Technical: Converting From Wire Wheel To Standard

[QuickSilver]

I have what is tentatively (until this weekend when I tear into her) a "69" bitsa.

Will a 74 standard complete axle bolt up? How's about rear end ratios?

PS: Please share your thoughts on this conversion. Gotchas, lesson learned, rumors, innuendos, etc

 

[Hap Waldrop]

All the MGBs used the 3.90, so all ratios are all the same, after 67 they all had tube axle housing, so here's the deal you don't have to change the housing on your car to convert to bolt on wheels, it's really a easy conversion, I converted my car to bolt on wheels 2 yars ago using the same axle housing, here's a short run down of what it take to do it.

2 front bolt on wheel hubs, just swap your rotors out, and bolt them on.

2 rear hubs, now here you got to do a little bit more, but not much, the deal is the spoke wheel housing is like 3/4 -1" narrower for the extra width of the splined hubs, so you need a slightly longer wheels stud, the part nuber escapes me nopw, but this has been documented on the MG experience over and over, it's a metric stud from the mid 80s camaros and vettes (very common), and it a 12mm 1.5 stud instead of the 1/2-20 stud, but they knock right in, no mods required,. the you need about 3/8" to 1/2" of wheel spacer on each side (hence the need for longer wheel studs) to space the wheel out a tick. This conversion is way nicer than the axle housing change if you ask me because you can more comfortably fit wider tires and wheels. Go the MG Experience forum and use the search feature and you'll find literally pages of folks who have done this. Took me a afternoon to make the swap, pretty easy actually.

 

[QuickSilver]

Thanks Hap.

I'm headed over there.

 

[AngliaGT]

What is a "bitsa"?

- Doug

 

[DrEntropy]

Bitsa this, bitsa that. :wink:

 

[QuickSilver]

Okay so I need to purchase the front and rear wheel hubs.

Any one selling as such?

 

[Hap Waldrop]

Try Glen Towery, he hangs out over on the MGex forum, he has atleast dozen of everything, I'll be hitting him up soon for MGB timing covers.