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Well this is what happens when one does not do their home work, I saw a nice Marlin on this here club forum and it was sporting a set of Cobra super slot alloys,and very nice they looked too, so I found a nice set down at Bristol, and seeing as we were heading that way in the camper a week or so later I thought I'd put a bid on them and bingo I got them, when I picked them up they were as new and had been on a Truimph TR7 for 20 years or so at a local museum that had recently closed it's doors, they had been fitted with new tyres too, all that for £220 ! I have checked that they would fit a Marina hub and as I said, I had seen them fitted so no problems. A few weeks later I decided to fit them ( November) only to discover they required sleeve nuts and not the chamfer type nuts that came off with the original set of wheels. So back to Ebay I went ( It's my default setting for everything in life ) and discovered that ebay never had sleeve nuts of 3/8 UNF thread and 17.5 mm o/d shaft, more weeks went by before I contacted a mate of mine at Demon tweeks, he said, bring a wheel here and we will sort out something, so I did, and the lads were very good, they measured everything but no luck. so I decided I would have to bore out the holes in the alloys to 19 mm and remove the 3/8 UNF studs and replace them with 7/16 UNF studs ( Are you bored yet ? ) I did think I would have to open up the hub stud holes too, but I was lucky, both sets of studs had a 13.1 mm shank, so that saved a job, and I had more luck when I found the 45mm long studs would just about slip into the rear hub holes without removing the shafts etc, I pulled them into place by fitting six thick washers (at the hub face) and a 7/16 nut then winding them into place, but the front hubs had to be removed, so, by simply removing the 4 retaining set screws along with the axil shaft retaining pin, washer and nut, off they came. All the 3/8 studs are easily knocked out of the hubs and the new front studs were tapped into place. Once the hubs etc were back together and in place I set about boring out the alloys ( Not an easy job at home) I had sent for both an 18.5 mm and a 19 mm reduced shank drill bits, then located a slow running electric drill, then took my time slowly opening up the alloy holes ( I had ground a taper into both bits as this stops them snatching while drilling Aluminium etc ) After trying each hole with a new sleeve nut, I cleaned up the holes and set about fitting them to the car, this can be tricky with sleeve nuts, the idea is that the wheel is balanced on the wheel studs and then the 4 sleeve nuts are screwed into place, then one pulls the alloy onto the sleeve nut shafts, then the nuts are tightened up as normal, all 4 wheels fitted well and look well too. I just need to locate 4 domed wheel centres now ( Ebay again eh ) then take the car out for a spin. I might add, there were a few other small issues such as the alloy holes before boring had 3 differing sized holes in them ranging from 17.3mm to 18 + mm, and that my pillar drill was not "deep" enough for the alloys to fit under plus the extra £100 for spares and tools. To have had suitable nuts made worked out at about £15 each so I was informed, or £60 a wheel !
Anyhow, what's needed now is a nice Sunny day off work !
Anyhow, what's needed now is a nice Sunny day off work !
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