This look is an option too !!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqqZ28m8uCo

Lucky, good one :D

Mick, I like a look of that Lotus but after all I'm leaning towards same size wheels in the end. I might play with different tyre size.

Love those Carlos Fandango wheels!

There's a young lad lives round the corner from me with the same wheels on his Honda Civic.

:biggrin1: fair point. I wasnt thinking massive difference though.. more like 15s on the front with 195/45/15 tyres, and 14s on the rear with 205/60/14 tyres, so it's almost level, or just a slight forward rake still.

how about a cheap alternative to trial it... draw or print them out onto cardboard, and mess around with jackstands to get the height to look like you want from the side?

Thanks for this suggestion however that isn't going to work.
I really need to put it on wheels with entire weight of a car to make up my mind. If I go this route I need to reshape wheel arches so cardboard it's not going to cut it.
On the other note...the only update is that I bought nice woodwrim steering wheel on fleebay sign by Tony Brooks :) some racing pedigree at last.
Kuba
QUOTE=kon;105999]:biggrin1: fair point. I wasnt thinking massive difference though.. more like 15s on the front with 195/45/15 tyres, and 14s on the rear with 205/60/14 tyres, so it's almost level, or just a slight forward rake still.

how about a cheap alternative to trial it... draw or print them out onto cardboard, and mess around with jackstands to get the height to look like you want from the side?[/QUOTE]

There are likely to be issues with fouling and/or usability if you go to big or too wide, while there's a period/visual fit issue with anything very low profile.

On a small-chassis Triumph based car the maximum tyre diameter you can get away with without moving the front bulkheads back is approximately 25 inches (636mm), and even then you might have to 'realign' the bulkheads with a lump hammer or cut and reweld them to stop the tyres fouling them.

Additionally, wheels wider than 5.5" can foul the suspension so you may need to add a 'stop' to restrict the steering travel, while tyres wider than 175mm can foul the inside of the wheel arches, dependant on the profile, and definitely make the steering too heavy at low speeds.

If you want the tyres to look period, you also need to go with a higher profile aspect ratio. Big wheels wrapped in tiny rubber bands weren't available back in the day and the look of the wheels and tyres makes a big difference to the whole look of the car.

As an example, the 195/45/15 tyres mentioned above have sidewalls a full 2" (50mm) lower than the 175/80/14's I had fitted to my Spyder, so would look very different -

https://i.ibb.co/6JhMhCD/P1050120-zpsrp4sw01p.jpg

Various different options were tried on Sammio Spyders and I'm guessing that the space available in your arches is similar to those, and the most used sizes were as follows:

165/80/14 - no fouling issues
175/80/14 - bulkhead may need 'adjustment'
175/70/14 - no fouling issues but sidewall can look a little small
155/80/15 - bulkhead may need 'adjustment'
175/70/15 - no issues but limited availability
175/65/15 - no fouling issues

This calculator is quite useful when checking just how big a tyre will actually be -

http://www.circuits.dk/calculator_wheel_tire.htm

Anyway, good luck choosing a wheel and tyre combination that works for you.

Mister Towed once again thank you for comprehensive information. This would be extremely helpful in the coming future.
Good luck and regards
Kuba

Just a quick update. After one of the hardest negotiations on fleebay I managed to secure really nice mgb set of 5 wheels. Result.
Unfortunately I don't think I will find any time in the garage this week.:whoo:
Till next time
Kuba

And, slowly, the penny drops…

When I searched for original Alpha builds, this was as close as I got.

https://i.imgur.com/SCaGrx0h.jpg

And now I realise it is the same build. :doh:

Kuba – Well that certainly explains your fearless angle grinding. :wink:

My apologies, this reply has been long overdue…

I have a vague plan to be back on the road after Easter if I can get some time off work.

So, I’ll definitely arrange a visit to your neck of the woods when the Covid rules allow it.

Glad you enjoyed my build thread, as I definitely proved anyone can build a car.

Although I might also have shown that it could take a LOT longer than you hoped to do. :rolleyes:

It looks like you are making great progress. :cool:

It is funny how just painting some red oxide on makes such a difference.

