Morris Minor Owners Club

heya guys question thats been puzzling me and causing arguments with friends with moggies too, can you just screw on new alloys from hgalfords like any moderen car or is there a special kit you need to do this? i heard sumthing about if at high speeds the alloys can crack th wishbone?! is this righ:S i want to get th alloys as they give extra grip to the road and will stop me sliding off roundabouts like i did in boris! charly

Charly, you have to make sure you get wheels the correct size. There are two things to look out for. First, the distance between the wheel nuts, measured diagonally between 2 "corners". This must match exactly, otherwise you will not be able to get the wheel on! Second, the width of the wheel and therefore the tyres mustn't foul the bodywork.

I'm sure others here have the relevant measurements.

The Moggie has a PCD of 4" and lots of the aftermarket alloys use 100mm not much use at all, either get some alloys that fit the Midget or the minilite lookalike type from somewhere like Birmingham.

Be careful though! Don't go too wide as it will grip a lot LESS in the wet/snow/ice as the rear end is light and the load will be spread more.

Wide wheels won't 'crack the wishbone'......... if anything they will put more stress on the bearings and stress the links a bit more if you go TOO wide. 165 will be no problem at all. I run 175 front and 185 rear and they are perfectly fine.

What size did you want to put on anyway?

Cheapest method is to get 2 van rims and put 165 tyres on them and put them on the rear. They look standard except a bit wider.

Something like this would perhaps do:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 31964&rd=1

You don't need alloys to go wide!!!

Charly, try Minator 13J wheels. They are copies of the Minitel alloys popular with Minis.

First, the distance between the wheel nuts, measured diagonally between 2 "corners". This must match exactly, otherwise you will not be able to get the wheel on! Second, the width of the wheel and therefore the tyres mustn't foul the bodywork.

One thing that is nearly always forgotton is the wheel centre hole diameter. If it is too small, they wont fit - if it is too big then the studs will take all the shock load from potholes etc and is VERY DANGEROUS (the centre hole is meant to be a snug fit to the hub and takes the shock loads that would otherwise bend and snap your wheel studs)

I'd also recommend the Minor van wide rims with up to 175 tyres on the rear and up to 165 on the front. Any wider than that will not give you a benefit on a standard moggy anyway as the suspension isn't up to it.
Minor van wide rims are fairly hard to come by, but you can get similar wheels from places like Minor Developments (about £60 each).

Just for reference - my Traveller has the wide van rims with 165 tyres.

Hi there
Just joined this thread, I am looking to fit alloys to my 1969 four dour, firstly to give more grip but also to make it look better If I fit 13" wheels as oppose to the standard 14", how much top speed am I likely to loose? As I am using the standard diff and gearbox, and I dont want it to really rev any higher than it already is. Also, opinions vary of course, but do 13" wheels look too small?
Thanks,
Tim

13" Wheels can look fine:

http://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/RallyPics/ ... 004_60.JPG

http://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/RallyPics/ ... 004_76.JPG

It all depends on what tyres you want to fit (width & profile).

Based on a standard 145/14" standard profile Moggy tyre if you change to:

145/13" standard profile, then you will will be doing 67MPH when the speedo's reading 70MPH
155/13" standard profile, then you will will be doing 69MPH when the speedo's reading 70MPH
165/13" standard profile, then you will will be doing 71MPH when the speedo's reading 70MPH

If I were you, I would probably go for a 155/13" standard profile tyre as it's pretty close and should be cheap as I think standard Fiestas (as well as a lot of other cars) use these tyres.

I think standard Fiestas (as well as a lot of other cars) use these tyres.

Our '96 fiesta uses 165/13s and the tyres are more expensive than 145/14s...

Well not usually if you buy the 145/14s from a tyre place. They are usually nearly double the price of moggy suppliers.

umm yeah, we buy them from a tyre place....

So how much can you get a 145/14" tyre for then (from your tyre place)?

Whenever I have asked, they have been special order and VERY expensive compared to Moggy specialists........ oh and they usually say "is it for a Moggy thousand?"

Cam,
So by using 13" wheels and the tyre sizes you have suggested, will the engine not rev higher? meaning better acceleration and lower top speed? But judging by the speedo only being a few miles an hour out, I think the change in acceleration/top speed would only be noticeable on a race track.

So how much can you get a 145/14" tyre for then (from your tyre place)?

Firestones were about £25 each about 2 months ago.... and yes they know is from a minor!

I was quoted £40 a corner from my local place last time I needed tyres, where before they'd got them on special offer for about £25... I get 'em from Bull Motif now, and I try to nip down and collect 'em myself. Saves a fortune!

quick fit don't sell them - our normal place had to order them in for the 1st time, and I just wanted it done....

Most places to me are around £40 each on the car.

picky wrote:Cam,
So by using 13" wheels and the tyre sizes you have suggested, will the engine not rev higher? meaning better acceleration and lower top speed? But judging by the speedo only being a few miles an hour out, I think the change in acceleration/top speed would only be noticeable on a race track.

It all depends on the 'rolling radius' of the wheel/tyre combination. So that's the tyre rim size plus the height of the tyre sidewall.

The tyre sidewall profile is a percentage of it's width. 70 profile is 70% of the width, 60 profile 60% etc. So if you have wider tyres 155, 165 etc then for the same profile 60, 70, etc you get a taller tyre which increases the rolling radius.

so a 13" tyre with a greater width can have the same (or larger or smaller) rolling radius as a 14" 145 Minor tyre.

The list I gave you was based on equivalent sizes for 13" tyres.

If you increase the rolling radius then the top end speed increases (or the revs lower for the same speed) and the acceleration is slower.

If you decrease the rolling radius then the top end speed decreases (or the revs raise for the same speed) and the acceleration is greater.

If you fit the 155/13" tyres then the acceleration, top speed and revs will be approximately the same as they are with the standard 14" 145 tyre set up.

Matt,

I'm with Kevin & Gareth....... I too have been quoted around that price (£40). I think you got an unusually good price when you got yours, which is why I questioned it!

Does anyone know if wheels for an MGB will fit standard morris minor hubs? Also if they are 7" I'm guessing I will need spacers, and longer wheels studs. would 7" be a bit too wide, meaning less grip?
Thanks,
Tim

would 7" be a bit too wide, meaning less grip?

Wider gives less grip in the wet (and snow etc..) and up to a point gives better grip in the dry.
However unless the suspension can cope with the wider wheel (greater unsprung mass, change of tyre contact point away from steering centre etc..) then it will reduce the roadholding on tricky roads.
For standard Minor suspension I wouldn't recommend higher than a 5.5J rim.
How wide is the MGB rim, when measured between the edges where the tyre fits?

As for the stud spacing and centre hole diameter for an MGB wheel - Sorry, I've no clue!