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Drivetrain & Chassis Upgrades
Factory V8 wheels
By Jonathan Moulds (aka JC)
MGB GT V8 Wheels on a shoestring budget.
Having decided that I wanted to do a V8 conversion I started trying to acquire genuine Dunlop composite Steel / Alloy wheels. I soon discovered that a good set of wheels were both hard to find and completely out of my price range. Brand new reproduction wheels are sometimes available but these are nearly £300 each. £1500 for a set of wheels just wasn't a viable option. One of my friends from the MGOC BBS, Jim McGlynn, who had done his own V8 conversion, showed me that Reliant Scimitar wheels were almost identical to genuine Dunlop V8 wheels.
The Dunlop V8 wheel is constructed from an aluminium disk in the centre of the wheel, which is riveted onto a chromed steel rim. They were fitted as standard equipment onto factory original V8 cars and as such makes the fitment necessary in order to make for a visually acceptable replica. The difference between genuine MG wheels and Scimitar wheels are basically the profile of the polished aluminium squares. Genuine wheels have a more rounded profile whereas the Scimitar wheels are slightly more peaked. Scimitar wheels are an inch wider at 5.5J as apposed to the 5J of the originals. The Off-set is also different, the Scimitar wheels appearing much deeper. The centre caps for Scimitar wheels are not as deep as MG caps. This extra depth is necessary in order to clear the large castle nuts on the rear hubs. Despite these minor differences they are still the same diameter, 14 inches and actually share the same tyres although obviously the speed rating needs to be much higher as putting a V8 engine into a B represents approximately a 62% increase in power. As such you can expect to be doing around 140mph flat out as apposed to the 1800 engined MGB's 110mph.
Two final notes for others who might be considering the fitment of Dunlop V8 look-alike wheels is that firstly they require a special set of nuts. RO-style nuts are not appropriate as the special nuts actually hold the wheel against the hub by compressing a large washer against the wheel. Secondly, pick your tyres carefully. There is a risk that the tyres will rub on the arches due to the extra width of the wheels if the axle is not dead centre. Wheel arches can be flared slightly with a block of wood and a scissor jack if this is a problem such that he flare will not be obvious to the casual observer.
I found my wheels on the internet from a reputable Scimitar parts specialist for a mere £60 for four wheels plus £16 delivery. Great, I've already saved £1,424 compared to a genuine set! The wheels arrived and although the chrome was in good condition for the most part, the black paint was not, some of it being chipped away completely. Additionally the aluminium squares which should be polished to a mirror finish were oxidised and dull. Some remedial work was required. Here are the wheels as I found them. Note the mostly excellent quality of the chrome. Poor chrome would mean the rim needed parting from the centre disk for re-chroming. This was not a viable option for my shoestring V8 wheels.
My first job was to polish up the aluminium squares and ring in the centre of the wheel. I also took the trouble to give the chrome a quick once over with autosol. They already looked good but I was not satisfied. The aluminium was polished up by using finer and finer grades of wet and dry paper, right the way down to 800 grit. It is then given a polish with a good metal polish. Finally, a quick coat of "silvo" is applied for that extra sheen.
I then covered the wheels with Nitro Morse and used a wire brush to remove the remains of the enamel paint.
The wheel was then turned over and 30 years of road dirt and grime cleaned off with a wire brush attached to a drill. I did not use the drill on the front of the wheels for fear of scratching the chrome.
The alloy squares were then covered with masking tape and trimmed with a scalpel so that the new paint would not cover my carefully polished aluminium. Incidentally, the aluminium sections take around 3 hours per wheel to polish up properly by hand. I did not use power tools for polishing as they tend to leave swell marks and round off the edges of the work. Applying masking tape takes around 5 minutes but trimming it accurately with a scalpel took just over an hour per wheel. Next a special aluminium primer had to be applied with a brush. Ordinary primer cannot be used. It just will not key to the alloy and would have flaked off within a month of road use.
Next job was to mask up the chrome rim and apply a coating of deep gloss black paint to everything that remained exposed.
Impatient to see the fruits of my labour, I managed to unearth a Reliant Scimitar centre cap that I bought on eBay for a fiver some months previously and inserted it into the aperture. The stainless centre cap in my opinion looked gorgeous against the fresh paint.
Finally I was able to strip away the newspaper masks and trim away the masks on the square sections with a scalpel. Unfortunately you can see the red primer all the way round the edge of the squares. This is not a problem as I will just touch the wheels up by hand with a small brush when funds allow the purchase of a full set of Dunlop SP sport tyres. Since tyres are your only contact point with the road, I believe that only top of the range "boots" will do for my car when it gets its new power plant. I still have to purchase correct V8 centre caps. Unfortunately this is one of those expenses that I cannot dodge. At £60 for a set of four new caps, the caps are going to cost me as much as the set of alloys themselves! Ultimately I am sure it will be worth it.
One final note, upon removing the masks from the new wheels, it was possible to see the pink primer all around the edge of the wheel. Not good after all that effort. My solution was to use one of our dog's hypodermic needles; she has diabetes and requires twice daily injections of insulin, I filled the syringe with paint then injected it around the edge of the rim. Using a brush would have gotten paint everywhere. I am far too ham-fisted!
Here are the finished wheels with the touch-up paint curing in the sun.
I think the results speak for themselves, but in case you require more convincing lets look at the maths.
Wheels inc. postage: £76 Centre Caps: £60 Paint: £14 Special Aluminium primer: £8 Nitro Morse: £5 (N.B Pound shops are an excellent source of supplies!) Brush set: £1 Tyres: £250 Wheel nut set: 1 pint of beer. (Thanks Jim)
Total cost: £409. + A pint.
Genuine wheel cost breakdown:
Wheels £1500 Tyres £250 Centre Caps: £ 60 Wheel nuts new (16@£5) £ 80
Total Cost: £1,890.
Total saving: £1,481
The casual observer will never tell the difference and I happen to have the benefit of slightly wider wheels which can only be a good thing with all that extra power. So, if you are considering putting on V8 style wheels consider whether you would rather have real ones or £1800 in your back pocket. The saving I have made on the wheels is almost enough to purchase and rebuild a V8 engine and gearbox plus an MGC rear axle!
Composite steel
