MTFCA Forum

Instead of using the spoons, I'm wondering if anything in the modern tire world would remove these tires from these rims without damaging either one.

Let me know of anything I should look for, or ask at a tire shop.

Thanks.

Once you get the “knack”, they will dismount and mount fairly easily with just your hands and the minimal use of a tire iron on one or two spots on the backside of the rim. It’s best to have them on the car. I have a fixture to bolt to the bed of my Bridgeport milling machine to hold them. (An old rear axle without the gear and with a set of front wheel bearings & a hub on the outer end).

I have not done it. But, I don't see why any rim clamp tire changer would not work just fine?

Re tire shop, if they have a way to index to the 5 inch circle stud hole up inside of the flange, you would still have to take the hub caps off so the wheel could be locked down (possible chips there too if painted rims) along with the fact the iron on the machine would still slide around the edge of the rim. You could take one up and ask.

I have done quite a few tire jobs on a friends tire machine. I put rags on the rim ”grippers” and have sustained no damage or marks. He lets me use the machines by myself so I can work slowly and carefully.
To use the balance machine you will need the hub caps removed in my experience.
It’s good to have the right friends!!

My experience only has been on a friends center lock machine, yes it is nice to have friends.

Like Adam mentioned, once you get the “knack", the 21” drop center wire wheel tires are nearly as easy as changing bicycle tires and can be changed with your hands and a little help from a tire iron.

I have a Coats 220 manual tire changer that I purchased for motorcycle tire changes. I have plastic covers for the working ends of the tire bar and the clamps. Works great for the 21 inch wire and split rims. I just use that three leg expander on the split rims after mounting the tire. Unfortunately I can't do the clincher sizes, the clamps don't go out far enough.

A bit of low tech, old fashioned warm weather always helps too

They will come off either front or back side of rims, but scratches show less if you scratch the back side.
First thing to do is remove the valve core, then lay the rim down and step around the edge to break the bead loose. Do that on both front and back side. Those rims are called "drop center" because the diameter is less in the center, so once you get the bead loose, you can push it into the center on one side and use the tire iron opposite and lift the ttire right off. Two tire irons or three work best. Leave the first one in place and then work around the rim. Work it all the way around then remove the tube and take off the other back side in the same manner. Reverse procedure to install a new tire.
Norm

The machine at the tyre shop I use has three grip points on the underside of the rim, which can easily be cushioned with tape. The tool which runs the rim at the top is adjusted so that it NEVER runs on the rim. Rather it lifts the tyre edge away from the rim as the wheel rotates. Thus, the mechanism is isolated from the rim and there is no damage to paintwor, or tyre.

Allan from down under.

I can dismount a 30 X 3 1/2 tire in about a minute, of course that doesn't include messing up the paint on the rim. I find the original Ford TT truck tire irons to be the most useful. When I was a kid my dad had a pair made out of old taper leaf springs, but they got stolen awhile back.

These are not clinchers, but drop center rims, easy to do but if you think the task a bit too much to do yourself, and can not find a car tyre shop that can fit the rim on its machine go to a motorcycle shop that does tyres, they will have a machine that can fit your rims and won't scratch m, they are used to handling big dollar carbon motorcycle wheels so should be proficient !

When I was had my wires trued and new tires installed. My guy who specializes in wire wheels of all kinds said that any tire shop that works with wire wheels can handle it. Just call around. They should do any installation from the back side of the wheel.

I found an original way to install or removed make a tire without destroying the rim. I use Baby powder and work really well without mess except powder which could be removed with air compressor

It's a little difficult to describe a procedure that involves a "knack." _The knack of peeling tires off a rim and levering them back on is something I learned as a kid and practiced every time I got a flat on my Schwinn.

But here are some generalities:

First, you need the right tools. _These include corn starch (because breathing talcum powder is unhealthy), two or three giant C-clamps, a pair of short tire irons, a big, heavy, dead-blow, rubber mallet, an electric tire pump and the Sun.

I've heard horror stories of old, hardened clinchers (particularly Ward's Riversides) that were so stubborn to remove, they had to be sawn off. _I've had to peel off old Riversides and yes, they were hard as oak, but Archimedes knew a thing or two about leverage and screws, and the principle works beautifully in the form of two or three big ol' C-clamps.




They're geared down low enough that you'll only get a 16th of an inch of movement per half-twist, but brother, their mechanical advantage is irresistible. _The bead will break.

There once was a kind, elderly couple who manufactured and marketed their own design of tire irons especially for the Ford Model T.


Unfortunately, the phone number they had stamped into their irons no longer goes through, so I suppose the best that can be done now is to try to find a set of irons that approximates their shape and size. _They measure out at 9 7/8".

If the tire irons you purchase have any square corners or are anything but dead smooth, take a file and then some emery cloth to them.

While we're talking abrasives; do make sure your rim is smooth, with no sharp edges anywhere. _When my tires came off the first time, the inside of the rims were a rusty mess. _They needed the rust wire-brushed off, emery papered, primed and painted. _I also applied two layers of duct-tape to the inside of the rim. _Some folks look askance at using duct-tape that way, but it's a time-tested way of doing this.

The name of this game is don't puncture the inner-tube, and the more you use the rubber mallet and C-clamps instead of the tire irons, the fewer opportunities there will be for puncturing your inner-tube.

Prep-work includes letting your replacement tire sit in the hot Sun long enough to soften the rubber, and lubing up the inner-tube and tire clinchers with corn starch. _Some folks use dishwashing liquid as a lubricant, but that's horribly messy. _I'd much rather sweep up corn starch than mop up dishwashing soap. _It's easiest to reinstall a tube that is slightly inflated. _You only want enough air in there to take out the limpness and just barely give it shape.

I found it easy to mount and dismount tires on the front of the car, but not the rear, so when dealing with a rear tire, I take the wheel off the car (With pre-1915 Model T's, this may be less of a problem because the fender doesn't wrap around the back). _If you're going to take the back wheel off the car, you're obviously going to need a wheel-puller (and every Model T owner should have one). _The new Model T wheel-pullers made overseas are not very good, so try to get an old, made-in-USA puller. _If your wheel has a Rocky Mountain brake drum, getting the wheel back on the car can be a bit of a challenge, but if you have a friend there to maneuver the brake band around the drum while you're pushing the wheel back onto the axle, it's very straightforward.

With clincher tires, flaps are optional. For balloon tires and wire wheels, there's some kind of right-fitting, rubber-bandy kind of thing to protect the inner-tube from the ends of the metal spokes. Not optional. I believe Lang's has these.

Inflation is important, particularly with rear tires because they are subjected to the kind of acceleration and braking forces that can cause a loose tire and tube to slip on the rim and shear off the air valve. _Minimum inflation pressure is 55 psi for front clinchers and 60 for rears.
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