Alloy Wheels

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Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Alloy Wheels

Post by Westfield 129 »

I have been communicating with Image Wheels www.imagewheels.co.uk about some wheels for a Morgan +8 Project.

Image has some interesting wheels, including a 15" Jaguar D Type replica, in widths from 5" and up.
5" is just right for a Westfield front end, with 5.5 and 6" widths available for the rear.
The Jaguar D Type wheels are available with center lock spline adapters, or bolt on .

There is also a cast center "Silverstone" wheel that is available in 15" diameter, in just about any width or offset.

What I want to know is if anyone is interested in a "wobbly web" type wheel in 15X5 and 15X6 rim width produced with a Spridget PCD.

I have inquired about having such a wheel produced. Price to be determined.
alleggerita
Posts: 122
Joined: Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:06 pm
Location: Uden, the Netherlands
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Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by alleggerita »

People in the classic TVR community I know are interested. Racing TVR Grantura used to have wobbly webs as well.

I have forwarded your enquiry to a few of them so you might be contacted directly.
Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by Westfield 129 »

The latest:

Yes, Image Wheels will make Wobbly Webs for us, using a Spridget bolt pattern, in 15" diameter and various widths. The wheels will be a cast 3 piece for lightness and design flexibilty for any offset/backside space and width required.

I recommend 5" width for the front (Spridget application) and 5.5 or 6" for the rear (depending on how much you may want to widen the rear track).

You can specify the backside spacing or offset, or I can do the math here on my early chassis, disc wheel car. Base measurements taken off of the Minitor 13X5" wheel.

We need to order 5 sets to start. Price is £240 each. Maybe if the order is large enough, there might be a possibility of better pricing.

Not bad when one considers that a fresh set of wire wheels on a bolt on car will cost about that much for the wheel and new hub or conversion spline drive.

Let me know so that a coordinated order for the first 5 (or more) sets can be made to Image Wheels.

I have been wishing for Wobbly Webs for, well, ever since I got my car over a decade ago...

Hmmm. How about an Elva wheel???
Grantura
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2017 10:00 am

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by Grantura »

Hi there,

I am a TVR Grantura nut and might be interested in the mentioned Wobbly Webs.
I do have already some experiences in finding reproduction ones or trying to organise
a reproduction but was not successful.
So please let me know more about your plans.
My website is:
http://www.TVR-Grantura.de

Klaus Witzig
Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by Westfield 129 »

The wheels will be 15" diameter, 4 bolt Wobbly web pattern, as shown on your site. The centers will be 3 piece, with rim halves and cast center.

Since they are not a full cast wheel, they will have an alloy outer rim that is not quite as thick as the cast rim section.
Having a two piece rim section will allow the selection of just about any offset/backside spacing and width. While they will not be a perfect rendition of the Wobbly Web, they will look authentic, and they will fit without modifications to the hubs, brakes, chassis or bodywork.

I have been fitting 15" wire wheels to the W11s for a few years, and I was looking for a period design alloy wheel as an alternative to the minilites or wire wheels. Most, if not all, of the alloy wheel designs are available only in minimal rim widths of 5.5" or more. This has eliminated the "silverstone" pattern wheels, which was the first alernative. There are manufacturers of cast alloy Wobbly webs, mainly for the Lotus 23 community, and there are 15" versions available, but this requires a new 6 bolt hub to be fabricated. The 13" minilites have a 5" rim width, and an acceptable offset. I was looking to duplicate these measurements on a 15" alloy rim to fit the period correct 4.50 and 5.00 Dunlop vintage race tires. These measurements are about the same as the wire wheels that I have specified on my own W11 builds, and have recommended to other W11 builders.

I was looking for a center lock alloy wheel for a Morgan +8 project, and Image Wheels came up in my search. They have a very flexible design, which allows for rims of 5" in width, which is perfect for the Westfield 11. They even had a 15" Dunlop pattern Jaguar D-Type wheel that would fit the W11 chassis, with a proper period look. Much better than the Minilites or the 13" wires. They were offered in both bolt on, and center lock Dunlop spline drive as a direct replacement for the wire wheels.

I inquired about producing wheels using a Wobbly Web center, in a 15X5", 3 11/16" backside spacing to fit the 4 bolt Spridget hub. I also suggested that rear wheels be available in 15X5.5 or 15X6". The 3 piece design is light weight, so a wider rim would not weigh siginficantly more than a narrower rim. This made getting a more authentic look available in a direct replacement wheel. It also gave us an alternative to wire wheels, which some builder/owners are not enamored with.

Image responded positively, requiring an order of 5 sets of wheels (20 wheels) to produce the wobbly web centers and rims to order. I found their willingness refreshing, and their production numbers for tooling to be reasonable. The price, at £240/wheel (+VAT) was also reasonable, especially considering that they could be made in just about any combination of rim width/offset.

So.. If you are interested, we need 5 sets ordered to produce the wheels. The manufacturer is UK located.

If you are looking for something different, let me know. It appears that to produce a special wheel center casting, they want 5 sets to be ordered, and about a 10 week delivery (or so, I expect a delay, because, well, tooling sometimes takes time).

So far, in my search for a wheel to meet my specifications (for both the Morgan project, and my W11) Image is the only company that was willing to produce the wheels to my specifications for a reasonable price.

I believe that the W11 community would welcome a Wobbly Web wheel in the authentic size for both racing and road use. Incidently, this wheel would also fit the early Lotus 7 Series 1 (including the 1st series Westfield). Some of those were equipped with Wobblys as well.

Of course, here in the 'States, we don't have any problem running the Dunlop Vintage sizes, but there are some low profile 15s that will fit on these wheels, giving a far better look to the Costin bodywork than the too small 13" wires and the minilite pattern wheels, while getting past the IVA in the UK.

So, we need 5 sets to be ordered to start. I think that the orders can be made directly to Image Wheels, and I can coordinate this with Image Wheels.
I am not a dealer, and I have no financial interest in the wheels. All purchases will be done directly with Image Wheels.
jonclancy
Posts: 942
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:30 pm

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by jonclancy »

Just a thought, and I havent checked as I’m not in the market for a set of these (but great find, Jan), are these road approved in the UK (E-marked?)? Some calipers I was looking at recently were only approved for track use...
Westfield 129
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 am

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by Westfield 129 »

The wheels are produced by a UK based company (Image Wheels International). I would assume that they would have the same approvals as the other 3 piece wheels that they produce.

Too bad about the brake calipers. However, with an all up weight of 1,200 lbs, there are plenty of production brake calipers that can be used on the W11. Besides the MGB units, I have seen a 4 piston Toyota pickup truck caliper used with only minor grinding with wire wheels. Not much need for exotic brakes when we have sedan brake calipers designed for cars taht weigh 3X as much.

The biggest problem with changing calipers is the lack of a range of tandem master cylinders to adjust pedal throw, pressure and modulation.
jonclancy
Posts: 942
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:30 pm

Re: Alloy Wheels

Post by jonclancy »

Hi Jan,

It was some repro Girling AR calipers that advised track use only. Ive called Image and they say the E mark only applies to tyres etc. They are company BSI and ISO approved/certificated, but its worth a check. I had that experience with a BBA cerification, or lack of it, on some insulated house bricks a few years ago. Had to cancel the entire order when I checked and they ha no BBA cert, despite being offered by a major UK supplier. Would have invalidated my NHBC insurance.

As for calipers, I agree. The Midget items work well with M1144 pads. It was originality I was looking at for my own project.
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