MTFCA Forum

I would hazzard a guess that the odd one is the correct one for an improved car. The other three are for 23" clincher tyres. They may be the correct ones if your car is not fitted with a starter and generator.

Allan from down under.

The wheels changed from 30 x 3.5" beaded edge tyres like the one shown in your photo as the right front tyre, to 21" wheels in 1926. Your car most likely should have 21" wheels. Check the one you have. If it is a T model rim, it will have a join in the rim near the valve stem, and the tyre will have straight sides just like a modern tyre.

It is not unusual to find parts from different cars being used to keep a T on the road. This may have been the case on your car. There are a couple of things to consider. The 21" wheels usually have an 11" brake drum on the rear, while the 23" ones have a considerably smaller and narrower 8" drum. This means the backing plates on the rear axle housing are different. What do you have? Photos would be a big help.

If your back axle housings have 11" backing plates, then you most likely should have 21" wheels. If it has small backing plates, then the smaller wheel is the odd one. That said, 30 x 3.5" tyres on a 26 model are unusual, and I believe were only ever fitted to budget models with no generator and electric starters fitted.

In Australia there were a few improved 26-7 cars still running 30 x 3.5" wheels, with the large brake drums.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

I am not sure about Canadian production. However USA production offered four types of wheels for the 1926 and 1927 'improved' cars.
The ford welded spoke wire wheels in 21 inch size were only available originally for that little more than a year and a half. They were similar to but not exactly like the wire wheels used on the model A Ford for 1928 and 1929. If one wishes to build up a set of these wire wheels? One must first learn about several differences and similarities, as well as some serious pitfalls to avoid before spending a bunch of money on the wrong things.
The other popular option was the 21 inch so-called 'balloon' tire, a straight side tire as Allan says, on a demountable split rim (and NO, not the dangerous widow maker split rims people are afraid of!). The wheels for these look quite a lot like the earlier wooden spoke wheels, except that the diameter is about two inches smaller. The 21 inch demountable wood spoke wheels were available as an option for most of 1925 as well as the 1926/'27 improved model Ts.
Just to make it confusing for us nearly a hundred years later, Ford also offered the earlier style 30 X 3 1/2 clincher style tires and wheels/rims. This was in part because some of Fords old customers weren't quite ready to accept the new 'low pressure' 'balloon' tires that had only been on the major market for just over three years then.
And then, on the open body styles, Ford also offered the clincher type tires mounted on NON-demountable wheels! No extra rim, no quick swapping a pre-mounted rim and tire if you had a flat. If you got a flat? You took it apart alongside the road and used your trusty patch kit and tire pump to fix it yourself.

The closed body cars (basically coupes and sedans) were not generally offered the option of the older style wheels in 1926 or 1927. Although there may have been a few exceptions? The closed body cars also got the 'electric package' (starter, generator. battery, and all the additional required to function) as standard equipment!
The open body cars (being cheaper) were offered with the option of having them without the costly electric package or more convenient wheels.
Something a lot of people are confused about, is that the two options, with or without the electric package, and choice of wheel type, were separate offerings. An open car could be had with either one or both or neither!

I have looked very closely at literally thousands of era photographs! Open model Ts with a starter and generator, noticeable by the lack of sidelamps or brackets, yet having the non-demountable wheels, were quite common. From 1919 when the options became available, on through the mid 1920s, and even some 1926 and 1927 cars, cars without sidelamps and with the cheaper non-demountable wheels can be seen quite often. I have seen a few photos of cars without the electric package, yet having the more convenient demountable wheels, so it was done. But it appears that combination wasn't done very often.
From that, it would appear that the every day inconvenience of hand cranking a car was of much greater concern than was the occasional fixing a flat on the side of the road.

My car has starter.
Can I put the smaller brake drum on the bigger wheel? My right rear, as my sketch shows, is a big wheel with a small drum. I don't want to get in to back plate swapping right now.

I'll get a couple of pics this a.m. for you to look at.
Thanks for your help!

You should generally work toward more correct. While not commonly done today, the earlier style clincher 30 X 3.5 wheels and tires were an option and are still correct. Personally, I would like to see more 1926/'27 open model Ts with the clincher wheels and tires on them!

However.
It should be pointed out that the tires for the 'balloon' 21 inch size are considerably cheaper to buy, and generally these days they are stronger and safer, than the clincher tires are. Now might be the time to change your car to the more common option. You could likely get and restore three 21 inch wheels for about the cost savings on the tires.

