MTFCA Forum

Firestone serviceman and vehicle, circa 1916. Courtesy Wichita Public Library, Local History Section / #HTH100

Hey there John E G! that is a really great photo! Pretty sure I have never seen it before.
I wonder it there are wooden spokes behind those discs with the advertising on them? Or are they actually steel disc wheels? 1916 would be a bit early for accessory steel disc wheels I would think. You can see the electric horn button on the steering column making it most likely a late 1915 or 1916 T.

Nice detail on that photo, so much to see, including the well dressed and dapper driver. Even the window display has a tire mounted in 1914 and removed in 1916 to show limited wear.

The wheels have discs, you can see the anchor fastener to hold the disc to a spoke. And the backside of the passenger wheel shows a shadow of a wood spoke.

I am with Dan. I have never seen any disc wheels which maintained the original Ford hubcaps. There is no evidence of the wheel being mounted to an original hub either.

Allan from down under.

These are early discs as has been pointed out. So attaching them to the spokes or wood felloe was the easy way to do it.
When demountable wheels came along disc covers were available which went front and back of the wooden spokes.
The Universal Body Company supplied such disc covers and in Australia a Ford rebadged as a "Renown" also had disc covers, being a lot cheaper than the real deal of solid discs.
Front outside discs were attached with the wheel rim bolts and just went over the hub behind the hub cap. The back discs were attached the same way but had a flange which went over the brake drum.
The inside discs of the front wheels were fastened between the hubs and the spokes. as well as the rim bolts. A small door which swung sideways opened an area around the valve so the valve could be reached.
Not a really popular accessory especially if the roads were muddy as the wheels got out of balance easily as they had plenty of gaps to let in mud/dirt.

Allan - I have Motor Utilities 23" disc wheels on my '25 Racer that utilizes a stock Ford hubcap as did my 23" Michelin discs - both are demountables.

Check out the compressed air tank, hanging off the back of the truck. Wonder if it has a compressor on board as well.