Tube replacement 1917 T Ford

[KRK Sr.]

I just took the old tire and tube off this rim and I see there is no liner of any kind. Should this get a tube liner installed and how wide should it be?

[cudaman]

It's a matter of personal choice.  I choose to run flaps in my tires to protect the tubes from my ham handed use of the tire irons.

 

[Bloo]

Flaps vs no flaps in clincher tires are one of those questions like Ford vs Chevy, Coke vs Pepsi, Microsoft vs Apple, Vi vs EMACS, etc. that will probably never have an answer. Forum debates about flaps in clincher tires have gone on for pages and pages in the past. The "T" Ford apparently came without them. Some argue that it is because they aren't necessary, and others argue that it is because old Henry was too cheap to buy them. I'm not even going to guess about that. Some new reproduction tires do not have the full width beads we used to see that close the gap over the rim, so that is a recent change. I don't know if it helps or hurts. You should get rid of any rust or roughness the tube might touch.

[KRK Sr.]

There sure is not any room to add a flap. In fact when I took the first tube out I could see where someone had taken a knife and notched the tire in order to get a rubber valve stem through the wheel. My guess is a brass valve  stem would have cleared but would be awful tight in that gap. I can’t see where any of the tube had been distorted by being pushed between the tire edges when it had air in it. When I go to the “tire store “ website I see they show a 30 x 3 1/2“ flap. It sure looks like it will be a fight to get it back in there with a thick flap like we use in other makes. Karl 

[Oldtech]

My clinchers don't have flaps. 

[Soupiov]

I have a few T's all with clincher rims.  Some have flaps, some don't and I have never noticed a difference in  longevity.  But you certainly have to be more careful when mounting tires without flaps.  I actually find mounting tires with proper fitting flaps to be easier.   There's no right or wrong answer to your question.

[nearchoclatetown]

The REAL question is why are you working on a Ford?

[Mark Gregush]

I use flaps in my T clinchers. As was touched on above, many newer tires do not close up at the center like the old ones. Also, I have found that some of the tubes that are marked 30X3-1/2 really are not, they run smaller so devil of a time keeping the tube in the tire while installing. 

Rim liners and flaps are not the same thing. Some people confuse the two. Liners go on the rim before the tire/tube, flaps go in the tire and hold the tube in place. Split rims should have flaps, clinchers are up to you. 

In any case, use plenty of talc when installing. Talc is a mineral; I stay away from corn starch. Do an online search, except for shipping cost, not that expensive.  tire talc - Google Search

There has to be a reason they don't sell "baby powder/corn starch" for installing tube type tires.

[dodge28]

When I removed the tyres from my 28 DB Senior I found the old flaps just about 31/2 inches wide and mostly welded to the rim by old age. The rim is actually 4 and a 1/4 inch wide . The new tyres  came with flaps almost 6 inches wide. Here is the difference. The tyre salesman told me the new wide flap will work in almost any situation. Instead of of mounting the flap on the rim like the old one was the tube is first installed in the tire with about 5  pounds of air and the flap is installed in the tyre with the overlap of the flap inserted inside and around.  That is the new way forward. Under driving conditions tubes do move inside the tyre and driving long enough the constant rubbing on any  metal will cause puncture. The reason for flaps. If so desired make your own flap with an old tube.  

[KRK Sr.]

Tubes are in and doing fine, update:

All the rims were in good shape, when looking at the failure of the old tubes they had long rips on the inside edge near the rim. The last person used no flaps.  I cannot tell if rubbing or pinched tubes caused the failure. So, lots of talc, and I found the flaps fit easily in the narrow tires. The whole job was a lot easier than I thought it would be to replace the tubes. When I see old photos of people doing this on the side of the road it seemed common practice in the teens.  it would not keep me from owning an early T. Karl