Seeing Moss Motors is having another sale, which includes wheels, I thought now would be a good time to buy.
I was all set on buying chrome wheels till I read the description Moss has that says Austin Healey originally came with painted wheels. Other than “what I like” is there any opinions, pro or con, on one over the other?
The car is a 1960 AH 3000 BT7, black exterior, red interior.
Thanks, Dave.
It comes down to personal choice, really. I've had a couple sets of chrome wire wheels, comments as follows...
Chrome are easier to clean with spray-on chrome wheel cleaner.
This is a fact!
Technically, painted wheels are stronger than chrome-plated since the spokes are heat-treated. Chrome-plated spokes are subject to hydrogen embrittlement in the plating process, and stainless spokes cannot be heat-treated. Not that any of that really makes a difference on a street car.
Personally, I prefer painted wires on a Healey, especially on the roadsters. I bought 72 spoke painted for less than 60 spoke chrome. They give a great smooth ride.
In the end, though, you should buy which you like more.
This was true a number of decades ago, but I'm not convinced that it still is. I had a set of chrome 15 x 6 "center-laced wheels that I bought from Bruce Erfer (dba British Wire Wheel, IIRC) back in the 80s, and I was then actively campaigning my car in the local Louisiana autocross challenge. I can assure you that the car was driven harder than 99.99% of them get driven today (Dougie & a handful of others being the exceptions) and never experienced a loose spoke, let alone a broken one. Those wheels were sold under duress during the 90s, still in mint condition.
I sourced a set of identical wheels from Dayton Wire Wheel not quite a decade ago (<10 yrs) and they too are still in mint__and tight__condition. I'd be lying if I claimed the old set were of the construction as my present set, as I don't remember, but
MOST wire wheel manufacturers nowadays use chrome-plated barrels and hubs, and polished stainless steel spokes.
Dave, my recommendation is to get on the phone with Moss (or query MWS directly) and verify the wheels construction. If they're using the same method as Dayton does for their wheels, there really is no downside to chrome ones anymore.
As far as originality goes, unless your're entering the car in concourse events, i.,e., 48-spoke wheels** & bias-ply tires, then go for the the look, reliability AND safety that you want.
** My BN6 came with 48-spoke painted wheels when I bought it over four decades (>41-yrs) ago, and even with the then popular Pirelli P3 tires, I broke a few spokes. Granted, they were already twenty-one (21) years old at the time, but reportedly had just been "trued" for the sale.
And finally, in the
one picture is worth a thousand words form of expression, I'll close with this.