Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 New rear wheel for Vintage Mog

My 1934 Morgan SuperSports has, over the years suffered from spoke breakages in the rear wheel. This has usually been one at a time, however after the Vintage Revival at Montlhery in 2019 we drove back to Somerset with no problem.
A week or two later I was checking the Mog over ( something all Morgan 3 wheeler owners should carry out regularly) when I could see the heads broken off six spokes in the rear wheel. Outward appearances all spokes looked intact. The wheel had been respoked a few years earlier so they were not old spokes.I fitted one of my spare wheels for the rest of the season.
The rear wheel on any three wheeler is a vital part and everything should be 100% fit for purpose. A Morgan with two people in it and lots of luggage is placing a great load on the rear wheel. I decided that the way forward was to try to find a steel rear wheel to do the job.
The main problem on a Vintage Mog is that space between the rear forks is limited. I started to look for Space Saver Steel Wheels that might do the job. Much google searching came up with a Toyota Yaris Space Saver of 16" size as being a likely fit.
Only certain models have the correct Offset of ET39, their 4J rim was about right too. Patience on good old e-bay and a brand new one turned up in Newton Abbot for £4.99 unused since new, I could not believe no one else bid and it was mine.A trial fit showed it to be exactly the same profile as the Magna original. Only modifications I had to do was machine a small amount from the N/S spacer and machine a 60 deg taper onto the Morgan wheel nuts. Junking the space saver tyre and fitting a 500 x 16" tyre brought the rolling radius up to exactly the same as the original rim and 18" tyre, so the speedo readings and gearing all stayed the same. As usual I applied some puncture preventative sealant to the tube, I prefer the stuff from www.autoseal.co.uk you do not want a rear wheel puncture ! A Mog is uncontrollable if this happens, I know.
This lockdown project is now finished, just need permission to go out on the road from Boris.
Ian

Brilliant!

Great and inexpensive solution Ian

Impressive fix to a potentially serious problem. Good to see that even 1934 M3W's still have room for improvement, development goes on.

Nice one Ian, well done

Interesting info Ian, I've been contemplating this for the F Super

Are the PCD stud sizes the same ? and could you give a bit more info on the NS spacer machining ?

Very good idea 👍👍👍
Stefan

That's a neat solution Ian. I'm sure Boris reads this forum avidly so will take your request for more freedom of movement into account!

the rear wheel spokes may have been tired during the restarting of the engine after the drink on Saturday evening before leaving to eat at the Novotel near Montlhéry.

Looking good Ian