MG Sports Cars

I just talked to Hap Waldrop at Acme Speed Shop and he has exactly what I need, so I think I’ll order a set of wheels from him. He has them with a 25mm offset (3mm from stock) which is way better for what I’m doing than 38mm (which would be 16mm off); and if I need to use a spacer Dave Patton at Suto Fab has 4 on 114.3. Hap thought 15X6 would be better, but I still plan on 7" wheels so the tires won't look pinched.

Paul



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2013 06:09PM by pspeaks.

You can't compare the offsets like that, Paul. Just subtracting the offsets from stock doesn't take in account the extra wheel width.

Use the calculator before you order wheels!

[kgm.tiwing.com]

Hap doesn't sell a 15X7 with the offset you really want.

Carl, I looked at the chart [kgm.tiwing.com] but appearantly don't know how to use it; I'm a tad confused now. I've already ordered the wheels and can try to call tomorrow and change the order but it's probably too late and it looks like I'm out a lot of money If Hap, with all his MG expierence, doesn't sell a wheel with the offset I need, what do I need? I know the wheel is 1/2" wider each way If 22 is stock and 25 is 1/8" shouldn't a spacer bring it back to where I need it to be? What offset do I need? When I started this I was told to go with a 15X7 wheel, a lot of other people have and it worked, should I have gone with a 6" wheel? . I've built a lot of cars over the years but this is the most frustrating thing I've delt with. If this goes south on me I'm going to park the car in the back yard, grow my beard back, and go back to my Harley :-)



Paul



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2013 01:29PM by pspeaks.

OK, I talked to Hap and stopped the order, it wasn’t too late. I took another look at the chart and I think I understand what Carl is saying "Thanks Carl". As my car is a street car and I’m too old to do any racing or lap work I think I’ll follow what Bryan Jourbarts did. He has a beautiful MGB Roadster (picture attached, I hope he doesn’t mine). If they fit his car with no modifications, they should fit mine; however, this does NOT mean I won’t grow my beard and ride my Harley this summer :-)


Paul




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2013 01:47PM by pspeaks.

So... 15x6 Panasports?

Glad you didn't get those 15X7s. What you just about ordered could not have been fixed with spacers, because they were going to be too far out already.

I believe Hap does have a VTO 15X6 that will work. The six inch width is fine if you plan to run a 195 or 205 tire.

They’re VTO, which are exactly like Panasport or look like them anyway, just a little less expensive, not much, just a little and they come with the MG center caps. Hap talked me into 15X6, same as Bryan, which he’s out of but will have a new shipment in a couple of weeks. He recommends putting 195/50R15’s on it, again like Bryan. I have 195 Michelin’s on it now and they don’t look like rubber bands; 205’s aren’t that much wider and shouldn’t be a problem either. I’m giving some serious consideration to BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 tires, undecided on 195 or 205, but that’s today, who knows, tomorrow I might like something else. I guess that’s the beauty of having a project that’s never finished, I’ve been putting parts on this GT for 35 years and a roadster before that. Now all I have to do is get in touch with Bryan and find out what that color is and where he got it :-)


Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2013 07:42PM by pspeaks.

Quote:

however, this does NOT mean I won’t grow my beard and ride my Harley this summer :-)

Summer on a Harley in Texas . . . as a Texas boy I love it, I don't miss it. You should do it, though. Don't neglect the things that make you happy.

Cheers,
Tim

Thanks Tim. It's hard to avoid the occasional sunburn, but my buddies and I do night rides when we can. I’m getting a little old for it and may have to go to a 3-wheeler soon but I love riding.


Paul




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2013 01:29AM by pspeaks.

{Thanks Tim. It's hard to avoid the occasional sunburn, but my buddies and I do night rides when we can. I’m getting a little old for it and may have to go to a 3-wheeler soon but I love riding.}
Paul:
Saw this system on a Gold Wing in Alaska a couple of years ago. The guy had a scabbard for his crutches and had rigged an air shifter.
[trikealternatives.com]

Hey Phil,

There's a few older guys around here with that set up. When the Goldwing convention used to come to Asheville we'd see them all week. I used to laugh but these days they look mighty useful.

Tim

For the last year or so I've had to walk with a cane because my knees are bad and I'm not a good candidate for surgery. I'm concern that if I get the HD over too far I can't recover, but I guess on the other hand that would be true if my knees weren't bad. I'm not all that much of a 3-wheeler fan but rather than stop riding I might give it a try. A Can-Am might be a consideration too but a nice one is $30K.



