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MG TD TF 1500 - Wire Wheel Balancing

Been looking for someone with in 100 miles of Tulsa, Ok who can spin balance the wire wheels on the TF. Nobody I can find has the proper mount for them on their machine. Any clues? PJ
Paul161

Maybe you can find an old shop that can spin balance on the car. Possibly a shop that mounts truck tires.

There are two types of on-the-car spin balancing equipment. One attaches a disk to the wheel. The other doesn't, as in this video of wheels being trued and balanced on my TF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFvHeVzhepI

Lonnie
TF7211
LM Cook

Thanks Lonnie, but there doesn't seem to be any one around here that has one anymore. Talked to a couple people and they said they quit using them years ago. But I'll keep looking. PJ
Paul161

A member of my local MG Club has machined a fixture using a splined hub and spinner that fits on a modern balancing machine to balance wire wheels. The fixture holds the wheels on their correct concentric location points for the balancing operation. A local Tire Shop is then able to balance the wire wheels using the fixture

I have balanced five wheels for my TF and a friend has balanced five wire wheels for his TR3 that has the same wire wheel hubs as my TF. We are both satisfied with the result

If you have an old hub, that is not significantly worn, and spinner and have access to a local machine shop it is fairly straight forward to manufacture a fixture. The fixture owner is currently working on a fixture with tighter tolerances. I will ask him if he has drawings of the device

TF 1500 9194
I Massey

My local Goodyear stores says they can deal with wires where before they needed an adapter. I have a set of tires I need to take up there and swap but it's going to be a awhile.
Christopher Couper

PJ,
Are these the tires and wheels that were shaved?? Or was that someone else,,,

Steve
Steve Wincze

Steve, These wheels and tires have never been touched. 5 new wheels and 5 new tires. I have a hub off of an early MGB and was going to take it to our local tire shop to see if it will fit his machine, if it will, I'll have the nut center cut out on a lathe. Worth a try. PJ
Paul161

Just got an email that a fellow in our club has ordered the proper equipment for spin balancing our wheels. Will keep advised. PJ
Paul161

PJ,
Is this an unbalance condition that has just developed ?? I thought that you had these tires/wheels for a while???

Steve
Steve Wincze

Hi Paul,
A few years ago I bought the wire wheel conversion kit from Moss. I had them ship all the parts to me except the wire wheels. I had them ship the wheels to Hendrix in NC.

http://www.hendrixwirewheel.com/

They tuned the spokes on all the wheels, supplied tubes and tires and balanced everything including shaving the tires. When I got them back he even tagged each wheel and told me where on the car to put each one.
A friend here bought a set of from Dayton and has had nothing but grief because the spokes were not tuned and the tires not balanced properly.

I know it means shipping but as I recall it was not too bad. Give him a call. He is very knowledgeable and helpful.
Mort

Mort 50 TD

Mort, Alan Hendrix did the wheels and tires on our 72 MGB when we lived in South Carolina. If I was within driving distance, he would be my first choice. Thanks for for taking the time to give me that info. PJ
Paul161

Paul,
I'm glad you are familiar with Alan. I'm sure you are aware of it but I will mention it anyway. I believe having the spokes tuned before trying to balance them is very important.
Mort
Mort 50 TD

I bought a set of cones from the MGOCC in Britain and they fit most of the balancing machines around here. The cones are a high density plastic... so are not expensive. I keep them in my tool box and take them when I balance the wheels.

The good shops are fine with this.
... CR
C.R. Tyrell

20 or 30 years ago, there were millions of cars on the road in the USA as daily drivers with wire wheels. No so, any more. But, where did all that wheel know-how go at tire shops? I find it hard to believe that the only place in the US that can do the job is Hendrix. For me, living in Oregon, it just is not practical to ship wheels with tires across the continent.
Are there individuals or clubs that can share these cones? Is there a list of wheel shops in the US that can manage this work? It can't be that difficult, once you have a device that will fit inside the wire wheel hub.
Can some of us get together to fabricate something to share? I am willing, but I have no knowledge of what to make or do.

Tom
54 TF
T Norby

We're in Michigan with lots of large potholes. My wife likes cruising around 80mph, and I can sense when the wire wheels need attention. I have to constantly check and weld repair broken spokes. About twice a season, I'll remove all 5 wheels, one at a time to tune the spokes, balance and rotate them. I tune each spoke with a 1/4" combination wrench to loosen or tighten, depending on the tone.
I'll pick one front axle to balance them. First, the pads are spread so there's no drag on the rotor, then, with wheel mounted on that free axle, I'll coax the wheel back and forth identifying the heavy spot and then tape on some weights temporarily to evaluate how much to add. I'll leave the old weights on for preliminary evaluation, but often, the old weights have to come off. I use new steel tape-on weights on the ID of the rim.
While balancing, I will check them to verify they're running true enough, for all practical purposes. Truing wire wheels is another story.
The governor here in Michigan just raised our taxes for funds to finally repair the salt destroyed roads, but with this Flint water fiasco, there will be no repair budget!
Spin balancing and shaving tires for MI roads is a waste of good money!
JRN JIM

The MGOC sells an adapter that will work on the current spin balancers. A bit pricey, but perhaps a club would want to purchase them, http://www.mgocspares.co.uk/acatalog/MGOC_SPARES_Spinners___Ancillaries_878.html#a35174W_2dW179

Here is a good article on building your own. http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/wheels/wl110a.htm
Bruce TD4139 Cunha

You can get the cones direct from www.smoothrides.co.uk
Dave H
Dave Hill

Bruce, Dave
Thank you for posting this information!
Do any groups out there have cone sets that they lend or rent out?

Tom
T Norby

One of the guys in our club has a set ordered to fit modern spin wheel balancers, not in yet but should be in this week. I don't know where he ordered them from or how much they cost, but he's using his money, their supposed to be designed for our wheels, he'll let me know when their in. PJ
Paul161

Dave H
It is actually smoothridecones.co.uk
Cost is 75 GBP or about $110.
Then there is the shipping....

Tom
T Norby

This thread was discussed between 04/03/2016 and 07/03/2016

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