To Jerry & other(?) inquiring minds-
I have had several sets of aftermarket wheels taken off 260-280 Z cars,
most very nice looking & cheap including BBS & Shelby. The thing thet
seem to have in common, is that they use a square shouldered lug nut, &
the wheel does not have a tapered seat for the nuts. In the case of MG
wheels, the taper is what centers the wheel on the hub. When the
after-market wheels are new, no problem, the fit between the wheel studs
& the wheels is close enough that off centered wheels do not cause a
balancing problem. After repeated removal & replacement, the holes
enlarge, & the off-centered wheel(s) will drive you crazy. Balancing the
wheels on the car is one solution, some older shops will still do this,
but when you rotate the tires, its time to balance again- you do rotate
your tires, don't you?
I found that the GM alternator spacer, a tube about 4" long, sold at
most of the parts stores has an internal diameter that can be tapped to
match the threads on a MGB wheel stud. After this was done on 2 spacers,
I chucked them into my drill press, & using a file, tapered the outside
of one end from fat in the middle to almost nothing at the open end. Of
course, this would be easier with a lathe, but this is almost "grapes of
wrath". The last step was to drill 1/4" holes accross the un-tapered
end to allow insertion of a 4" bolt & nut to make a "T" handle.
The drill is to put the wheel on the hub, use the 2 centering tools you
have made to bolt the wheel in place, the taper will center the wheel
perfectly, then bolt up tight with the correct lug nuts. Remove the
"tools", & replace with the remaining lug nuts. I'm sure you will start
with the tools opposite each other, say , 6:00 & 12:00.
Takes about an hour to make the tubes to fit, of course higher quality
steel tube is better than alternator spacers, but you use what you
have...
Jim
2V8's, no dollars or sense
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