This section covers the hardware that secures and trims the MGA road wheel, together with the fitting and service tools associated with wheel removal and refitting. The MGA was supplied from the factory with distinct hardware specifications for its two pushrod wheel options, bolt-on steel disc wheels and optional Dunlop 48-spoke wire wheels, and the correct fitting hardware depends on which wheel type is fitted to the car. Several of the items in this section were also part of the factory-supplied toolkit carried with the car at delivery.
Wheel Nuts, Bolt-On Steel Disc Wheels
The MGA bolt-on steel disc wheel was a Dunlop unit, size 4J x 15, with four-stud fixing. The factory-specification road wheel nut for this installation is a plain steel nut matched to the stud pattern, secured by the conventional wheel-fitting torque for the period.
Replacement road wheel nuts for the standard steel wheel are available as direct-fit items and can be ordered as individual nuts or in sets to suit a full set of wheels (sixteen per car).
Wheel Nuts, Wire Wheel Fitment
Where a modern wire wheel is fitted, such as the 5.5x15" silver wire wheel with 185/65/15 tyre (W002/820X4) supplied by MGOC for MGA fitment, as covered under the Road Wheels node, the factory four-stud nut is not the correct item. A 60-degree tapered wheel nut, 7/16 UNF thread, in chrome finish is required to seat correctly against the taper seat of the modern wire wheel assembly.
This is a different design from the plain steel-wheel nut and is not interchangeable. A full set of four W002/820X4 wire wheels requires sixteen of the tapered wire-wheel nuts, they are an essential additional order alongside the wheels themselves.
Plain Hub Caps (Knave Plates)
The MGA disc wheel was fitted from the factory with a plain hub cap, a bright-finish wheel embellisher, also referred to as a knave plate, without a piercing for an MG centre badge. The factory plain hub cap was supplied in two materials of identical appearance: chrome-plated 22 SWG EN2A mild steel, and 26 SWG EN60 stainless steel. Some very early cars may have carried an MG-badged hub cap, based on 1955 factory photographs and brochures, but plain hub caps lacking the badge were the standard production fitment throughout MGA manufacture.
Replacement plain hub caps are available in the factory-correct plain bright finish, with no piercing for a badge, the correct pattern for a standard MGA.
Ace Rimbellishers
Chrome-plated Ace-pattern rimbellishers were available as an optional factory extra on the 1500 disc wheel, adding a chrome trim ring to the outer edge of the wheel. These were discontinued at car/chassis 63576 and do not fit the later-type wheel introduced from car/chassis 63577.
When ordering Ace rimbellishers for an MGA, the chassis number must be confirmed to fall before 63576, the later lighter-construction disc wheel with its different centre curvature and rim profile is not compatible with the Ace-pattern rimbellisher.
Hub Cap Removal Lever
A dedicated hub cap removal lever is available for service use. The tool is shaped to engage the edge of the plain hub cap without damaging the cap's bright finish or the rim of the wheel, a standard issue when removing hub caps with ordinary screwdrivers or generic pry tools, which tend to distort the cap's rim and mark the paint. The hub cap removal lever is a service tool rather than a factory toolkit item, but is the recommended implement for wheel service work on any MGA with the standard plain hub caps.
Copper / Hide Hammer
The copper hammer (or, from December 1961, an alloy mallet) was part of the factory-supplied toolkit for MGA cars fitted with wire wheels. The purpose of the soft-faced hammer is to knock off and tighten the centre-lock knock-ons or octagonal spinners without damaging their finish. A steel hammer would chip, bruise and eventually distort the knock-on; a copper- or hide-faced hammer transfers the blow without marking the knock-on's chrome or bronze.
Replacement copper/hide hammers are available for wire-wheeled MGAs, and remain essential equipment for any wheel removal or fitment on centre-lock cars, pushrod wire wheels or Twin Cam / De Luxe centre-lock disc wheels.
Tyre Iron Set
The MGA factory toolkit included two tyre levers as original equipment, for use in removing and refitting tyres on the rim. A tyre iron set replaces or supplements the original factory items and is used during tyre changes, puncture repair and general tyre service. The set is matched to the MGA's rim diameter and handles both the 4J x 15 disc wheel rim and the 4J x 15 wire wheel rim.