Wheels & Tyres

As far as I know, the M Series cars came with two main wheel options:

T Slot Wheels
TVR had these wheels produced for the M Series. The name relates to the design - which incorporates 'T' shapes inside the cast spokes of the wheels, which were painted or enamelled black. The wheel was a polished alloy rim - whether originally lacquered I'm not sure. The alloy used for these wheels is prone to tarnishing, to be expected considering the age, and the rims are not easy to find in decent condition.

Wolfrace Slot Wheels

Wolfrace were a large manufacturer of custom wheels in the 1970's & 80's - and have since been re-introduced. The slot mag wheel was one of the most iconic sports car wheels of the 1970's.

2500 - This car I'm pretty sure had a different design of alloy wheel - have yet to get more info about these but the wheels have more "finned" type of spoke.

 

Do you have tyres that slowly deflate?

Apart from the obvious nail or faulty valve - and once you've ruled those out as the cause, take a look at the general condition of the alloy around the rim. Any obvious signs of corrosion here may give you a clue as to the condition of the area where the tyre sits!

Once the alloy corrosion spreads into this area, minute gaps are created as the oxidisation lifts the tyre bead slightly and/or creates a "valley" for the air to escape. This condition worsens with time, can be solved temporarily by getting a tyre fitter to apply some bead sealant.

The long term solution, however, is to get the wheel(s) profesionally shotblasted to remove all corrosion, and then coated to prevent it coming back in the next 5 years or so.

Older TVRs have a lower quality alloy than even cheap new alloys, many have tiny holes caused by either low grade alloy mixes or poor preparation/techniques at time of manufacture. This sounds worse than it really is, but a good way to help prevent the wheel becoming a nuisance is to try to prevent "kerbing" those wheels.

Pics & more info to follow soon.