If you do decide to go forward with the clinchers on your car? The wheels themselves are practically the same for 1926/'27 as they were for all the earlier 1920s. Also note, that there were at least four significant variations in the clincher wheels and rims, depending upon who manufactured them. They do not play well together. So if you do go forward with the clinchers, it is far and away best to make sure your car has matching four wheels and correct rims for those wheels. There have been several good threads in past years covering those differences who made them, and how to tell them apart. Unfortunately, I do not have a link to them.
The earlier and later wheels may have been the same. The brake drums for the rear wheels are different, and fairly easily changed. A wood spoke 21 inch wheels brake drum will work fine on an earlier clincher wood spoke wheel. All 1926/'27 model T cars had the large drum rear brakes, regardless of which of the four wheel options the car had. You shouldn't even consider putting the small drum rear end in a 1926/-27 car.

What are thoughts about model A wire wheels on T's?

Pros vs. cons......?

Cheaper 21 tires. But expense for adaptor hardware?

Looks like you have demountable wood spoke wheels you are asking questions about.
Unless you know all the make of rims match the make of the wheels, you need to do a bunch of research.
Miss matched rims and wheels are dangerous.
Look at older post on this subject or look in your Ford service bulletins for info.
This is a safety thing.
Good luck. Dan

A T wire wheel may be lighter than the various wood spoke wheels. If that's the case, wire wheels would offer faster accelleration and a better ride.

The early A wire wheels look good on a T. They have the same profile. Yes the expense is getting adaptors that will fit. However, the drop center rims are 100 times easier to put on and take off. I believe the tires have a longer life as well.

If you’re thinking of switching over to wire wheels, I would recommend that you consider getting a set of T wire wheels and hubs. They are correct for a ‘26, and will fit right the first time. You get all of the advantages of the A wheels without the adapters and possible fitment issues while you are trying to re-purpose the hubs of the existing mis-matched wheels. You would also be able to sell your current wheels to folks that want/need whichever wheel you’ve got.

Eric

Since you are building a 26, I would also recommend 26-27 Model T wire wheels and hubs, instead of Model A wire wheels. Besides being more correct, I believe it will also be easier to mount a spare tire, since the A wheels have a different bolt pattern than the T wire wheels and the T wire wheel spare tire carrier.

Consider placing a "want to buy" ad in the classified section for the T wire wheels and hubs. I believe several sets were listed in the past year at prices that I thought were reasonable. Perhaps you will also find an affordable set.

Best wishes on your project, and your quest.

After taking all the info offered, I took the leap after finding a complete 5 wheel set of 26-27 wire wheels in very good shape. Wheels were found 30 miles from home.
My spoke hub and demountable collection will likely be sold as I no.longer need them.

Thank you all for the kind help!

Well done!!

WayneJ wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:45 am

Well done!!

If you have ever driven both tire sizes, you would notice the 21's give a smooth soft ride. &can be run with 30# or less pressure. The 30's are a lot stiffer (no give). They have to be @ 55-60# to keep the tire seated.

Excellent wheel choice for many reasons.

Professor Fate wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:51 pm

So..... I have three 30x 3 1/2 tires and one mongrel 4 1/2 x21 on the left rear. This left rear wheel has the proper 11 inch brake drum on it though.
I have a 30x3.5 hub, brake drum, spokes, and felloe in my parts stash. Just need a demountable ring to make them all the same.
****Thanks for explaining stuff for me
-Dan

Actually, you have three mongrel 30 X 3 1/2 tires and one correct 4 1/2X 21 tire.

Up to about March '26, standard demountable wheels would have been on the car. The split-rim balloon tires became standard after that.

I would check my frame and engine numbers and establish when exactly the vehicle was made before I decided what to do.

All is moot, however as wire wheels have been procured (hopefully the suspension pieces come available soon and at a good price...

Dan, if you don't already have them you will need wire wheel front hubs and rear hubs/drums. There is an ad on a Nebraska Craigslist with those withd wire wheels for sale. The whole package is listed with one price but Tim may split them up. I am not associated with the ad. But I've bought a lot of parts that are on my car now from him and he's a good Model T guy.


https://omaha.craigslist.org/pts/d/la-v ... 36678.html

Hi! I got the "complete pkg" with hubs and drums. But thanks for the Craigslist tip!



https://westernmass.craigslist.org/wto/ ... 80115.html