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TR parts and Triumph parts, TR bits, Triumph Car Spares and accessories are available for TR2, TR3, TR3A, TR4, TR4A, TR5, TR6, TR7, TR8, Spitfire and Stag and other TR models are available from British car spares and parts company LBCarCo.

Triumph TR6 - Wheels....

Wheels....too many choices

I have the original steel wheels on my 76 (4) and am looking at the following options

1: buy another steel wheel (275 cdn!) as a spare and have the original 4 sand blasted and powder coated (400 cdn)

2: keep one steel wheel as a spare and replace the 4 corners with wire wheels (bolt on..about 1400 cdn)

3: keep one steel wheel as a spare and replace 4 corners with Mini-Lites (1100 cdn)

or...cheapest route!

4: get originals blasted, paint them myself and buy a new steel wheel as a spare. totaling about 350

I think the original steel wheels look great on the LBC but would like to hear some opinions on these replacement wheels, some sources for them (and a steel wheel replacement too) and what the pros/cons are of these options.

as always, appreciative of opinions

rookie LBC

Bob Craske

Bob, I finally did what I had wanted to do for many years and many Triumphs. I bought a set of the minilite knockoffs, wire wheel adapters, 3-eared Biranni knock offs, and Michelin redlines for my 76. Yes, it was expensive, but I feel like they make the car look much better than the stock wheels.
Gene Holtzclaw

In my mind, part of it is a function of the car color; part of it is how the car will be used and part of it is how much are you willing to spend. The darker the car, the better I think wire wheels or Minilite style wheels stand out. This is especially true in the case of wire wheels. Based on the color offerings for 1976, any color other than white would be a good stand out contrast. It still works with white, just doesn't standout as well. Use alternate wheels and modern tires for driving, use stock wheels and redlines for shows. Again, this is just my own opinion in the looks and usage department.

Having said that, I had contemplated going chrome wires (Dayton on stock spline adapters), Panasports or leaving it stock on a Signal Red car. I wound up going with the Panasports in a 15 x 6 and using 195/70-15 tires. This was about 16 years ago and the number of 205/70-15 tires available was much more limited than it is now. Later, I picked up some 15 x 7 Panasports for use with 225/50 x 15 autocross tires. I still run the 15 x 6 wheels with 205/70-15 tires for street use.

My rationale for going with the Panasports was partially based on my experience with other cars I had with wire wheels and partially on cost. When I decided to start using the car in rallies and autocross, the Panasport decision turned out to be even better for my purposes. Wire wheels are definitely more of a pain (somewhat lower and removed from the neck) to clean and maintain. Going to spline mount wire wheels would have involved the purchase of 5 wheels at the same time. By the time that the wheels were purchased, plus the splined adapters for the hubs, the proper nuts, hub studs, rim liners, tubes, knock offs and such, it was a much more expensive proposition. By the same token, wire wheels and especially chrome ones definitely "look" on a dark color such as Sapphire or Delft Blue, Signal or Carmine Red, Conifer or any other of the various "Racing" Greens.

Sources are "the usual suspects." Roadster offers Panasports (15 x 6 nominal stock replacement) and all the stuff for splines wire wheel changeovers using Dayton wheels (also 15 x 6). Moss and Victoria offer up a UK brand of Minilite style wheels and Dunlop (at least that is the brand that had been offered some time back) wire wheels, both in 15 x 5.5 width. K-Speed in State College PA and Paul Spruell in Chamblee GA also sell Panasports, a friend claims that K-Speed has the best prices on them. Also note that you can get 15 x 7 and 16 x 7 to fit TRs from Panasport. Rimmer Bros and Revington TR in the UK sell the same Minilite style wheels as Moss and Victoria, plus they have them in different sizes. Another type you might wish to consider is from Revolution out of the UK. They have a US distributor somewhere in PA, but I cannot remember exactly where or their name.

At least going to wire wheels on a Triumph isn't like doing a proper change over on an MGB. On those, the rear axle assemblies are different widths and the hubs are different between the disc and wire wheel cars. Doing it right on one those can really run into some money.
SteveP

Steve--K Speed in PA closed in Jan '03.

Bob--If you want to think outside the box a bit, keep the OEM steel wheel in your boot and consider a set of 5-spoke Revolutions (http://www.revolutionwheels.net/sportwheels.html). Rod N. and myself have a set of these and like the blacked-out appearnce.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

Rick, sorry to hear about K-Speed. Glad that you had a URL for the Revolution wheels guys. I had mentioned them, but could not remember how their URL was set up or their name, much less where they were it seems. For some reason I thought they were in PA. Another wheel that I like, but don't think you can get anymore are the eight flat spoke Cosmic alloy wheels out of the UK. I have a set gathering dust as one had a close encounter of the worst kind with a curb several years ago and the flange is broken with the broken piece missing (not my driving, a different loose nut behind the wheel). I have held onto them thinking that I may run across another set sometime or find a repair place willing to tackle it.
SteveP

here is another option

http://www.performancewheels.com.au/default.htm

Tim
Tim Brand

I just saw this in ebay;


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2483266360&category=34209

Tim
Tim Brand

Hi,

If you could find Mag wheel from an 80's Celica supra in 15" it will fit nicely. I bought aftermarket Mag from a Datsun 280Z and a nice fit too, but be sure of the good offset.

