Wire wheels (again)

[Knightowl61]

I like the look of wire wheels but spun a spline in the 70's. About 5 years ago I thought another spline had spun, so I decided to go Steel. When replacing the hubs I discovered the woodruff key sheared and the splines showed "normal" wear. So, I'm thinking of going back to wires.
Why are the hub splines so short (about 1") and the wheel splines full length (about 3")?
A lot of wheels show severe wear marks at the bottom 1". Can the hubs be machined to add 1/2" to 1" extra splines? I'd feel more comfortable with more spline length and don't think pulling a tire off would be any harder as long as the splines are well lubed.

Again the question on MG 14" & 15" wires. Some say they work and some say they almost work. Has anyone found a fix?

 

[DanR]

John, A fellow Beamer in Spartanburg has MG 15" wires on his Sunbeam I think?

Very nice looking too!

It is Jerry Tolbert's son. I'll send you an Email with their contact info.

 

[absunbeam]

John- The hub spline length are usually dictated by the size of the hub. The hob that makes the spline only has a limited amount of clearance before hitting the hub face. The wheel is a broached spline which is pulled through the length of the hub. The joys of wires, The MG 15” sounds like a good alternative, may have to go that direction if my old sunbeam wires have excessive wear.-Al

 

[John W]

Regular 13" Sunbeam wires look great also just as they are. One used to could buy the hubs AND wires new at a reasonable cost. I haven't checked (anywhere) in quite some time regarding availability.

 

[jdoclogan]

Moss Motors carry 13" wire wheels for $285 apiece or $390 for chrome. They are listed as MG midget/sprite. Dunlop of India make them. I bought a set for originality when restoring the Promotional Harrington Le Mans and currently for the #41 Sebring Alpine. I get the painted version. Have them sandblasted and powder coated using a powder blend that virtually matches the original Sunbeam Silver with a slight gold tone color.

 

[DanR]

The Sunbeam Alpine with the 15" wire wheels are TR6 72 spokes, belongs to Jerry Tolbert's son.

 

[65sunbeam]

Here is a photo of the Tolbert Alpine-it has 14 inch MG wheels on it. Not sure what tire he is using on it but it looks good.

 

[DanR]

Eric, I received an email from Jerry a few hours ago and he said the wires were TR6 with 72 spokes.

That's all I know about what they are, except they look very nice.

 

[bulldurham]

I run a complete MGB rear end w/ wire wheels, in my Series II for a few years. It is a good fit but you do have to modify the d/s and weld on a support for the Armstrong's.
The rear gear ratio is same as Alpine. I think MGB is 14".

 

[Tim R]

In this video on The Sunbeam Alpine Channel on YouTube we fit some new front wheel bearings. We also replace the standard Alpine wire wheels with a set of MGB 14" wires fitted with Dunlop 165/70 x 14 tyres. This is a really good combination and gives just a 1.56% increase in overall diameter to the standard wheel and tyre. This combination fills the wheel well nicely. The video lets you get a good look at what the wheels look like.

These wheels are easily available from MWS and they ship Worldwide.

Tim R