VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 16" 1941 tire rims

I am preparing 5 rims for painting. I took 8 rims to have their balance checked to see if they were bent. Three of them were. One of them passed the test but is extremely pitted as shown in the second picture. Should I not use it? I will be using biased tires with tubes. The shop that checked the balance is also painting the car. They were confident that the wheel should be just fine?

I am keeping an eye on ebay to see if I can upgrade to a better rim. Might someone have a couple of better ones to sell me?

The first picture shows two different designed rims. One is 5 and 3/16's wide the other 5 and a little over 1/16th's wide. Looking carefully you will see the designs are also different. The one at the right has an inner wall slopped with a narrow middle band the one on the left has a wider inner ban with no slopping. Could someone please comment on the years each design was common, and if they are basically the same?

Being annal I would want to repair some of the deep pitted areas in any of my rims. I was thinking of using the fiberglass waterproof product in the last picture. Does a wheel experience enough torque (expansion/contraction/bending) that it would pop the fiberglass out of the areas I would use it? If that were the case it seems I could get a puncture in the inner tube?

My gut feeling is to run away from my heavily pitted rim and be satisfied that I was atleast smart enough to check the rims for balances before spending the money to have them painted. I also have a set of 1983 tires in like new condition. Because of their age should I also be running away from them? The tire rubber shows no checking except for a little in the white walls.

Thanks, Mike

Hey Mike:

My opinion: Sandblast the pitted areas and seal them with rust inhibiting primer.

I've had mud stuck to my SUV's rims, and the balancing does get all screwed up, and can shift around often after the mud gets wet. Can't imagine what putting a thick coating on a rim would do....

Tires: Since I have had a few motorcycles, and tire safety is a big concern...we have a rule of thumb...any tires manufactured more than 5 years ago are a safety hazard, whether they are new or not.

Tire materials harden over time, no matter what. If I drive less than 40MPH and go around corners slowly, I would not be as concerned about the tires being old as long as there is no sign of dry rotting.

I am surprise you even ask about 30+ years old tires?

Maybe paint it with POR 15?

2 PART EPOXY , I THINK ( JB WELD ) . FRANK

I vote for better rims( that grey looking one looks pretty funky) and new tires .....my tires were 41 years old with no cracks and great tread like yours ......caught a lot of flack about them from most on the chat , and spent the $900 for the new set mounted and balanced. ....glad I did ...the feeling of driving on safe new tires is worth every penny.

I put new Coker radial tires on my 38 and it steers like a dream. It tracks true at 60 mph if I let go of my grip briefly. The tires look just like the old bias ones. The grip on the road you get with 30 year old tires is not anywhere near what you would get with new ones.

I would not use the grey rim other than to hold the car off the ground in the workshop, the same applies to tires more than 10 years old. I wont buy tires more than 6 years old to put on my box trailer.
Tony

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will recycle the bad rim in the picture. How good is the tire sealing process using the original 16" rims with a radial? I think in a previous post we covered the incompatibility of using a tube with a radial?

I have a set of 15" rims which would accommodate radials very easily. They are off of vehicles from the 70's. I shied away from using them to preserve more of the original look. I also don't believe that they make a 1941 style hubcap to fit a 15" rim?

As Richard suggested I will put a coat of POR 15 on the inside of the rims.

Thanks, Mike

Mike,
so here is what the tires look like on my 38. My 38 with the new Coker Tires The tires are made to run either tubeless or with tubes. They have a sticker on them that warned "if you install a tube in this tire, check to make sure there is no debris inside first". My rims were pitted so they installed tubes and they are tubes made for radials.

Mike, Are your tires Cooker Classic Radials? What size are they? They look nice on your car.

I am interested in knowing the manufacturing date on Mike's new Coker tires? Is a radial tire that should be replaced every 5 or 6 years begin deteriorating after it is installed or before?

Thanks, Mike

I was a little confused there because I thought the first tire question was for Mike. I am actually Fred. So the tires are 600x 16 and the radial designation is R95, to give you an idea of the profile. The manufacture date was for 2014. I would think they are called Coker Classics. The whitewall is not quite as wide as some of the other classic tires but I am happy with them. My tire dealer actually normally carries Diamond Backs but they have discontinued that size.

If the 15" rims are from a 1948 car the hub caps will fit.
I would not even consider using the badly rusted rim as the rims back then were of thin material to begin with.
If the tire is designed for tubeless tires they will seal OK on on a smooth rim rim but not a a pitted rim.
Any new tire, radial or bias, will make the the steer and drive well com,pared to a worn tire.
For consertive driving (like not over 55 MPH)a radial should be good for 10 years.
Taking the weight of them during the winter would help.
I prefer the bias for more than one reasons.

Coker Tire 600/16 Bias ply - 3 1/2 WW,with tube on Original wheel & cap



Universal Tire 650/16 radial-3 1/4 WW,no tube on Rally Wheel & modified cap



Not a lot difference in look and no major difference in ride, steering and handling..

The older 15" pickup rims have the same clips and size hubcaps as the '41. I have 15s on my '40 but plan to go back to 16s.

No matter how they are stored, radial tires should be replaced when ten years old from the date of manufacture. Old bias belts are made of different materials and processes and are generally considered good as long as they are not damaged or dry rotting. At least that's what I've been told.

Just for comparison sake...the Lester 3 7/8 bias W-I-D-E WW

rims If you are still looking.