Wire wheels and splines

The centre-lock wire wheel is part of the E-Type's identity. Each wheel seats on a splined hub and is retained by a single large spinner tightened with a soft hammer. The system works well when its wear parts are healthy and badly when they are not.

Splines are the safety item

The driving torque passes through the splines between hub and wheel. Worn splines allow the wheel to move on the hub, which accelerates the wear and, in the extreme, is a genuine safety matter. Check with the spinner tight and the car jacked: grip the wheel and try to rock it in the direction of rotation. Any movement that is not bearing play is spline wear, and it condemns the wheel, the hub or both. Spinners must be tight, and the correct hammer, lead or hide, is the correct tool.

The wheels themselves

Spokes should be taut and the wheel should run true; a buckled wheel or loose spokes produce vibration that no balancing will cure. Rebuilt and new wheels are available from specialists, and chrome wires that have lost their plating to rust are candidates for rebuilding rather than polishing. Stainless spokes resist the corrosion that kills chromed ones.

Tyres and balance

Period-size crossplies or the radials most owners now fit change the car's behaviour significantly, and mixing constructions across an axle is to be avoided. Wire wheels should be balanced on the car's own hub taper or with the correct adaptor, since balancing off a centre hole that is not the locating face wastes the exercise.