Mounting tires on 1930 wire wheels

[Paul Gronhovd]

I have wire wheels that have been painted. Now I would like to mount the tires on the rims. Does anyone have a good technique for getting the clip ring on without chipping the paint. 

[pacrat]

If the paint chips it is to thick,just assemble and touch up.

[Guest]

There is a youtube video of a man using a thin trash bag and just his hands no tire irons.

The shop manual for 1931 Pontiac with wire wheels shows the tire being mounted with the wheel on the car.  It says doing it this way yu do not need any tools, just your hands.

[John_Mereness]

Check the tires for stickers inside - they can be tiny, but they will eat a tube in no time.  Baby Powder the casings, tubes, and flaps

(tube needs to slip in the casing).   Set the wheel on the ground and make a piece of wood that supports the center of the hub - has to be elevated by like 1.5 inches so tire casing floats - and then  I just put on a pair of gym shoes and put in  the non removal end of the ring in and walk around the rim (should just snap in).  You can put some tape on the rim to protect paint, but make sure you are like 1/8 from edge.  Inflate in a cage - a good truck tire repair place should have a cage - lock rings can kill !

Edited May 14, 2017 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[michaelod]

I am very familiar with these wheels as I personally mounted a set on my 1930 Buick.   I used some old tire irons that I got on ebay.  Wrapped them with electrical tape and did not scratch a thing.  You don't need to do this in a cage as these are not true split rims.  If you have any concerns however, wrap with a safety strap and stay out of the line of fire in case you are worried about the ring becoming airborne. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by michaelod (see edit history)