Don't know about an MGA, but for the MGB fitting standard wire wheel hubs to
a steel wheel axle will cause the tyres to foul the outer arches. You can
get conversion hubs that bring the wheels in a little, but they are still
further out than normal and on my B still fouled the arches on cornering.
Eventually my axle needed new gears and shims anyway so I swapped it for a
w/w axle with the original hubs - much better. The fronts use standard
hubs.
Don't know whether or not I have just been lucky, but when I put my old
tyres on the new wheels they didn't ned balancing (road tested, not checked
on a machine) and neither did replacement front tyres many years and
thousands of miles later. In 10 years and 25k miles I have had to replace
one spoke where the head pulled off. It hadn't snapped, the head hadn't
been properly formed in the first place I reckon. I debated some time
before splashing out on them, but chrome wires on Black Tulip look the knees
of the bee. Mind you, takes and hour per wheel to clean them, but it's
worth it.
PaulH.
----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis and Kathy <skog@pioneernet.net>
To: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 5:39 AM
Subject: Steel wheel to wire wheel conversion
> Thanks to a couple of guys in the Northwest MG car club, I am now the
proud
> owner of a 1957 MGA.
> My question is, to convert from steel wheels to wire wheels do I need to
> change the complete rear end or just the axels ? What about the front,
> anything special there. This is my first MGA so it will be a new learning
> experience for an old dog !
> My son and I sucessfully removed the body from the frame after suitable
> bracing and ran into no snags. Good first start.
>
> Dennis Skog
> '65 MGB
> '66 MGB
> '80 MGB LE
> '60 JAG MK1
> '58 MG Magnett ZB (soon to be parted out or sold)
> '57 MGA in process
>
>
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