VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Tubeless Rims 33 Master

Does anyone make tubeless 6 lug rims for vintage Chevys. I like driving my 33 master coupe, but it's time for new tubes. Before I install new tubes I would prefer to put updated tubeless tires on the car. I want the car to look original but just be a bit more reliable so original looking tubeless rims would be nice to have.

Thanks

When or how do you determine a tire needs new tubes? I find I go through more tires than tubes and I find old american tubes are better built than what is available nowdays.

I have relatively new tires and tubes but two tires are not maintaining air. The tires are just fine but two have slow leaks so an educated guess is I have porous tubes.

Do you have rubber gutter strips between the tubes and the wheel rim to insulate the tubes from the heads of the spokes?

With spoked wheels you DO need a sleeve between the rim and spoke ends and the tube or you will get air leaks. These sleeves re not required with disc centered wheels as there are generally no sharp edges (spokes) to rub against the tube.
Tony

Be sure the valve inside the stem is seated.

I do have the rubber strips protecting the tubes from the spoke ends. Very slow loss of airing each tire. I looked at my receipts and realize it has already been five years since the tires and tubes were installed. However even five years should not be long enough for a tube to start leaking, should it. I hate to do it but for peace of mind on the road I think I will splurge for new tubes. Tires are still very good with no signs of dry rot. I will thoroughly inspect the tires when the tubes are installed.

Thanks much to all that responded.

No. The tubes in my cars have lasted for decades.

You might want to search a little deeper before installing new tubes to prevent a repeat performance. All tubes and tires in my opinion will lose some air over time. It would help to know how much air you are losing in a given period.

Most tire places will not garentee a tube past six months. You got your moneys worth.

I have a lot of problems with tubes on my 31. Don't last very long and am wondering if using nitrogen in them would help with the loss of air. I know it does wonders in my other cars with tubeless tires. Any thoughts??

Jim.

Seems a lot of people are having tube problems but no one has identified why. It would help to know the cause of the problem to prevent future failures. Are the tubes of poor quality? If so let us know the brands (vendors) so we can avoid them. Are the valve stem valves leaking? Maybe new Schrader valves would cure the problem. The only problem I have had with tubes are that the ones I got were not correct-offset stems where center stems were required which caused the tube to pinch.

We've always used tire talc or baby powder with tubes. Is that still the practice?...Joe

I used baby powder on the tubes in both of my trucks. Made the installation much easier.

I bought all my inner tubes from Lucas Classic Tires. The ones on my '28 lose a couple of pounds of pressure over a one month time period.

One of the tubes on my '27 loses around 5 pounds per week. Since that truck has engine issues at the moment, it is up on blocks anyway. I'll deal with the leaky tube when I get close to driving it again.

Cheers, Dean

I loose air in my tubes, too. I have a lot of barometic air presser change with each passing front. Sometimes my pressure is up a couple of pounds. Most of all the mosture in the air that I put into the tires is at greater than 75% humid. Here in Mississippi the mosture does make a lot of difference in air pressure. I have to use a trap in the air line. Even with that depending on barometic pressure it defentanly effects may tire pressure!

My 36 still has the tires and tubes that were on it when I bought the car 7 years ago. The tires need to be replaced as they are showing age cracks so I have no idea how old they are. But they all still hold air.

When I bought the '36 Standard, town sedan; it had "U. S. Tires" made by United States Rubber Tire Co. still on it. All were holding air but were badly cracked. As I moved the car chunks of rubber came off the tread. I can say that during restoration I kept the old tires on the car. Some leaked down slowly over a six month period. Currently there is a shortage of rubber from South America. A lot of senthetics are being used. That may be the problem.