matthewpetzold Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 I am planning to re-commission a set of original 4.5" TR5/TR250 wheels. Like most second hand wheels, they have been painted at some time and are various shades of silver, although the inner rim surface and the rear of one wheel are more of a brown primer colour. Does anybody know what colour these rims would have been ex-factory ? My inclination is to assume that silver would be correct but since the entire rim would have been "unseen" once the correct wheel trims were in place, I suppose it is possible that Triumph might have left them effectively unpainted. Any advice gratefully received, thanks, Matthew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
openroad Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Hi Mathew. i have been thinking of going the same route with my re build wheels...i will be interested to see what answers you receive, Good luck, Conrad, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RAHTR4 Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Hi Matthew, I obtained a complete set of steel wheels from a one owner TR5 - he converted the car to wires very soon after purchasing the car. All the wheels are stamped Sankey 4.5J x 15H in the base of the rim well and finished in a dark primer all over. I assumed the same as you, as they were to be covered by the Rostyle trim that is why they were left in a primer finish. Regards, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sugar Posted September 1, 2013 Report Share Posted September 1, 2013 Hi all, as far as I learned the 5 should have 5" wheels and the early 6 should have 5.5" wheels. Best regards Sugar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
matthewpetzold Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi Matthew, I obtained a complete set of steel wheels from a one owner TR5 - he converted the car to wires very soon after purchasing the car. All the wheels are stamped Sankey 4.5J x 15H in the base of the rim well and finished in a dark primer all over. I assumed the same as you, as they were to be covered by the Rostyle trim that is why they were left in a primer finish. Regards, Richard Hi Matthew, I obtained a complete set of steel wheels from a one owner TR5 - he converted the car to wires very soon after purchasing the car. All the wheels are stamped Sankey 4.5J x 15H in the base of the rim well and finished in a dark primer all over. I assumed the same as you, as they were to be covered by the Rostyle trim that is why they were left in a primer finish. Regards, Richard Hi Richard - so is the colour of the dark primer finish the same as or similar to the brown primer that Triumph / Leyland body parts were supplied in ? Rgds Matthew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
matthewpetzold Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi all, as far as I learned the 5 should have 5" wheels and the early 6 should have 5.5" wheels. Best regards Sugar Not my understanding - I believe all TR5/TR250s had 4.5" wheels, and TR6s 5.5". I suppose it's possible that the switch from 4.5" to 5.5" occurred before the change of model as they are definitely interchangeable, and tyre size the same. I do not believe there was ever a 5.0" wheel used as original equipment Rgds Matthew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John390 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) 1969 TR6's also had Rostyle wheel trims fitted when not wire wheels. I thought they had the same size wheels as TR5's? Cheers John Edited September 2, 2013 by John390 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Zodiac Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi, 5's had 4.5'' wheels painted silver inside and out and the centres on the outer face are over sprayed satin ish black. By 'centre' I mean where the rim joins the central part of the wheel. Early TR6's had 5.5'' rims of the same syle. Hope this helps Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John390 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 That's certainly news to me. I have never seen black on a TR5 rim, only on the Rostyle trim. Cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sugar Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi all, so the Robson "A collctors guide", the Piggot "Triumph TR" and the 1991 Moss catalogue speak about 5 inch wheels for the 5/250. Mattew and Richard, do Your wheels have the long studs? The six had 5.5" wheels for sure, got 8 of them. I saw a spare wheel in a brown shade some years ago. Lookes original to me. Deeply interesting theme in lousy wether conditions. Regards Sugar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John390 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 You need to get it clear that 1969 TR6's had a diffferent wheel to the rest of the TR6's built (unless a wire wheel)!! Cheers John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 The dark brown primer was a standard GKN Sankey as opposed to Triumph finish. 5" rims certainly existed, but were uncommon and perhaps fitted only to very late TR5s and possibly some early 6s. Ex-dealer parts books sometimes have hand written annotations relating to rim sizes, as evidently confusion could occur with 4A, 5 and 6 alike. Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 (edited) Not my understanding - I believe all TR5/TR250s had 4.5" wheels, and TR6s 5.5". I suppose it's possible that the switch from 4.5" to 5.5" occurred before the change of model as they are definitely interchangeable, and tyre size the same. I do not believe there was ever a 5.0" wheel used as original equipment Rgds Matthew I agree with Matthew and the original factory drawings that I ordered when we were remaking steel wheels for TR's at Moss. The drawings were to the part numbers given in the factory parts lists. That does not mean there was not an odd 5" rim that fitted that never got its number in the Triumph parts listing - perhaps a Morgan or MG item?. Remember also the MGC used 15 " x 5" wire wheels - another bit of information to get laid on top, as they will fit a TR. How many wheel nuts on a MGC wheel? 4or5. If the same as MGB (4) it may mean the steel wheel will fit a TR - what size was MGC original steel wheels? Contemporary to a TR5! Could mean a TR5 has optional MG road wheels!!!! The only new yukky brown steel wheels I have ever seen were 69 model TR6 unique steel rims with the long hub cap prods for the rostyle dustbin lids. There was a also a brown Spitfire wire wheel that came through from the factory spares stock. Cheers Peter W Edited September 2, 2013 by BlueTR3A-5EKT Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cp25616 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 TR5 had 4 1/2" steel wheels and the TR6 had 5 1/2" steel wheels. Simples! You see the TR250 and of course the TR5 wheels (identical) cropping up for sale on ebay.com regularly and some include a pic of the size stamping, yes that would be 4 1/2" then! Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cp25616 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Oh and I forgot to say I fitted the 1969 TR6 steel wheel to X755 when I was re-building it complete with Rostyles and not one person noticed any difference with regard to stance etc unless I told them ??? Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 MGC standard fitment was 15 x 5, same 4.5" pcd 4-stud fixing, and yes they are interchangeable with TR wheels. As I've suggested in the past, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were occasionally fitted to TR5s, possibly as dealer fitment ? And of course they were about the widest rim of that fitment available until the TR6 came along, the extra 0.5" of width being permissible in at least some production motor sports disciplines of the time. Cheers Alec Quote Link to post Share on other sites
matthewpetzold Posted September 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 The dark brown primer was a standard GKN Sankey as opposed to Triumph finish. 5" rims certainly existed, but were uncommon and perhaps fitted only to very late TR5s and possibly some early 6s. Ex-dealer parts books sometimes have hand written annotations relating to rim sizes, as evidently confusion could occur with 4A, 5 and 6 alike. Cheers Alec So Alec, so would the "correct" finish for a TR5 be silver, or the brown primer finish as described by Richard earlier ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
heckler Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 I skipped a set of tr5 steel wheels i the early 80's. they were very dark brown or black as far as I can remember. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RAHTR4 Posted September 2, 2013 Report Share Posted September 2, 2013 Hi Richard - so is the colour of the dark primer finish the same as or similar to the brown primer that Triumph / Leyland body parts were supplied in ? Rgds Matthew Hi Matthew, They were a much darker red / brown colour. Regards, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
roy53 Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Mine are satin/matt black and never been touched.Also know of 2 others the same. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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