Friday, February 26, 2021

Vintage Campagnolo wheels

The aftermarket alloy wheels that were on the car as I purchased it are not a good fit. They have only about 4mm offset, so they stick out too far. The previous owner got around this problem by jacking the rear end up several inches with extra long spring shackles and running tiny 165/60 tires. So I've been looking for a set of wheels that will fit properly. I wanted something different, and found these.  


They are vintage Campagnolo 'Ragno' wheels, made in Italy for Datsuns as an aftermarket item. They have stickers inside printed with "Datsun". It's a 14" x 6" size, with 22.7mm offset which is a perfect fit on the MGB. This is unusual for Datsun wheels, which usually do not have enough offset for our cars. 




I shelled out $1K for the Campys and another $400 to have them shipped from Japan. I could use them as is, but being magnesium alloy I won't feel safe until I check them for cracks. The original finish is mostly intact, but there are a few paint chips where superficial corrosion has taken place. Plan is to media blast them, do a dye penetrant check for cracks, and then refinish them starting out with an Alodine passivation to preserve the magnesium and then paint.





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