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Wire Wheel Questions

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boeingpilot

boeingpilot

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I just picked up a TR4A with wire wheels. None of my other cars have ever had wires so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to care for them. Do the spokes need periodic tweaking like a bicycle wheel? Are there any tell tale signs of poorly tuned wheels, or wheels that are not true? Are tune ups for wire wheels expensive?

Thanx,

Chris
 
Most important, IMO, is to remove the wheels from the splines every year, so you can clean and lubricate the splines. Otherwise they tend to seize up until they cannot be removed without ruining both wheel and spline extension. While you've got them off, check that the special nuts that hold the extension to the hub are tight.

Also check the spokes during your annual service. Tap on them with a small wrench or similar, they should ring. If you just get a "thud", that spoke is loose.

Easy check for trueness is to spin them with the car jacked up. Watch the rim near the tire for wobble, but ignore any small dents like at a weld seam.

Dunno what a shop would charge for a "tune-up" (obviously depends greatly on the condition of your wheels, how many spokes they have to replace, etc.). But I'll bet it ain't cheap !
 
what Randall advises, Plus a small dab of antiseize on the spline and thread ends so that the wheel won't get stuck on the hub... had a 54 XK120M that was a bear to remove a wheel one time. The PO had let them rust in place.
 
Aloha Chris,

Wire wheels do require some extra effort compared to steel wheels. The splines on the hub and the wheel need to "greased" so the wheel can be taken off as needed. You can use a water proof grease, but I use a silver colored anti-seize. Shops that work on wire wheels are becoming harder to find, so getting the wheels trued and tuned usually requires shipping them off somewhere. Replacing broken bits is not difficult since most of the usually LBC part companies sell spokes, nipples, the special wrench and the rubber inner rim band that protects the tube from the nipples. Most tire shops do not have the equipment to change tires on wire spoked wheels. The machines usually use a peg that engages a lug hole to grip the wheel, but this will bend a spoke on wire spoke wheel. They also may not be equipped to balance your wheels either. I use a set of tire irons to change my tires and it is not difficult. Most tire stores don't have inner tubes any more, so you might have to go to a motorcycle shop or off road specialty shop.

here are a few online sources of information:

https://www.vtr.org/maintain/stag-wheels.shtml

https://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/wirewheels.html

If your wheels are in good condition now you should not have any problems unless you skid into a curb or hit a deep pothole at speed.
 
Check this site.
https://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/
They did a gonzo job on 4 wire wheels from my BGT.
There are also explanations of what they do to resuscitate this type of wheel.

Keep on.
 
Tosh,

Can you post a picture of the wheels in your avatar and what size, make/model they are?

Sorry to steal the thread, PM me with the info if possible.
 
Hi Chris,

All that is said here is right on the button.

"Hendrix" is one of the best but of course; You have to consider the shipping costs. Maybe less costlier to simply buy new wheels????

What you may want to do, (It worked for me), is contact some of the local "Motorcycle Shops" in your area to see if they would check out the wheels for you.

As mentioned; Most tire suppliers these days don`t have a clue about wire wheels and forget the "Local Yocal" repair shop.

Best Wishes,

Russ
 
Iv'e had my Dayton 72 Spokes on for 3 years, approx. 3500 miles. They feel fine,

But now I'm wondering should I bring them to have Trued up?

DSC02399.jpg
 
My TR6 has chrome wires on it when purchased 3 years ago. when I went to pull them off go figure the very last wheel was rusted on, I had to take the wheel off with the spindle attached and to a Brit car shop, he got the wheel apart but since then I have had no troubles, never had them trued, I take them apart once a year and anti seze the splines. the only thing I didt like is the holes where the spokes come thru the rim and hub, the grease comes thru too and cruds up the spokes, so to fix that I cleaned the inner hub and spread silicone around the spoke nipples and no more grease oozes thru, I also believe this is why the hubs rust to the splines water seeps into the spline area thru the nipples. I love my wire wheels gives the 6 a more exotic car look
 
kodanja said:
Iv'e had my Dayton 72 Spokes on for 3 years, approx. 3500 miles. They feel fine,

But now I'm wondering should I bring them to have Trued up?
Click to expand...

72 spoke Daytons should be good for quite a while unless you really curb it. Send them to Hendrix when you feel they need a tune up.
 
Hi Chris,

Regarding running silicone around the back of the spoke heads in the hub, use roof and gutter grade, and running it around with a finger is easiest. Rubber glove if you like. Some kitchen sink detergent on the silicone makes it easy to work.

Check there is no grease on the chamfers on the spline and hub, as these surfaces are designed to grip, not slip. Just a squirt of WD40 on the chamfer surfaces stops any rust forming. Grease just goes on the actual spline.

When removing or returning a knock-on, it's best to have the tyre just touching the ground to save the shock loading on the suspension when you hit it with the hammer. An engineer's hammer with nylon pads does less damage to the knock-ons than a copper hammer.

Cheers,

Viv.
 
Aloha,

I agree with the others, unless you have done something drastic to you wheels they should be fine for a long time. Here is a web page that describes routine annual maintenance of wire wheels. It is about three quarters done the page and don't be put off because it is from a Morgan source, wheels are wheels.

https://www.gomog.com/allmorgan22.html
 
I haven't done any maintenance on my wire wheels. I have owned the car since 1980. I take that back - I once cleaned and painted them. In fact, I doubt if any maintenance has been performed on them since they were made in 1959. They work fine.

Having once experimented with the effect of rust on wire wheel splines on another car, I always use silver anti-seize on the splines. The silver stuff is not so noticable if it comes out the spoke holes in the hub.

I like the 4-lb lead hammer I got from British Wire Wheel for knocking on the knock-offs.
 
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