HBergh

I guess it's time to provide an epilog to my story. With still no luck with everyone's ideas, I brought my wheel to fellow DB member that had more and better tools to separate the felloe from the rim and tire. With a lot of effort he was able to work around the felloe a little bit at a time with a strong arm and prying tools to make the separation. The felloe did end up with a couple of minor bends but they were able to be corrected later. Sorry I don't have a final picture. It does look a little worn with several places with missing paint. At last I was able to remount the felloe and rim and tire. Now, I'm looking forward to South Dakota! Thanks again for everyone's ideas. Howard

Dodge28: That sounded like a good idea but it failed to work for me. I must have some other alignment problem. Thanks, HB

To all you Dodge brothers that responded to my initial thread, thank you for all your tips and ideas to try. However, I still have not been able to separate the felloe from the rim. I plan to attend the NW Region tour in Astoria in a couple of weeks where I'll bring my problem wheel for show and tell. Then, in October, if necessary, I plan to drive to the Hershey meet where I will show Romar and Myers. Maybe one of them will have the necessary hardware in their shop to help me out and then mail my wheel back to me (I hope!). Thanks again for all your help, Howard😒

Bullfrog: Please clarify, for your test, was your felloe mounted on a car?

I'm unable to see the complete rim clamp but from what I can see it is still closed. There is a locking pin that would not come out easily. As a follow-up to your discussion about the ridges on the rim, I wanted to include a picture of part of the rim on my spare tire which includes the valve stem, locking device, the taller front ridge, the smaller inside ridge and one notch for a clamp. Keiser31: I have made a small attempt to remove the tire in its current condition but that tire is not flexible at all. I have since located a 6-ft pry bar which may provide enough lever-arm to open up the tire off the rim. With that kind of leverage, I will need someone to hold down the tire!

Here are some follow-up responses to all my Dodge Brothers friends out there. By the way, please note that I am very grateful for all of you trying to help me. I know if you were all here with my wheel, the resolution would be forthcoming. Trouble shooting via text only is not the easiest way for a problem such I have. 1. If you fitted from the front, (the hub side not the drum side) how did you get the tyre / rim to go past the felloe lip as shown in your photos? Answer: I don't have an answer to this question because I don't know. To me it’s like an accident; when one tries to figure out how an accident happened the answer is not clear because it happened so fast. 2. If the tyre and rim have been fitted with the wheel on the car, was lined up and pushed on but would not go fully on as stated by HB then how has it gone past the lip on the back (drum side) of the wheel? Answer: Sorry, again, I don't know 3. A physical impossibility unless the rim has been spread or it is of a larger, incorrect size. In order to offer the correct advice to solve the problem then the questions asked need to be answered. Answer: Bullfrog earlier mentioned the rim locking device. I did open this lock in preparation to replace the tube, but I was unable to get enough access to remove the inner tube, so I hooked up a rim spreader to compress the rim a little more. So with that recollection, perhaps that action changed the characteristics of the rim even though the locking device was properly returned to its locked position after replacing the tube and tire. 4. You might try removing the 4 bolts from the felloe just in case the rim is caught on one of them? Answer: My bolts can be wiggled but have some kind of permanent retainer on them, which means I would have to pound the bolts out, which I rather doubt was recommended by the wheel designers. Plus, all the bolts seem to have plenty of clearance within the felloe. Remember that the tire and rim spare should be change-able on the road. 5. Is the rim the one that came off this wheel in the first place. Answer: Yes, the rim is the one I took off originally. 6. Was the rim fitted from the outside (front) not the drum side. Answer: Yes, the rim was refitted from the front onto the mounted felloe. 7. I have used a block of wood with a hammer on the felloe. This technique will move the felloe up to the ridge on one side of the rim, opposite to the valve stem and rim locking device. And then I can reverse this movement without gaining any headway over either ridge. HB

Just to clarify an issue that has been stated: I attempted to remount the tire and rim from the front side of the wheel felloe while the felloe was still on the car, because that was the only way for the notches on the rim to mate up with the bolts on the felloe for the clamps. I started by lining up the inner tube valve stem and then began pushing on the tire and rim onto the felloe. When it became obvious to me that I was not succeeding with the merge, that's when I removed the whole wheel from the car. Unfortunately, I still have not made any progress. HB

TO MINIBAGO--Thanks for your front and back clarification. I agree with everything you suggest, especially not knowing how my wheel ended up in this predicament. No hydraulic press was ever used on this wheel. Even though I somehow got the wheel into this undesirable state, I should be able to reverse whatever I did but it seems to be an impossible task at this time. It appears that I will just have to find another complete wheel to replace this one.

