VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Mounting Tires

I tried mounting my new Universal tires on my '26 Touring rims today with absolutely no success. I've mounted tires before with success and I'm using one of those rim tools. I can get the tire on but for some reason I cannot get the rims to close. They come within 1/4 inch and no matter how I position the tool they won't expand the rest of the way. I tried two different rims and I used lots of baby powder. I measured the inside diameter of the tires and they are at least 1/8" less than 21". The tires are made in Vietnam! Has anyone else run into this problem? Does anyone have any suggestions?

How different is the circumferance measurement of the new tires from the old ones, around the rim or the easier measurement of the inside diameter of the tire beads?

Is the rim expansion tool working like you remember it did with the original tires, cranks easily without really being in a bind?
I am assumeing that you mounted the the old tires before? Maybe you haven't mounted tires on the car's rims before?
I wonder if it would help to have the tires warmed up quite a bit above the room temperature?
Do you have the rim tool turned so that the forked arms are positioned one about 6 or 7 inches clockwise of the rim latch and the other one about 120 degrees CCW of the one nearest the rim latch and the expansion arm (the one with the crank) centered on the rim between the two forked arms?
If that don't work mount the expansion arm 6 inches clockwise from the rim latch and spread the two other arms evenly on the other side of the rim. Now the other thing that may work is to mount the rim tool on the other side of the rim, flop the tire and rim over. I have a couple of Vietnam made tires mounted, on a hot summer day, for my 28 and they were tight fitting on the rims, but so were the old ALLSTATE tires.

I haven't had the problem with 21" Universals but had the same problem with 19" Universal tires on 1931 Chevy rims. Finally got them mounted but it took 10 times the effort and time. Should have sent them back. That is what I would do with the ones you got. Tell them they can pay the shipping if they want the garbage back and you will dispute the credit card charge.

I had the same problem with 19" Universal tires on my 30 model. Finally got them mounted by using long screwdrivers and a rubber hammer. I did bend one of the rims but got it straightened and used it as the spare.
DD

Before you send them back,you could try using some non-scented talcum powder which will act as a dry lube.I've found it works well when mounting my truck tyres,and the tyres for my Olds.Also put a small amount inside the tyre itself before putting the tube in,it will help the tube seat a bit better in the tyre,and stop the rust band chafing the tube too.

The single movable arm should be about 6 inches or so to the right of the split. You should be able to get almost together with the tool. When you hit the wall you should be able to finish by using a tire-tool to make them mate. I have had some tough ones but never defeated.

A big thank you to the five who responded with suggestions on getting my tires mounted. Today I got them on without any problems. The key to success was warming up the tires. I hung them above my heater untill they were nice and warm to the touch. The higher temperature evidently expands the wire in the beads and makes the rubber more pliable. Having the rim tool in the right position and using baby powder (talc) also helped. It only took a couple of light taps with a hammer to get them to latch.
One thing that does puzzle me is this. The tires have two painted marks on the sidewall opposite each other. One looks like a "v" and the other was something like "s/g" Which one is for the position of the valve? I assumed that "v" was for "valve" and mounted them accordingly but now I'm not sure.
I started balancing one tire by bolting steel pieces inside the felloe opposite the latch but it's needing a lot more weight than I had calculated.
Chipper, since I bought the tires locally, I could have taken them back for more expensive Firestones. I think these tires will work fine.
I learned something new from this experience. Make sure the tires are nice and warm when you mount them.

I guess these tires don't have a "valve" or "light side" mark. I contacted Universal Vintage Tire and their reply was, "Neither of the marks have anything to do with the balancing of the tire. The marks are plant markings that are placed on the tires for quality control purposes."