Regarding the recent thread on tires and wheels, I have just acquired a set
of 5" Vega wheels (not GT). I had intended to use them on my SWA ' 67
Midget vintage race car. I've raced with HSR and SVRA for the past 10 years
on Hoosier A70s and Western 5.5" alloy wheels. I recently started also
racing with VDCA and they don't allow non-period equipment, so the sticky
Hoosiers and the wide wheels are not allowed in their events. I have been
trying to find 5.0" wheels with the correct dimensions to mount the
Continental 175/70-13s I'm using as "race" tires. They are currently
mounted on stock newer Rostyle wheels that I am not happy with.
The Vega wheels have so many inherent problems on my application that they
are for sale. First of all, with a SWA car, the backspacing is critical.
The Vega wheels are 2 5/8", the Rostyles are 3 3/8 ", the Westerns are 4
3/8 ". Even with the rear fenders pushed out as far as I dared go and a
Panhard bar, the Vega wheels stick out past the sheetmetal. This wouldn't
be a problem on a RWA car. Secondly, the center hole is definitely too
small for both the front hub and the rear axle. Spacers are required. I
tried1/4 " spacers and they solve the clearance problem, but the SWA
sheetmetal kills me again. I have had three people who's opinions I regard
very highly tell me never to cut the center hole larger. Most of the
wheel's strength is in the center web. Many wheels that crack and fail do
so in the area of the bolt holes and the center hole. Vega wheels are also
notorious for being heavy yet weak. Additionally, even though I am using
7/16 studs all around, the Vega bolt holes are too large. They seem to be
1/2" diameter and I don't want that much slop being taken up by the bevel
on the nuts and the wheel. Also realize that the British bevel and American
bevel are different. With American 7/16 " studs and Rostyle wheels, I
couldn't use the American 7/16 " nuts because the bevels don't match and
there is only about 1/16 " contact between the nut and the wheel. In order
to use the Rostyle wheels on the 7/16 " studs, I took the standard Rostyle
long wheel nuts, drilled them out and tapped them for the 7/16x14 threads.
While I was at it, I drilled and tapped them all the way through, making
them into open nuts so the studs do not bottom out inside the nuts. This
makes the tech inspectors much happier.
To make a long story short, the Vega wheels would work well on a RWA car
with spacers. I am really disappointed they don't fit my car because I
really like the look of them. They don't have that ubiquitous Rostyle or
Panasport look. If I didn't have wire wheels on my ' 72 RWA street car, I'd
use the Vega wheels in a heartbeat.
If anybody wants the Vega wheels, they are for sale, cheap! If anybody has
some 5.0 " with backspace of 3 3/8" to 4 3/8" I'm interested in them.
Since I've become such an "expert" on Spridget wheels in the last few
months, here's what I have been able to measure:
Style Width Backspace
Solid Steel 3 1/2 3.0
Wire 4.0 3.0
Rostyle, early (8 slots) 4 1/2 3 3/8
Rostyle, late (4 spokes) 4 1/2 3 3/8
Bugeye, round holes ? ?
Vega, (12 slots) 5.0 2 5/8
Vega GT, (4 spokes) 6.0 ?
Western Alloy (8 spoke) 5.5 4 3/8
Panasport 5.0 3 1/2
Regards,
Bob Spruck
Sharpsburg, GA
' 67 Midget Vintage Racer
' '72 Midget Weekend Car
4 parts cars in the woods
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