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Hi, I bought new stock 4lug 4.5 grey powder coated steal wheels for Miss Mary I am replacing the wire wheels because I need new tire and do not feel like messing with tubes and balancing the wire wheels. They are not in great shape.
What size tire should I get for the stock wheels?
Thanks in advanceQuick follow-up question. Was i right to go with the 4.5 or should i have gone with the 5.5?
ThanksHey, I’ve got five 14×6, four lug x100mm pattern, powder coated wheels, with 175×70 Bridgestone tires (less than 3000 miles). Free to anyone who can use them and will pick up.
Dick
Where are you at?I might try going stock with my ride – I know Roy would like that rather then my ” Hot Rod look “dlschu42 at comcast.comSchu, as Lerner & Loewe once wrote (although not about your TDr) actually, “I’ve grown accustomed to her face.” She’s a very fair lady indeed.
I’ll stick my neck out and opine that you are ok with the 4.5″ wheels.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Second on the location? If Schu doesn’t end up with I might grab them if you are close enough.
That’s practically down the street from me! I have the 4x130mm pattern though so unfortunately these won’t work for me… What is the donor car for your TD to have that pattern?
Those would be a huge step up from the ones I have now though! Hoping ya find a good home for them.I think the wheels came off a 1976 Chevette, the donor car for my engine, transmission, rear end, and running gear. Quite a few cars use the 4x100mm lug bolt pattern.
And I just f kind out that my MGTD uses 4×100. I could sure use them but live in Florida so can’t pick them up
What about the VW bus wheels? Do they have 4 x 100 or 4 x 130 bolt pattern? And what is the impact of using 14-inch rims rather than 15-inch rims?
newkitman2014-12-10 22:15:23
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackI’ll handle the 14 vs 15″ question.
I run P185/75R14″ on my VW TDr. They are almost exactly the same outer diameter as 165/15″ that most VW’s run. They are slightly wider, but I doubt that they would interfere with anything.VW Bus wheels (in the days of IRS instead of swing-axle) are 5-lug that matches Mercedes lug pattern whatever that is…
Old swing-axle Bus wheels used the same 205mm 5-lug pattern like the Bugs, but the wheels were 14×6, with virtually no dish or offset.
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Thanks Roy and Kent. Roy – P185/75R14 are fairly common around here and the 165/SR15s are scarce as hens teeth. Might switch to those. Still hunting rims like the original TDs with the holes rather than slots. Might end up switching drums to 5 lug and going with VW bus rims. I’ve got time yet.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackRoyal,
You appear to have the same exact whire wheels and tire size that i have. Do you have any problem with balancing them? If i were to keep mine i would need new tires since mine came drie rotted from sitting for years. I am afraid to do that and still find out that they would not be balance. You are using tubes in your right?My TDr had stock VW wheels when I bought it. I re-tapped the brake drums and mounted the adapters and 72 spoke wire wheels from a Triumph Stag. Everything was done by me, in my garage without fancy equipment after a lot of head scratching and worry.
One of my first steps was to appraise the trueness of my “new” wires. To do this, I bought a spare brake drum from a junkyard. Drilled it and mounted the adapter with the very special wheel nuts on the front of my TDr and checked each of the wheels, one at a time while doing some rather careful measuring with a dial indicator as I slowly rotated the wheel. (No tires were mounted.) I then measured both the maximum axial and radial runout for each wheel. They were all within specifications of (as I recall) 3/16″. (Check for a thread on this site about my conversion.)
I had had a few wire wheeled cars before and what worried me the most was possible weakening of the brake drum. The aftermarket wires most often found on TD’s and even early Healeys were 48 spoked, so with 150% more spokes, I wasn’t too concerned about wheel strength. (Condition of the adapter anywhere splinters was another matter.)
Balancing: The very most important thing here is to find a shop that knows what they are doing. You DO NOT want to entrust this job to someone that has a pneumatic tire changer that only grips the center of the explained hub. There are changers that grip the wheel on the outer perimeter – that’s what you want. The first variety will bend or break spokes. Yes, I run tubes in “tubeless” tires and at the speeds we all enjoy in our TDr’s (<~80 mph) and the reduced weight they are no problem. You will need to put a rubber band like device over the spoke nipples before mounting the tubes (otherwise you will have a very early flat tire). Have the shop that has the correct cone shaped hub do the spin balancing and you are good to go. Balancing itself is really not a problem, I always say that you can "balance" a square block of wood.
If you have any other questions, send me a PM.Thanks Royal. I feel a little better about giving it a go. I do like how the wire wheels look.
Interesting that you drilled and tapped them yourself, I might consider that as I just did a front disc conversion and don’t really want to pay for another set of drums and rotors so soon!
What was your basic procedure? I’ve got tools to do it (drill press and bits) would just need a correct tap. And I’ve got my old drums to practice on. Maybe I will end up picking those up after all. (Gives me a project to work on over the holidays.)Hey Nobody, get your pipe, slippers, bathrobe and laptop out. Then settle in for a pretty thorough and lengthy discussion, including pros and cons, with all of the TDr kingdom about the conversion.
Just “search” on our TDreplica site for “wire wheels” by Royal from “any date”. It was done the summer of 2012. Good luck. (I had a lot more photos but fear that they got lost when the TDr photo gallery went away.
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