Cheers,

JGC
Jean G. Catford

What is the proper offset range if any? I have two sets of wheels that differ in offset from original wheels. One of these wheel sets were at one time on a six the other on an MGA. Will the MGA wheels work? Not sure if they utilized spacers or not.
Thanks,
Ashley
Ashley

Option 2 will not work, you have to change the hubs to accept wire wheels, so the spare would not fit if you got a flat. (Unless you got fake, bolt-on type wires). Simon.
Simon

Ashley--The following information is from Jay Welch:

Stock steel wheels on TR-6 are 15”x5 1/2", bolt Pattern is 4 on 4 1/2" circle, backspacing is 3 1/2". Wheel lugs for a 4 on 4 ½ MGB are 1/2" vs 7/16" for the TR6, but the MGB wheels will bolt up to a TR6. If you use the correct nuts they will bolt on. This list is not 100% correct, but it might help you narrow down your search a bit. 4 on 4-1/2 Acura - Legend '86-'89, Buick - Special '61-'63, Corvair all 4-bolt, Chevy II all 4-bolt, Sprint '85-'87, Nova '61-'70, Datsun/Nissan - most models to '89, Dodge Colt '79-'88, early Dodge Colt, Ford Mustang all '65-'68 4-bolt, Falcon, Maverick, Granada all 4-bolt, Mazda - 626, RX7 '83-'87 ????, MGA, MGB, MGC, Olds - F-85 '61-'63, Plymouth - Arrow, Sapporo '79-'88, SAAB all ???, SAAB 900 to '87, Toyota - most exc. MR2 & P.U. to '89.

Hope this helps.

Rick O.
Rick Orthen

I think the stock steel wheels for an MGA (same as TR3) were only 4" wide, pretty pathetic compared to TR6 wheels. Also, MGB wheels were 14" diameter.
Berry Price
BTP Price

I'd love to find a cheap wheel out there that will fill up my fender well with tire and not cost a fortune. I've heard of people using Datsun and Toyota wheels, but I've never been able to confirm it and places like Tirerack.com can't help.

Anybody have some on a TR6 that can comment about the backspacing, hub hole diameter, offset, etc?

I'm also looking at http://www.stocktonwheel.com/ to see what they can build and if the price/weight are worth it.

Thanks,
Tim
Tim Brand

Tim, there are a lot of responses you should read carefully above. The Panasports, especially in 16" should do you well, if I read your request right. If you want to use something cheap from a junkyard or swapmeet or ebay, you have to be willing to accept failure or a compromise. A return policy would be a great thing when using, say, Datsun stuff. If you just want to go the wider tire thing, maybe a shop near you can widen your existing wheels. Hard to beat 16" Panasports in those wheelwells IMHO.
Tom

Tom,

The point of my inquiry is to avoid failure or compromise. I'm well aware of Panasports, Revolutions, etc. I'm just trying to ascertain whether there is another option via ebay, a junkyard, etc., where the backspacing, offset and hub hole diameter work.
Let's just suppose a 16X7 BBS fitted to a '74 240Z fits perfectly. Wouldn't that be nice to know in case there was a set on ebay at $50.00 each? Or how about some cool vintage slotted dish mags?


Tim
Tim Brand

The wheels I have that were on an MGA are these Shelbys. http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/wheels/wl201.htm
Should I expect any problems with offset?
Ashley
Ashley

I was thinking about some Saab wheels, but didn't want to take the chance or go to the trouble of having spacers made up. I think common sense has prevailed, but who knows..if a set comes up at a price that I can't pass up (like less than the shipping price) I may go the trouble. I got excited about some Weld Draglites, the ones that fit 4 lug Mustangs will fit the bolt pattern. I have one, and they look real good on the car. But they take special lugnuts, haven't gone any farther than that except they look like they will stick out farther than stock on my TR3. BBS would look good, too, I think. Maybe there's a less surly junkyard out there that would let you try one on all the corners before you buy. The circumference of a Datsun Z tire may be the same as a 185R/15. If it is, maybe you could get wheels and tires at the same time, saving lotsa money. I wasn't trying to discourage you Tim, and would like to know of any real live success stories regarding these kind of swaps, too.
Tom

Tom,

No worries mate.

I'd be afraid to run spacers with our skinny little 7/16" wheel studs. Also we need to have the center hub hole the right size to locate the wheel, and not rely on the studs to do it.

I'd swear I've seen TR6's with slotted dish wheels in the past. I think that would look cool!

There are certainly other options like Keizer and Kodiak besides Panasports, but then were talking money I'd like to save for some roller rockers!

The Saabs might work. The hard part is getting the actual specs of some of these wheels. I'll keep researching and see what I come up with.

Tim
Tim Brand

This thread was discussed between 27/06/2004 and 03/07/2004

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