Paul

You could get some training wheels. I think they call them landing gears now. Haven't seen them in operation but have heard they go down at low speed to keep you from tipping over. Kind of a laugh I guess but better than a tricycle. Everybody says when we get older we revert anyway so what the heck? Couldn't cost anywhere near that 30 large.

I sold my old iron head sportster and bought a KLR. For the kind of riding I do, I like it much better. And I can pick it up.

Jim

One of my hot rod buddies, in fact the one that bought my T-Bucket, has a KLR. Rode it once, fell off, but I like it too. He rides it three times as much as his BMW; actually rode it from Dallas to Big Bend and back a couple of years ago. I told him it wasn't such a great idea for a 68 year old bald headed guy but he did it anyway and survived.


Paul

It's a surprising bike. Long legs, a little heavy, not really big on horsepower, but for all that it goes well, is comfortable, pretty nimble, and handles any surface easily. I put the Michelin T63 knobbies on it and they are surprisingly good. Haven't been out on the freeway with it yet but it looks like it'll do just fine there too. I can see why the Army likes it. Hung my old leather saddlebags under the seat and for local errands it's just the thing. Plus it's fun to chase the dog around the yard with.

Jim

A while back I had some pretty pronounced Knobbles on a Yamaha CT-3. It made me a bit anxious crossing rail road tracks at an angle but for the most part did pretty well on the road. The most daring thing I think I ever did was ride a 650 Triumph Bonneville from Dallas to San Diego. I had to stop a number of times to heal up; today, I wouldn't even consider that on my Harley. Of course I wasn't 70 years old then either. That black bag on the back of my Harley is actually a soft "ugly Stick" tackle box I got as a gift when I bought a rod and reel from Bass Pro Shop.


Paul

Jim, the military KLR's are diesel.

Right Phil, but I have heard they'll burn anything you care to put in the tank. (candle wax anyone?) Plus they get some outrageous mileage, something like 120 mpg or better depending on fuel. I have yet to burn the first tankful in mine.

The worst experience I ever had with Knobblies was riding across the Ohio on a cheese grater bridge with a big Mercedes right on my butt. No directional control at all. Worse than sand, I scootched up on the tank, ignored the back wheel and kept it slow, all the while with visions of that Mercedes shoving me through the decking, and it just went on forever. Never been so glad to get off a bridge in all my life. I'll do almost anything to avoid one of those again.

When I got out of the service I bought a 650 Norton Atlas in Vallejo, California and rode it up to Grand Forks, North Dakota, then south to Tulsa, and then on to Milton, W.Va. I'd say it was an epic journey but the word is overused these days. Took a month doing it, starting over the Sierra Nevadas in early March with better than 6 ft of snow on the ground. Most days I rode a couple hundred miles but did the Tulsa leg in two days through heavy rain. 500 miles a day through a cloud is quite an experience. Somehow I don't remember much about the final leg, where and if I stopped. It must have been pretty uneventful by that point. I do remember the guy who sold me the bike saying how he wished he could go along, just before grabbing a pair of heavy gauntlet gloves off the shelf and handing them to me. Don't think I'd have done too well without those.

Jim

Jim, the CA to W. VA run on a Norton sounds like quite an experience. I'm assuming that the Atlas didn't have a fairing or windshield....very few did in those days. Rode a lot of Brit bikes in the old days, Norton, BSA, Royal Enfield, Ariel and AJS.
Have had two Kawasaki Coucours sport tourers over the past 10 years but sold the last one last summer. Looking seriously at a KLR or vStrom. Did two Alaska ttrips on the last Concours (an 06) and one 900 mile day from Hyder, AK to Vancouver, BC...the last half in heavy rain and dark.
My son wants to do AK again (he now lives in Dawson Creek, start of the AK Hwy). If we do I'll ship my bike west, getting too old for the long days in the saddle!
Here's a pic of the long bridge across the Peace River near Fort St. John, BC with an open steel deck. Lot of fun, especially in the wet.
Hummmm...way off the topic of wheels for an MGB??

I know, this is all my fault, but occasionally I like to talk motorcycles too. One of the guys in our group has a vStrom. I've never ridden it, but it's a really nice bike and does really well on the road. Besides, we've already worked out my wheel and tire issue. I've decided to order a RV8 hood from Bill too. I'm going to have to get to work on the little car, I've got a garage full of parts and toys still in boxes.


Paul