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May 2, 2025

Front Hubs

The MGA front hubs, for all but the later and Twin Cam cars used a pair of decent sized ball bearings.  Not being opposed tapered roller bearings like later cars, there is no provision or need for any clearance adjustment.  Spacing between bearings is fixed for the outer races by the hub body, and for the inner races by an internal spacer tube. 

I selected the hubs from the piles of rusty metal that came off the frame.  The pictures that follow may come from either side of the car, depending on which was the better image.




I pressed out the wheel studs and blasted the body.




Then a nice powder coat.




The old bearings were probably fine, but since I had it apart, I got new ones.  Also a new seal.  The wheel studs just got re-plated.




Pushed in the studs.




And brought the other hub to the same condition.




I ordered the bearings as sealed units.  I don't remember why.  They might have been the only variant I could find.  The seals pop out easily.




I needed to get some wheel bearing grease anyway, so I ordered some Timken brand.  I always try to use Timken bearings if I can.  I trust the brand, so it seemed logical.

The Timken bearings were packed with blue grease.  The Timken wheel bearing grease is red.  Go figure.  I packed some extra grease in each bearing.




When I pulled the bearings from these hubs, I noticed that the large ones came out a lot easier than I expected.  This is apparently a common situation for these parts.  One or two bearing swaps, and the bores in the hubs get a little oversized.  This is bad because of the way the outer races experience forces from the weight of the car.  The outer races are rotating, and the weight force is essentially constant vertical.  But from the race's point of view, the force is rotating.  This can cause a race that is a little loose to wiggle, or "walk", eventually making the fit even looser.

As a precaution, I used some anaerobic bearing retaining compound on the outer races.




Then the oil seal and it's spacer.




The internal distance piece, and the outboard bearing.




Two MGA hubs, ready for install...




...and I have just the place for them.




The hubs went on with a hollow drift and a satisfying amount of force.  The nut, cotter pin, and grease cap followed.




And finally, the brake drums.  It looks like the adjusters will accommodate the oversized drums just fine.




Another piece of the puzzle found it's place...




This finishes most of the front part of the frame.  I guess I'll be moving to the rear now.  Cost was around $100 for the bearings and the new grease caps.

Comments to Ed at elhollin1@yahoo.com

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