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Spitfire Spitfire, Wire Wheels, White Wall Tires...

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pjsmetana

pjsmetana

Jedi Warrior
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I have a white spit and I'm gonna buy some white wall tires for it, and my wife suggested that I get some wire wheels to go with it. But I don't know anything about wire wheels.

Does anyone have a pic of a white spit with wire wheels and white walls? Or, at least a picture of white wall tires on chrome wire wheels on any white car? Any opinions on the look of this? (My wife don't like Mini-lites btw)

Also, What do I need to know about wire wheels when I go to purchase these? What about upkeep? Do they need to get trued like bike rims? Like I said, I really don't know anything about wire wheels.

Thanks for all your help guys/gals!
 
I would recommend finding a place that sells both tires and wire wheels like Dayton Wire Wheel. They can true the wheels and balance them after the tires are mounted.

One thing you need to check would be if you will need to change the studs on your car to go with wire wheels. That is not the easiest thing to do on a TR4. Wire Wheels require shorter studs on the 4.
 
If you want to know about wire wheels, speak to Allen Hendrix at Hendrix Wire Wheel. He is the wire wheel guru. I bought my wires and tires from him and he set them up. Allen is very pleasant to deal with and I am <span style="font-weight: bold">very happy</span> on how things turned out. :yesnod:
 
TR4 said:
One thing you need to check would be if you will need to change the studs on your car to go with wire wheels. That is not the easiest thing to do on a TR4. Wire Wheels require shorter studs on the 4.
Click to expand...

True that changing the studs may not be the easiest thing on a TR4, but simply cutting them to the required length while on the car is a piece of cake. Took me a few minutes with a hand hack saw. Nothing lost doing it that way, just time saved.
 
Here in central PA, there was a time, if you walked into the Triumph or BMC dealership showroom, every vehicle equiped with wire wheels also had bias ply whitewalls. The window sticker would show the upcharge for radials (blackwalls) and the deduction for blackwalls (bias ply).
spit67ad.gif
 
Quoted from https://www.triumphspitfire.com/wirewheel.html
<span style="font-style: italic">"4. Slide the wheel on to the adaptor and pushing against the wheel hub center to maintain concentric location, simultaneously screw on the retaining nut by hand until the wheel is felt to seat on the adaptor taper."</span>

Whoa... adapters and restraining NUT... Apparently I don't even know what I thought I knew about wire wheels... and you have to grease them every 1000 miles and I have to cut my studs? I'm not real sure I want to even bother going with wires now... But at least I'm learning about them!

The "Truing" section on that link was great!
 
The alternative to cutting down the lugs is to put in a 1/4" spacer beteween the hub and the wire wheel adaptor.
 
martx-5 said:
The alternative to cutting down the lugs is to put in a 1/4" spacer beteween the hub and the wire wheel adaptor.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't that give me an incorrect wheel offset?

Also, after reading about the Truing a bit more... another questions popped into my head...

If I go with wire wheels... does that mean I now need to use inner tubes or do regular tires seal properly on them like any other rim?
 
I think you have to use inner tubes. As far as I can tell it is a expensive conversion ($3000.00) but I think it is worth it in the long run. I think it will make the car look sporty and a bit aggressive. Plus I think it helps the resale value of the car. I plan on putting them on my 69 Gt6. www.victoriabritish.com sells the rims and the adapters. I think it is worth the trouble. What do you guys/girls think?
 
It is also a good idea if you do this to use anti-sieze between the wheel and the hub. Also check out British parts northwest (supporting vendor) and Spitbits also, both are more "car people" than Vicky Brit.
 
Uh, not to worry about the wheel stud length; it's the same on Spitfires whether disc or wire wheel adapter. It's only on the big TR series. Note, however, that if you choose to go with traditional wire wheels with the splined adapters, make sure the "package" includes the proper nuts to hold the adapters. They are NOT the same as the lug nuts (especially the chromed "acorn" nuts on 1971-on Spitfires)!

What did you have in mind for whitewalls? Coker Tire has wide whitewalls in 155 and 165 (80) 13 sizes. Or are you looking more for a period-correct "pencil-size" whitewall as might have come on the car new?
 
I always felt that if you had a fifties or sixties British sports car that it had to have wire wheels. I converted my first TR4A and my wife's 1968 Spitfire Mk3 to wires. The TR3 will have wire wheels as well when we start its restoration.

Scott
 
Andrew Mace said:
Uh, not to worry about the wheel stud length; it's the same on Spitfires whether disc or wire wheel adapter. It's only on the big TR series.
Click to expand...

Well thats good to know! Thanks!

Andrew Mace said:
What did you have in mind for whitewalls? Coker Tire has wide whitewalls in 155 and 165 (80) 13 sizes. Or are you looking more for a period-correct "pencil-size" whitewall as might have come on the car new?
Click to expand...

Nothing skinny lined like I have seen in the past. I want the white area to be as big as possible. The thicker the white band the better. I don't care about period-correctness. Honestly if I could find tires that were just completely white, I would probably get them, but last I checked colored tires were still not DOT approved.
 
I ve had these Daytons on my car for the past 4 years with NO problems what so ever, I highly recomend them!

DSC02400.jpg
 
Andrew,

I had wires on my 73 Spit and I can tell you the stock lugs will hit the back of the wire wheel, (have the wheel to prove it).

I changed to alloy rims as I tore the splines out of the left front wheel. If it wasn't for the cost I would still have wires on the car.


Don R
 
Don, all catalogues I've checked list only one lug stud for all Spitfires and GT6s: p/n 158729. The wire wheel adapter does take a special, slightly shorter conical nut, p/n 144504. I have seen wheels and adapters ruined (presumably) by use of the "stock" lug nut, p/n 113087.
 
Andrew Mace said:
Honestly if I could find tires that were just completely white, I would probably get them, but last I checked colored tires were still not DOT approved.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong, but it is my understanding that rubber is naturally white. I have seen many early ie. 1900's era cars with pure white tires at shows over the years. It was due to them turning black from use that tire manufacturers started making them black. :smile: Again, I could be wrong, but that's the story as I know it......
 
Andrew,

Here is one of the rims. I actually have 2 that show damage.

I will try and get a better photo later. I noticed this when I had the wheels off doing some work. The ends of the studs on the left front were bent over dur to the pressure from the rims. (sorry no pics). I took a cutoff wheel and trimmed the studs back to the length of the conical nut and then had plenty of room.
 

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Interesting...and puzzling! Is it possible that someone had changed studs at some point? Not that it should matter, but the center-lock wire wheels weren't used on Spitfires after 1969; starting in 1971 and for only a few years, Triumph offered Dunlop bolt-on wire wheels instead. Were your wire wheels used or new when installed on your car?
 
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