VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION General Discussions Tire chains

Just curious ,did anyone make tire chains for cars in the 30s? Dosent seem like the narrow tires back then would get much traction in the snow.

Tire chains were invented in 1904.

Narrow tires are slightly better in the snow as they cut through the snow. In the snow you typically want the smallest contact patch as possible so your weight per square inch is as high as possible to increase grip. Large, fat tires ride up on snow and slide like fat skis. In the snow belt areas it's a common term to "minus-size" winter tires to keep the contact patch small and use a smaller diameter rim to increase sidewall height to soften the ride and get away from the fat, low profile summer tires most cars come with. I have 4 full sets of winter tires and getting tired of messing with sizes let alone the semi annual handling of 32 tires in spring and fall...

That being said, they must have had chains for the really nasty weather as the tires themselves were never the best compounds for cold, icy surfaces and the road maintenance would have been non existent back then.

What are tire chains?

Charlie

BTW: In the accessory booklet it lists a pair of fold out metal treads for getting off ice. What more is needed?

BTW2: Whenever we encounter snow down here, which is rarely, we simply drive on it with no problems. Momentum and speed must be carefully considered. Whenever we do see someone in the ditch, they have northern out of state plates. And, they are the very ones who tell us TarHeels that we don't know how to drive on snow. Ice is a different issue. Hardly anyone can drive on ice. Same principle as ice scating is involved. Ask Chipper.

I have tire chains for the 21" tires on my 1926 Model T Ford.

Mike

Interesting timing on this topic. We enjoyed our first real blast of winter on Sunday. About 12" of nice wet snow.

There was a set of chains in my '37 when I got it. Not sure how old they are.

Like Tim I use winter tires in a "minus 1" size. They have a more aggressive tread and the rubber compound stays more flexible at cold temperatures. That really helps in ice.The down side is that they do wear faster, especially if you keep them on too late in the season into warmer weather.

I have a set of tire chains which came with my '31 Phaeton. They are marked as fitting 19" and 20" tires and are obviously about the same age as the car.

All the Best, Chip

I learned some things today, thanks guys!

Up here in the Great White North, we always figured that the 4 slots found on the rims of the cars of the 40's and '50's were put there for one reason - to pass the leather straps of chains through when fastening chains onto tires. Was there another reason?

Being in a rare occassion snow area I have not had anything to do with snow chains but kaygee's comment about the 4 slots would explain why all manufacturers rarely changed it.
Tony

I would have to be shown some documentation to buy that reason: Slots for chain attachment in 40s & 50s rims.

I think the gaps were mainly for heat dissipation. As to the straps, just an unintended, convenient opportunity to use for chain attachment if there were straps designed for that purpose. Maybe for 20s and 39s cars.

The brake facings to drums when applying brakes causes heat. This heat is transferred throughout the wheel. Any help in cooling would be beneficial. Thus, the slots or gaps/holes as in earlier artillery rims or spokes in wire rims..

Just my take on it.

The chains I remember were attached by an override latches rather than through the rim. Who knows if my memory is sound anymore? :Besides, like I said earlier, we don't often use any chains down here.Agrin:

Charlie

When I worked at the local gas station in the early 50s, the job I hated the most was installing chains. They went around the circumference of the tire, latches holding the inside & outside ends together and then used springs (similar to screen door spring) stretched across the diameter in several locations to help hold the chains on. There was a product sold called emergency chains. They were a single piece of chain with a leather strap that you put through the slots of the rim to buckle. Lot easier to install but you were limited using only as many as there were slots in the rim (usually 3 or4).

Dick

When I was working at a service station in the early 70s in Tulsa Ok it was big business putting chains on. Seemed they had more ice storms than snow storms. Funny how few people came back to have them taken off! They sure do come off easier than they went on!

I live in northeast Ohio where we get lake effect snow. In the early 60s I drove a 1948 four door Dodge. They were six cylinder with fluid drive. In a big snow storm, I put chains on the 48 and could go anywhere.It was like a tractor.

I started driving when I was 16 and living in upstate NY, I had and used chains many, many times plus I worked in gas stations so I became very adept at putting them on. I only remember using a bungy-type cord to take up the slack. Once you had the chains on, you put this cord on using 5 or 6 "S" hooks to go around the face of the tire to take up slack. In the early '60's, I frequently drove from Travis AFB in CA to Reno, NV and in the winter they would not let anyone go over Donner summit without chains so I bought a set for my '61 Corvair. I used them a lot and when I sold the car in NM, I kept the chains as I never knew where I was going to live next, and I still have those in their original bag. In Alaska, I put studded snow tires on our '70 Impala and if the going got rough, I added chains. Talk about going wherever I wanted to go! Last summer, I put new tires on our Prius and bought tires that were supposed to be good in snow but it is about the worst car I ever had to get around in snow. That is why I also have a 4-wheel drive truck! Oh well, it snowed last night and is supposed to snow until tomorrow morning so I guess I will wait to clean the drive until tomorrow. Don't plan on going anywhere anyway as wife is immobilized due to a broken ankle! Beamer

Back in the '60s I ran chains on my '37 and my '42 all winter. they would go almost anywhere as long as the snow was not deep enough to get them hung up! I still have chains on my John Deere 4020 for moving snow!
Beamer, Sorry to hear about your wife's broken ankle, I hope she heals quickly!

It's interesting how many of us worked in a gas station as young men. I, too, remember installing chains, fixing flats, pumping gas, changing oil, doing brake jobs, etc as a 12-13-14 year old. Fond memories. I wonder what percentage of us in the old car hobby now worked in gas stations? Very high percentage, I would guess.

All the Best, Chip

Thought you would find these tyre chains interesting, at 4.75-19 they would be for 1930 and 1931 Chevrolet cars.
They were at Hershey in 2016 and I doubt if they have ever touched any snow.
Unfortunately photobucket advertising has covered the tyre size. It has 4.75-19 (28 X 4.75) across the bottom of the hessian bag.

Yes, I worked for a short time in a gas station mostly just ran the pumps and added a quart of oil now and then.

I also worked in a gas station in 1958. Jenny's Pennzoil in Hubbard Ohio. Made $1.00 per hour and did it all.

I love it when I get lots of replys to a question I submit, very interesting how many worked with chains and at gas stations. But I must be getting old, we called them service stations back in the day! I would love to have a dollar for every windshield I cleaned,I could retire! Wait a minuite I am retired, I am getting old! Never mind! Now let me see what was I doing?

I washed cars, etc, at gas stations from about 13 to 16 years old.
I had a gas station from June of 1955 til July of 1956.......tied me down too much so went back to my old job in parts dept. of Chevrolet dealership.

Chevrolet6, Your "Weed" chain photo brought back many more chain memories. We used to call them weed grips. The small "V's" welded on the cross chains really did dig in, especially on ice where regular chains just slid around. Unfortunately, if memory serves me correctly, they were not allowed in some states or their use was limited, as were studded snow tires, to only certain months because they would do so much damage to pavement. They would actually grind up blacktop. Beamer

Gene, there must be quite a few of us who worked in Chevy dealerships, too. I worked at Baugher Chevrolet in Waynesboro, VA for nearly two years. My job was detailing trade-in cars to go on the lot, and picking up and delivering cars for service using a Harley-Davidson three-wheeler service bike. I also did time on the grease and oil change rack. I still can't believe they paid me. I loved it.

All the Best, Chip