p6 police minilites

koogie

koogie

Member
Hi all, just trying to find out some info about these wheels that i've just acquired. Apparently they were used on police cars? Looking back through past posts, apparently Harvey has a set, if you read this Harvey whats your opinion on these Police minilites, I was told they're very rare.
 
I do have a set on mine, a good set of 5 sourced from various Met SD1's that met their end in the mid 1980's. I'm not sure whether thay would be classed as "rare", but they were (and still are) a very high quality wheel.
 
Harvey, hope you dont mind me asking heres one of my wheels would yours be the same? Also would they be magnesium alloys or the alluminium type.
 
They certainly look the same as mine, although I don't remember the number cast into the centre, but I can't say that I've looked at them that much since they were fitted. If I remember I'll look next time I'm walking past it. I always understood them to be magnesium alloy. Mine has the valves held in with nuts, that I do remember.
 
Mine also have nuts holding the valves, by the looks of it though the rubbers have perished so they'll need replacing. Can I ask Harvey do these wheels take a particular wheel retaining nut or would the nuts from the existing steel wheels be ok? (All be it a bit ugly.)
 
They need different wheelnuts to those used with the standard P6 steel wheels. I used SD1 wheelnuts for alloys, but to use those you need to fit the SD1 studs as well. The other alternative is to buy the same kind of nut with the UNF thread.
 
Perhaps the simplest way of sorting out these wheels and ther odss and ends would be to get in touch with Minilite themselves. It's still the same firm and now lives at williton in West Somerset - a little to the west of Taunton. They are quite certain to know all the ins and outs of whther they are magnesium, whether it deteriorates with age etc etc.

http://www.minilite.co.uk/index.htm

Chris
 
koogie said:
Mine also have nuts holding the valves, by the looks of it though the rubbers have perished so they'll need replacing. Can I ask Harvey do these wheels take a particular wheel retaining nut or would the nuts from the existing steel wheels be ok? (All be it a bit ugly.)
Click to expand...

Had a bit of stress finding replacement nuts for mine but in the end found correct nuts and flat washers for the P6 see link below :wink:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13401
 
Thanks for the help Harvey :D

Perhaps the simplest way of sorting out these wheels and ther odss and ends would be to get in touch with Minilite themselves. It's still the same firm and now lives at williton in West Somerset - a little to the west of Taunton. They are quite certain to know all the ins and outs of whther they are magnesium, whether it deteriorates with age etc etc.
Click to expand...

Yes the degradation if they were Magnesium is also a concern, I guess as the name suggests ie Minilite, lite meaning made from magnesium for weight saving there is a fair chance they are, but I'll contact them for more info.

Had a bit of stress finding replacement nuts for mine but in the end found correct nuts and flat washers for the P6 see link below
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help will look into this.
 
chrisyork said:
Perhaps the simplest way of sorting out these wheels and ther odss and ends would be to get in touch with Minilite themselves. It's still the same firm and now lives at williton in West Somerset - a little to the west of Taunton. They are quite certain to know all the ins and outs of whther they are magnesium, whether it deteriorates with age etc etc.

http://www.minilite.co.uk/index.htm

Chris
Click to expand...

I contacted them a few years ago looking for centre caps for mine, but they denied all knowledge of producing 14" wheels for Rovers and said they're never made a wheel with a centre bore as big as these have. By the way, slightly modified MGB Rostyle centre caps fit a treat.

I think there may have been some mergers and take overs since the 70's and it may not be the same company.

My undertanding of the materials is that it is unlikely that any magnesium wheel would have survived on a road car due to the material higly reactive nature and thus they must be made from aluminium.
 
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