Rich, the reason the car was so rusty from New Zealand was it came here over 15-20 years ago and sat outside... in the woods... on top of leaves.... etc. I saw the pictures of when it first came here and of course it was mint. Not so much anymore. I am thinking about cutting these wheels loose, because they will not fit on my wagon with my suspension. Well, they could, but I probably would have to run a 1" spacer, and I am not gonna do that.

Magnesium is a non-ferrous, so a quick check is with a magnet.  It won't stick to magnesium. 

A magnetic (magnaflux) particle inspection won't work for checking cracks.  Need to do a dye penetrant or X-ray.  Dye Pen will only verify surface cracks, but is inexpensive compared to x-ray.  X-ray is a whole different animal but can find sub-surface cracks, but the expense is not worth it.

By the way Magnaflux is a company name and they do make dye pen and mag pen kits.

I do like the bumper on that light blue one - but it must be a strap to hold the bondo on. I hope you got the 1275 and disk brakes on that one - why so much rust from New Zealand?

I have been round and round about what I am going to do with these. Decided I am going to sell the lot. Rims, Rubber and Tubes. Would prefer a local buyer as I dont want to have to deal with shipping but I may be coerced if the price is right. Taking offers and anyone is welcome to come take a look at them. I am in Canyon Country, CA.

And the tyres look like old Dunlop racers..  Probably Ok for trundling around on and excellent for display - but they will no longer be "performance" tyres as they're probably as hard as old subframe bolts... (and maybe as fragile

Cheers, Ian

 

On topic of ID'ing rims. I have a set of these Aldic Rims, I guess they are 10x5.5 . Came off a car from New Zealand. I tried researching them and have come up empty. I like there design because they are a little sharper spokes/center than of Minilites. I assume they aren't Mag, correct? Anyone have any info about these, are they hard to come by because I have never seen another set?

No Smurf I prefer my Moke to be all original even down to the wheels. But if I was interested in them I certainly wouldn't try and take advantage of an unsuspecting Mini owner like (ahem) some folks would...

Ditto the posts from Dr. Mini and Geo (and others).  IF, these are original magnesium wheels they are somewhat rare, and you have a prize.  Bad news is that magnesium does seem to have a "shelf-life" of sorts.  A quick test is to scrape off a bit of paint (if painted) on the back side and put a few drops of regular 5% acidity white viniger directly on the surface.  If it bubbles, should be magnesium.  There are other tests that a wheel shop can do as well.  Another important look is weather the rims have a Safety Bead.  I think UK called it "Rim-Lock".  This is a small 'bump' on the inner rim to help seal the tire.  Earlier magnesium wheels in the '60s did not have the safety bead and more often ran tubes.  The Safety Bead was sometime in the '70s+.  Basically, this helps the tire from flying off the rim in the event of a flat.

So, asset and liability.  Magnesium has much lower unspring weight. Great for racing and handling.  But, old Magnesium wheels may not be as safe as you would like.  Again, recommend strip, clean and crack test (magnaflux recommended previously in this post like done on original crank shafts).  If all tests OK, then you have "maybe great rims".  

I bought a set of original Mag wheels from a member on this site about 4 years ago who no longer wanted to use them for Racing.  They had been stripped, tested etc as OK.  Maybe OK for non-race.  When mounted, there is a difference in performance!.  Also, mounted 032 Yoko's vs. my current 4.5" A008s which would make a big difference, so not sure if wheels/tyres made the biggest change.

So... I paid $700. US for wheels that had already been "tested".  I agree the prices have gone up and UK may demand more.....

As far as using the old tires.  It's not worth it!  My opinion is that some things you should not compromise on.  Tires (if that old), now wheels (as discussed), and brakes.

 

Look more like 4.5 or maybe even 5 inch wheels from the picture. When you add discs the wheel track ends up 1.5 inches wider so take that into account with the flares you have or intend to get and get 3/4" spaced rear drums or spacers also reduce the rear wheel cylinders to 5/8" if you have 3/4" ones, although some Mini's work ok with them.

 

Second vote to Dr Mini. OLD magnesium wheels are surely cracked, and aren't for daily or even weekend driving, not that you could SEE the cracks. But second to another post, they ARE extremely collectible and you'll get enough to buy that new set of wheels that look almost exactly like what you have and will be safe. Make sure your ebay post is visible in the UK, and you'll get enough to make shipping worthwhile. I've got just one leftover from my '70s racing days, and should do the same.

Real Magnesium Minilites are dangerous for you to drive on.  Spank said they are "fragile"...what he means is over time real magnesium wheels deteriorate, and your naked eyes won't see how bad they are.  Under stress they will come apart if you are not careful.  To make sure they are still useable you should have them professionally magnafluxed and restored by a competent wheel restoration place.  Your best bet is to sell them off to someone in the UK that would fix them up and use for static displaying on a show car over there.  Note to self...did you notice how someone wanted to jump on them right away and did not offer to tell you how valuable they really are?  Well, if I was sitting on these wheels I certainly would take that into consideration when selling.  Seems like the same thing happened just last week when someone thought they had an 850 in their car but the head indicated there was a 1275 in it.  Same individual was eager to get that one too (and did not indicate there was something other than a weak 850 there).  Just saying, be cautious and make sure you get real money for them and not just a lowball offer.  UH HUH!

Well crap. I am thinking I should just take offers or toss em up on eBay. I dont want to destroy any collector bits. In the mean time I'll just have the reverse rims that are on the car now done. The only thing I am worried about is that I am switching from drums to disks and I need to make sure that the brakes are going to fit. I am going to an S Disk setup because I want to keep the 10" tires. I am pretty sure the reverse rims on the car are 3.5x10. (ill have to measure to be sure.) any issues with throwing S brakes behind them?

they look like original Minilites to me. I have a set of originals in 5 & 6 in. widths, there are some stamped numbers on them, I can't recall what they are at the moment. I would agree with the other comment tho. If you don't care that they are original Minilites, and just like the look, buy modern day knock offs in Aluminum and sell these. You could probably even profit. Powedercoating these will be a challenge. When the wheels are heated up, they will outgas, and cause the finish to look like crap. In speaking to a well known automotive refinisher about these specifc wheels, they suggested a multistep painting process for refinishing. Anyway, let me know if you want to sell, them, I am interested as well. cheers.

Hypnotx send me a message.  [email protected]

I looked at the mini rim dictionary and as near as I can tell they may be the Minilite alloy, 6x10" There are no markings on them except an S and the number 17879 stamped on either side of the inside of the rim. It dosn't really matter as they are getting blasted and powder coated white but I would like to get the right sized center caps for them. The center hole is 66mm according to my awkward caliper measuments.

Those are magnesium minilites, the real mccoy. Throw them on ebay in the UK and you'll get about $1,000 or so. Maybe more.

 

They won't take well to powder coating. You're seriously better off selling them to some collector and buying a band new set. The old magnesium ones will be fragile, but they are valuable to collectors.

They could have had tubes in them because they may be leaking.

I bought a very nice set of wheels for my classic MINI and when I changed rubber, two had tubes.  Mounted withought the tubes only to find the two leaked.

I want them!!