I like what you are doing with the boot area.

http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/foru...2&d=1613243499

Adding some alloy panels inside my own boot area is still on my ‘To Do’ list.

And finally…

There are certainly some Pros & Cons with doing this.

Pros:
- It will definitely help you find any more rust.
- It will make fixing any rust easier.
(As you don’t need to worry about welding near the wiring loom!)

Cons:
- You have to disconnect / remove quite a lot of stuff to get the body shell off.
- You lose the ability to start the car and move it (assuming you can still do this now).

For me, I ended up with a seized clutch and an unhappy engine. :(
(Although, in fairness, my car was in pieces for years. :icon_evil:)

Having said that, you appear to be getting stuff done quickly.

And, jokes aside, you do have a garage that should make things easier.

Whatever you decide to do, we will be here on the side lines if required.

Good luck, Paul. :)

Hi Paul, thank you for your kind post.

Yes that was me :) who chopped Mikey's prototype in half.
Removing spit body shell wasn't a part of a plan but I can see benefits of that as well as downsides.
At present I have so many things removed both from bulkhead and dashboard that it wouldn't make huge difference to remove them all...I think...

I am planning to rebuild and lower front and rear suspension so not heaving body tub would just make those jobs a little bit easier.
However I know that could end up badly for me and this project :D

Unfortunately nothing to report, work took over completely but hopefully by the end of next week I will find few evenings to work on the car. The only update is that I managed to collect my wire wheels and bought a nice set of spinners.
All the best till next time
Kuba

Hello there,

I thought I'll post a quick update however there is not much to report.
I was finally able to source floor pans for my donor, I was lucky enough to buy full floor L/R but I think I will just weld the one that I already cut out.
Also wire wheels are fitted to the rear. It looks so much better even with wrong tyre profile (wheels came with 165/70)
Unfortunately due to work commitments I cannot squeeze any time in the garage at present so progress is rather slow or minimal.
I also got poly bushes for front and rear suspension from fleebay as bushes on my donor were practically non existing.

Till next time
Kuba

Hi, I thought it's time for a quick update as over a month flown since my last post. Work is busy as hell which takes me away from all the fun in the garage.
However today I have managed to spend few hours working on wheels. I cleaned them, remove any rust and got them ready for paint. Then sun came out :) so I've grabbed some rattle cans and gave them good two coats of paint. Possibly not to everyone's taste but I love how they look. I need to fit tyres and they good to go. Other then that nothing changed, no progress on a shell or suspension but hopefully by the end of a month I will take few days off to lock myself in my cave. :)
All the best and till next time

Kuba - Small progress is still progress. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

I really like those wires in gold paint. What's the main colour going to be?

Hello,

Mr . Towed-
Thanks. I haven't decided on final paint colour yet but toying with idea of painting some deep burgundy or mustard or Old English white. My original idea was black and chrome but I'm slowly drifting away from this colour scheme. Perhaps when I have car on wheels with body bonded etc I will give this a second, proper and final though.

Paul L
- agree and thanks. I will do my best to post some better updates in June with actual progress :)

I think I bought myself last piece of a jigsaw this weekend. Garage ramps, wheel skates and nice set of paint guns. Now the only thing stopping me is workload.
I shall soon be back :)
Happy building/planning/dreaming everyone
Till next one (soon)
Kuba

burgundy with those wheels would look good

Hi.
I also hope this would be good colour combination.

I forgot to mention that I eventually went with 15" wheels, there was a nice set of wires that came off tvr not far from me in much better condition then 14"s I've purchased recently so I couldn't resist. Paid total of £62 for them so good result. In this paste I will have enough spare parts for second build :)

Hello,
Yesterday I managed to put few hours on the car.
I started stripping front suspension, and after few hours and lots of swearing I removed entire corner, this was a learning curve for me. Removal and basic paint preparation took me around 4-5h, next one should be much quicker as I know what to do.
I took paintable parts home so with a bit of luck I will paint them this weekend, then I have to learn how to press new bushes and they would be ready for reassemble. I'm going to put spax shocks front and back.
Till next one
Kuba