Tempted for a future wheel change

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Tempted for a future wheel change

Postby Of_Machines » Sun Feb 21, 2021 11:54 pm

Hi all,

Inspired by a stack of 70's and 80's Custom Car & Street Machine mags I'm tempted to change my deep dish minilites for either slot mags or maybe a centerline style of wheel sometime in the future on my Firenza. Ideally larger wheels at the back and more regular sized ones at the front.

I'm presuming that the only slots around will be second hand ones, also that there aren't centerline style wheels that are the right size or fitment for HC's?

If that is the case does anyone know from experience what size measurements would fit so I can keep an eye out for the right ones?
I did find a thread on Retrorides with an HC estate that had slots fitted, and apparently they had to be welded up and re-drilled to fit.

I may try them and decide to stick to my minilites but I do fancy trying a bit more of a retro look.
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Re: Tempted for a future wheel change

Postby 1972nail » Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:26 pm

First thing you need to know is the PCD. The easiest way to explain it on a 4 bolt wheel is that it's the diagonal distance across the bolt holes, centre to centre. For s Viva it must be 4" which is 101.6 mm. Do not be tempted fit or allow anyone to tell you that 100 mm PCD will fit!

PCD for a Viva is usually noted as 4x4" or 4x101.6mm. the same PCD is shared with the Holman Imp, Classic Mini, Morris Minor and MG Midget among others.

You might be lucky and find secondhand slot mags for a Morris Minor in the hot rod style of big back smaller front.

The Retro Rides post you found refers to changing the PCD of the wheels by welding up the holes and redrilling to suit 4" PCD.

Next is the diameter. 13" is standard as I'm sure you know but you can fit 15" wheels and low profile tyres without affecting the gearing significantly.

Next is the width. Your Superlite / Minilight deep dish style wheels will probably be 7" wide. That is perfectly acceptable and about the maximum with in modern wheels that you can buy off the shelf. Wider can be ordered at a cost.

If you have sufficient funds have a look at the wheels from some specialist split rim manufacturers like Image Wheels https://www.imagewheels.co.uk/. Their Billet wheels have Slot and Centreline styles available.

You could also check out the Classic Mini wheels available from JBW. https://www.johnbrownwheels.com/wheels/classic-mini
Editor of the VVOC Magazine ReVival

"When you have a Firenza like mine, who needs any Minis?" copyright David Maxwell 1979.
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Re: Tempted for a future wheel change

Postby jpsmit » Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:52 am

I know that American cars of the era also had 4X4 PCD. Chevy Vega and I know there were others but can't find my list.
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