Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) PLUS 8 WHEEL NUTS

Does anybody have an idea if MGB Rostyle type wheel nuts will fit a +8?

I spoke to a well-known Morgan parts supplier yesterday who told me that the genuine article stainless steel nuts are over £10 each! Not cheap you want to do four road wheels and the spare

I was thinking there must be an alternative out there??

John, I have no idea if thee MGB wheel nuts will fit.

The Plus Eight front hubs originated from the Rover P5 and P6 and the thread size from memory is 9/16 UNF.

An equally critical aspect of the wheel nut to the thread is the convex face that located into the steel wheel insert. This are rounded and seemingly identical nuts have different curvatures.

All I can do is suggest that you take one of your nuts to an autojumble at a classic car show and find identical ones.

Finally, stainless wheel nuts look pretty but be aware that the material does not have the same elasticity and stretch properties. Having said this, I have never heard of wheels falling off due to stainless nuts coming loose. Personally, I would definately not use them if the car is driven in competitive events or track days.

MGB Rostyle nuts are one piece and have quite a sharp angled taper.
If the thread is the same they could probably be machined to fit.

I'd not trust stainless nuts!

I had some made up for my MG V8 wheels by a man in the aviation industry. They were hard and not very shiny. No problem at all. But the wheel fixing was rubbish. A flat washer and sleeve nut, and a cylindrical hole in the wheel. So they needed setting with taper nuts to get the wheel centred.

I wouldn't have a problem using stainless wheel nuts on a car. In fact, I made up a set for a Group A 205 GTI I once ran with absolutely no problems at all and that was a car which was subjected to considerable use/abuse!

I'd draw the line at making the wheel studs from stainless though. Firstly, the elastcity/stretch properties highlighted by Cheshire David. Secondly, unless adequately lubricated on assembly, there is the potential for the nut and stud to weld themselves together!

Arwyn

Well Arwyn there is a lot wrong with making the simplistic statement you have just made and that's why lot's of us are worried about people making statements like that you have.

Stainless steel is available in many grades and there is no one grade of stainless steel.

The are people using stainless steel components that are made of grades of stainless steel that are just dangerous to use on stressed parts on cars. A2 being one such grade. There are other grades of stainless steel that have the physical properties to cover these duties.

It is up to people like yourself to when you are making such statements to qualify themewith the grades of steel you have used rather than to make such a simple statemet.

Further there is no manditory markins of stainless steel bolts to confirm grade. Therefore it is not suggested as good practices to use stainless steel in these stress situations.

As always the majority of people buy on price. The poor quality nuts and bolts sold made from A2 stainless steel by Ebay and other sellers some of who are well know supplies to the public in car restoration, should be no where near a car.

That's me told then.

Who are the we and who are the us Eddie?

Material choice was considered with the assistance of my brother in law who is a materials scientist/stress engineer. I'm not the type to make parts out of any old cr*p I have lying around.

Furthermore, I lost a very good friend when the swinging arm spindle broke, at high speed, on his racing motorcycle. Examination and testing showed that the wrong material was used in its construction. (not by me I hasten to add)

When I have the time or the inclination, I'll check my workshop notes to see what I actually made them from!

Arwyn

I have stainless steel NUTS on my +8, been there before i had the car, 16 years back. Not very shiny but all seem OK. I think the thread is the same as ford escort pre metric, unf. Dont now on the taper. Car gets a fairly hard life, but it is still a four wheeler.

I spent the first 15 years of my working life in technical sales in the business of making stainless steel for amongst others the fastener industry. Samuel Fox was the company and it made everything from stainless steels for dentistry to aircraft engines and even , no doubt , wheel nuts.

Yes there are large numbers of different grades of stainless, more than of carbon steels by a long way. But that point is a bit theoretical if you are looking for 16 wheel nuts. You are unlikely to find anything more exotic in the right spec and size than 304 or 316 ( A2 and A4 if you like Germans).

There is negligible chance of properly made stainless nuts welding themselves to carbon steel wheel studs. But neither A2 nor A4 are heat treatable so they will inevitably be softer than high tensile nuts in carbon steels if that is what the car makers use these days.

Would I fit E bay stainless nuts to my car? No I wouldnt. I woud fit zinc plated high tensile nuts. Would I ride / drive a car fitted with E bay nuts - yes I would.