Mystery studs on inside of tire rim. 1931 Buick 60 Series

[Buick1931]

Hi everyone,

 

My dad and I are working on getting a 1931 Buick 60 series coupe back on the road and noticed some unusual studs on the inside of the tire rim that we can't figure out a purpose for. There are 5 studs equally spaced with decorative caps. A couple people thought they might be for attaching balancing weights. The car comes from the midwest so I wondered if they were for attaching tire chains.

 

Can any of you solve this mystery?

 

Thanks,

Austin

[JoelsBuicks]

For my ‘31 I didn’t have all the original brass acorn nuts so I bought more hefty ones (5/16-24) and put them on.  I suspected they were for balancing but never confirmed that.  
 

That looks like a nice original car.

[Buick1931]

Thanks for weighing in, Joel. They could be for balancing but none are being used for that purpose.

We got really lucky with this car. It is 99.99% complete and it came with a completely rebuilt engine. The previous owner had it rebuilt back in the 1970's top to bottom with new babbitt and everything but never found the time to install it in the car. We are just double-checking the engine and doing a mechanical restoration on the rest of the car. It should be a very good driver once it is done. We are opting to not do a cosmetic restoration because the original look is unique and interesting and once you start down that road there is no going back.

 

-Austin

[pont35cpe]

Just guessing.. maybe a liner that covers the spoke ends. You`re going to have to break one down to find out.

[32buick67]

Interesting mystery, indeed...

 

What size tires are on the rims?

I cannot quite make out the info- looks like 600/650-xx?

 

Is there a chance these are not 31 Buick rims?

 

I don't recall exactly how the beauty rings were installed, but I don't think they were stud mount if they were available in 1931.

 

[32buick67]

Apologies, I meant to also complement your car, nice ride, and welcome!

 

Mario

[Buick1931]

Hi Mario,

 

The tires are 600-19. The studs in question are on the inboard side of the rim so mounting beauty rings to them does not seem likely. I think the rims are original to the car. They are Kelsey which is what Buick used I believe.

 

Thanks for the kind welcome. We are excited about this car and it seems like a worthwhile project.

 

-Austin

[JayG]

My 31 96 coupe has the same 19” wheels with the same mysterious studs.  Yours are Buick wheels   

[32buick67]

3 hours ago, Buick1931 said:

Hi Mario,

 

The tires are 600-19. The studs in question are on the inboard side of the rim so mounting beauty rings to them does not seem likely. I think the rims are original to the car. They are Kelsey which is what Buick used I believe.

 

Thanks for the kind welcome. We are excited about this car and it seems like a worthwhile project.

 

-Austin

Thanks for the info Austin.

You have me wondering how, I am not sure if the 19" rims were for the 60 series, maybe one of the 31-60 folks will chime in.

 

My 32-60 uses 600/650-18, but I think 32 was an odd year, 18" rims are hard to find, and 600/650-18 tires are even more difficult.  Hearing about the interchange possibility in this thread would provide a new hope.

 

I have some old books I might try to dig out to see if there is a 100% proof-positive reference to the function of these studs.

 

Take care

[Dave39MD]

My 31, 60 series has 19 inch rims.

 

Dave

[32buick67]

 

Looks like there was a variety of weights for the wire wheels discussed in this older thread.

 

I also found 1931 Buick specs which show the stud details:

 

[Buick1931]

Mario,

 

I think you solved the mystery! You have dug up enough evidence to convince me that they are for attaching balancing weights. Thank you for your great detective work.

 

-Austin

[Layden B]

Rather than different nuts of different weight, some cars ( probably yours) put washers on the studs as needed and the caps held them in place.

These are weights used on wire wheels that do not have your 5 stud balancing feature. Different colors for different weight.

Next advance in balancing was the clip on weights that go on the edge of the rim.

[Str8-8-Dave]

My 31 8-66S rumble coupe has the 19" rims, same as Dave39MD.  The balance nuts are referenced in Buick service literature (some versions of the 31 Spec's and Adjustments manual) for wire wheels.  The spoke weights shown in the post above slide over the spoke and are clinched to the spoke nipple.  My 1970's BMW motorcycles that had spoke wheels used that arrangement.  There were about 3 different polished stainless spoke weights offered and they had to be correctly indexed to the flats on the spoke nipple, then tapped down over the nipple with a soft head hammer.  They were machined to be slight interference fit to the spoke nipple rather than clinched.