work to my front end using some MGB parts but all where "bolt-on" components. In MHO anything that can be done to make the car safer and inprove handling without "cutting / welding / or bastardizing" the orginality of the car only improves her chances for survival for the next generation to enjoy. It takes about 15min to put the old bias-plys & 48's back on (I do this on a regular basis to clean the chrome wires as it make s the job much easier). I have looked at some of the conversions to modern shocks and cutting and welding the frame does not interest me! My enjoyment comes from driving this car...if the next owner wishes to trailer her from show to show collecting trophys I think they will find most of what I have done could be "undone" to put her back to a "concoures" level in less than a weeks easy work. I still have all the orginal parts (including the exhaust) to do so...but I do feel there have been "just a few" improvements to tyres, brake pads, ect over the last 50 years and will take advantage of this for "cornering robustly" on todays roads. Hope I didn't piss you off with the "kilt thing"
Just having some fun...Mg's are fun cars and it brings out the kid in me...still friends?
Cheers & Best Regards,
David 55 TF1500 #7427
David Sheward

I have another reason for not converting to wire wheels, even though I would like. I have non-pierced wheels, since my car is one of the first TD's, 1034, Match 1950. While I do what I want and I have an elastic concept of authenticity, I won't touch that one.

Denis
TD March 1950
Denis L. Baggi

Denis, It is funny that you mention the solid wheels. I also have an early TD (#533) with solid wheels and like their look a lot. I have to admit that if I have the pierced wheels and a later TD, I would go with wires.
Cheers, Rob
Rob Silverman

This thread was discussed between 16/09/2003 and 18/09/2003

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