TO MINIBAGO: From what I see, the rim with the tire can only be mounted onto the felloe one way: With the felloe and spokes still mounted on the car, the rim needs to be pushed on while lining up the slots on the rim with the bolts on the felloe and the valve stem, which is the reverse of taking of the rim and tire and what I tried to do. I'm not sure what you mean by " rear of the wheel". Do you mean the inside side of the wheel; the side having the brake drum? MARK GREGUSH: You are 100% correct, but so far I'm unable to separate the felloe from the rim to try to start the process over again. Thanks again

Thanks everyone. At this point in time the main problem is the inability of separating the felloe from the rim to try refitting them. Putting the complete wheel back on the car does not help to perform this needed separation.

Here are pictures of the other front wheel for reference: The back side of the hub fits over the ridge on the rim, while the front sides are flush.

Thanks everyone! Since I can't seem to reply to each specific response, I'll try to respond collectively. 1. The tire and rim can only be mounted in one direction because of the way the four clamps attach--onto the threaded bolt and notch on the ridge of the rim. 2. Originally, I did not remove the whole wheel to replace the tube. I only removed the whole wheel after I replaced the inner tube and wasn't able to remount the tire and rim onto the hub while on the car. 3. Comparing my problem wheel with the one on the other side, one side of the rim has a ridge that the hub goes over and the other ridge mates up flush with the other side of the hub. 4. Yes, the rim is demountable, that's exactly how I removed the rim and tire in the first place, after removing the four clamps and using a little pulling force while on the car. 5. The inability to remove the tire and rim from the wheel is the main problem--I'm unable to do it. I will need to visit my local tire shop to get help removing the tire and rim from the wheel. When I tried to do that myself, the tire rubber is just not flexible enough for me to remove the tire from the rim. 6. The rim shown by 30DodgePanel is exactly what mine looks like, which I unlocked to use a rim spreader to get at the old inner tube and replace it. I then relocked the rim.

After replacing the inner tube in my 1930 DA front tire and replacing the tire and rim back onto the spoked hub, I somehow got the two pieces into a position such that the two pieces do not go together. When pressing the rim and tire onto the hub, the ridges on the rim prevent the needed merge. I'm stuck. Has anyone else had this experience? It should not be this difficult to return the wheel back together. I know pictures may not be helpful but here are a couple. I've tried working with tire inflated and deflated.

Hi Bob; I too have a DA and my locking door handle operates like John describes: free wheeling when locked. The only thing I can suggest at this time is to soak the locking mechanism in some penetrating oil and exercise it now and then.

Thanks, the fuel pump sounds like a good idea I'll have to try. HB

After driving my 1953 stock Cadillac series 62 sedan for a hour or so, it will not start after stopping the engine for a while. It appears to be heat related because after letting the car set for a half hour or so, the car will start and run just fine as if nothing happened. I've replaced the coil but problem still exists. Has anyone else experienced this problem; and if so what was your resolution? Thanks!

Hi John; You are correct; the most glaring difference between a Brougham and Victoria is the length of the back seat, where the Victoria was shortened to allow for the so called "hat box". Another interesting note about these two models of DA is that the hand brake is on the left side, close to the body, where as the normal DA has the hand brake more to the right, next to the gear shift lever. Further more, there was a plain 2-door made without the fitted trunk. Here's a picture of one:

Doug mentioned my 2-Door car earlier in this discussion, so I wanted to contribute a note about the "Victoria" model. My build record definitely states "Victoria". And for those that have not seen my Victoria, I've included a photo of it.

Your picture is so small I'm unable to see any detail. Can you provide a larger picture? Thanks

Can anyone describe to me where to find the engine block coolant drain plugs on a 1952-53 Cadillac 331ci engine? I can't find them. A picture would also be helpful, I'm sure. Thanks

Wow, Dr Joe, what a catastrophe! Like others reading your story, I too will be checking my DA fan blades ASAP. I think you might consider submitting your experience and story to the DB Club Newsletter, because not all Dodge Club members review this AACA Dodge forum. Take care, Howard.

I too have had an interest in clearly defining the complete route taken by the 1930 Dodge Marathon Car. Here are some pictures I've collected over the years.

Got it! Thanks.

I was unable to locate this collection of pictures at the AACA Library. Under what heading/link are they stored? Thanks