I'm still investigating trying to convert my xk-140 dhc from steel to wire wheels and British Wire Wheels is recommending 5-lug bolt-on wheels as a more economical way to go. (A great deal of the old Farm has gone into just getting the car itself, so money is looming ever larger...). HOWEVER, I called XK's Unlimited to inquire whether their disc brake conversion kit would work with bolt-on wheels and they said absolutely not, this was basically a whole new xk-150-type setup, and further, that 150 wheels would require disc brakes. What this would mean, of course, is that I would have to either do both simultaneously (not possible) or loose the new wheels down the line should I decide to convert to discs (grotesquely wasteful). Question is (as suggested by BWW), does anyone out there know of a disc brake retrofit that would fly with 5-lug bolt-ons on my 140? Perhaps e-type brakes or ??? I'm not even sure that I will find the drum brakes inadequate, but I wouldn't be surprised if at some point, after contending with maniac freeway cutoffs and etc., that I would. Help?

Submitted by norman_weinfel… on Fri, 02/22/2008 - 10:13

Edited on 2008-02-22 10:26:54

Edited on 2008-02-22 10:24:49

I have concluded that the drum brakes will be just fine for my purposes. The wire wheel conversion can be seen in the attached photo. More photos can be seen at xkdata.com where I am listed in the "Owners" section under the letter "N."

Oops. Photo file was too big for this site. Several can be seen at the xkdata site per above.

Submitted by norman_weinfel… on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 13:03

Thanks for the interesting tip. Actually, I decided against the bolt-ons for two reasons. First, it appeared that the lugs would show through the wires and would be particularly conspicuous through painted (blue) wheels (my plan), making for a pretty funky effect. Secondly, I know there are bolt-on disc conversions out there for the stock XK140 wire hubs (without having to pop for XK Unlimited's very expensive kit using XK150 hubs and parts - I just can't afford to do both the wheels and disc brakes at once). The (Dayton) wheels along with BWW's steel-to-wire conversion kit and Vredestein radials have been ordered and should arrive before the millenium. In the meantime, we can turn to fun things like overheating (not sure the expensive XK's electric fan is proving suffient all by itself), Lucas (POD) issues (? solonoid currently), and suchlike. Many thanks again for your input though.

Best regards,

Norman Weinfeld
San Francisco

Submitted by azmmgm@yahoo.com on Tue, 09/04/2007 - 12:30

One good thing about the British, they love using something from another car.
20 years ago I used the 5 lugs off of a MK2 and put them on a XKE and then used Camaro alloys for racing and then used Ser. 3 wires(less Flex) for show. You may want to check the idea of the MK2 bolt pattern and see if the wheels you want, clear.
Used mark2 lugs and used ser3 wheels would be inexpensive. Let me know if you try, I would be interested.
Member for 20+ years. Phoenix, AZ
XK140 DHC, XKE SER. 1

Submitted by norman_weinfel… on Tue, 07/10/2007 - 21:12

Wow! Many thanks for the graphic reply! I neglected to mention that radial tires are a given. British Wire Wheel (and others in this Forum) are recommending Vredesteins, advice which I plan to follow. I have experienced bias-ply horrors in my '56 Chrysler Imperial (granted, an ENTIRELY different conveyance). Nonetheless, what I noted with this car was that, on a straightaway, things were pretty much fine, but particularly at places like freeway on/off ramps where one tends to go pretty much into auto-pilot mode, the thing commences to careening in a most scary fashion. The switch to radials was unquestionably the single most important change I made to that car. However, I'm about to have installed a disc brake kit in the Imperial too, mainly because of being cut off with only inches of separation by what I term "video-game drivers" weaving in and out of lanes, the ones with the Hondas with giant exhausts...

Submitted by tshaftel@ictv.com on Tue, 07/10/2007 - 20:55

I can tell you that coming to a quick stop with drum breaks on an XK 140 is quite an experience that you will not want to have twice. While the car is sliding along the pavement in slow motion, you will have plenty of time to consider what you want to spend your money on. However, it may be easier to upgrade the tires to a radial rather than spend the ~3000$ for disk brakes. This is one route I am considering taking to help in the braking department - perhaps others could comment? Terry