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

I am looking for tires for my 1928 Coach. The current tires are labeled 4.40/4.50 - 21

What brand of tires would have been originally supplied with the car?

Also, any words of wisdom re: good brand, source, and installation advice would be appreciated.

Hi,

I would go to COKER TIRE, COKER TIRE , 1-800-251-6336.

Order either a FIRESTONE or B F GOODRICH 440-450-21. At the same time get your new tubes and flaps.

If a big swap meet is to be in your area and Coker Tire plans to attend they will bring them along for free. That is a savings of about $12.00 per tire.

They even have the needed dust covers.

Thanks Ray. I looked at the Coker Tire website.
Should I have metal stems or rubber? (My current ones appear to be rubber.) Also, my tires don't have dust covers. Several types are shown. Is one style better than another? This is my first experience with this type of tire/wheel.

Originally they were metal and you can get them from Coker and have them installed or you can do it.

Look in your OM and/or Service Manual for a picture of the dust covers.

Just depends on where you are headed with this vehicle.

Yes! Thanks Ray, I looked at the Coker website also
And they have an agent here in The UK, Who is £15.00/$26.00 cheaper than elsewhere for a Goodyear 4.50/21 over here.
Thanks

Hi Guys the best run I have had on tyres for my 28 was with the firestone 450x21 originaly New Zealand now U.S.A.I averaged about 16,000 miles . I have tryed the firestone from Brazil (Similar to the coker tread) only averaged about 8,000 miles have also had dunlop (no longer avail ) not much wear but developed splits. my roadster has Insa tyres they seam reasonable and I just tried the new tyre called bedford they are cheap but do not support the weight of my touring and I found that I had to run 55/60 lbs to stop the car from wandering but this developed another problem in the valve stem delaminated and failed ,two flates in one day (Iwas not impressed)have just replaced them with firestone's again .A friend has Denman and they have lasted him well but to me they seam small on the outside diameter compeared to other makes ,and another friend has Excelcior and is having a good run out of them also . have no idea how the Garfield performes.

Hi Guys,
I am a little confused on this tire thing. The tires I have I my 2 trucks that I am restoring are 6.00/20. Where did the 4.40/21 come in at, or is that the new metric size. My rims look as though they collapse inwardley to take of the tire. Please bring me up to speed.
Thanks
John

The truck tire and the car tire are not the same size. The car takes a 440/450-21 (baloon tire) and the truck takes a much larger tire.

Hi Ray, let me ask 1 more question regarding tires, rims, and wheels. My 26 is a 1/2 ton (same frame etc. as the series V) would take the 4.50/21 tire. I understand that the correct wheel would be wood spoke. That means that all the 6.00/20 rims I have are not for my truck. the wheels that came on my truck are not correct. The rears are disk and front wire. That would mean also that I am in the market for front and rear wood spoke wheels and 4.50/21 rims. Please set me on the right track here.
Thanks
John

Here is the lowdown. If your truck is on the 1/2 ton chassis you would have wood spoke wheels that would have 30 X 3 1/2 tires front and rear. They would be mounted on the clincher type rim.

For info, the 1 ton truck had 30 X 3 1/2 front and 30 X 5 on the rear. An option was to also have the 30 X 5 on the front.

Did you say "wire" on the front? Those wires could buy you 4 wood spoke.

Hi Ray, Yes I said wire wheels on front with hub caps (17" across in excellent shape). 30 X 3 1/2 thats new one for me. But didn't they use the same spoke wheels as the seris V car. The 1/2 ton chasis was the same a the series V car. What was the clincher type rims. When I bought these 2 vehicles they came with a rim that looks a though it was cut in a section and the rim collapsed inward to install tire.I hace 6 of these with 6.00 X 20 on them.Please excuse me but I want to get all this straight before I go and buy any thing. Whats a good set of rear wood spoke wheels for a 1 ton worth with brake drums? I got an extra set with my trucks.
Thanks John

My first paragraph above is the specifications for your truck.

The 30 X 3 1/2 clincher is a solid rim, curled inside edges, 4 mounting lugs with the one near the hole for the valve stem cut out so the rim can be easily installed on the wheel. This rim requires a flap and tube. The tires have a metal reinforced bead that settles down in the rim when reinflated. It is mounted as we mount tires today.

The clincher rim is difficult to find that is not too sharp on the edge due to rust. Don't make a mistake and get F-O-R-D rims. They look the same, but do not have the split lug near the valve stem.

Check your email as I am sending all the specifications for both the 1/2 ton and 1 ton trucks.

Hi Guys,
I just found out that Coker tires has repro 30 X 3-1/2 clincher rims. Are these the ones I am looking for for my 26 1/2 ton.
Thanks
John

No! Unless they have something new. The one listed is for a F_O_R_D. The Chevrolet has one open lug, an extra ridge on the side away from the lugs, and the valve stem hole is not at the correct place.

Just wondering if anyone has or knows anyone, that has any used 440/450-21's

Hey Again,
There seems to be a bit of misinformation on Beaded Edge Tyres, or clinchers.
Firstly they locate to the rim only by the rolled edge catching the beaded edge of the tyre. The only thing that holds them there is pressure and lots of it, hence they are run at 50-60psi.minimum.
Secondly there are no wires in a beaded edge tyre because it would not be possible to stretch it over the fixed rim if there were. Wires are necessary in straight sided tires to stop them from enlarging under pressure and coming off the rim. However as a consequence these tyres have no stretch and they must be fitted to collapsible rims or well-based rims; and they run at lower pressures because they are not relying on pressure to hold them into the 'clinch" edge of the rim.
Thirdly, rust bands are never needed in BE tyres because the rims have no joins etc to cause tube damage. The only bands I have seen are very thin ones fitted to veteran BE cars with wire spokes.I have used my 30x31/2 BE jobs on my '25 for 36 years with out rust bands or any trouble.
Ray is correct in mentoning rusted sharp edge rims being a problem. This is because the tyre is constantly moving during use against this edge, more so if pressures are a bit low, and this action will cut the bead clean through resulting in a blow-out. Been there and done that one!
As far as brands go I have had the best run from Australian Olympic which never faulted. Always slightly oversize they performed and wore well. These however ended up in the Good Year/Dunlop pillage years ago when they scored Olympic's state of the art factory in Melbourne and killed off the brand and generally superior tyres. But the 30x31/2 BE jobs were exported in large numbers to the US badged as Universal, maybe Lester? Their tread pattern is characteristic and I have seen it in US catalogues.
As an aside,Dunlop sold the moulds to the US despite the movement here trying desperately to save/buy them. Olympic had complete moulds for any size vintage tyre, even those odd 25" jobs on early Dodges. Most of these were scrapped by Dunlop in a rather spiteful manner (they would not even negotiate) in what was later revealed to be an attempt by them to corner the antique tyre market with very, and I mean very, expensive and limited imports. This failed because they had not envisaged the resurgence in US and NZ reproduction over which they had no control. But for years we were in desperate, desperate trouble for lack of tyres while the Olympic moulds just languished. I have never bought a Dunlop product since.
Anyway I do not know what sort of quality tyre now wears the Olympic 30x31/2 design, but it is still out there.
Cheers,
Geoff.

I have had some peoblems with the newer tubes with rubber stems leaking,on the 28 sedan, some de-laminate and leak where the metal end attaches, and another showed wear at the rim hole. the stem had a slow leak also where the metal end was attached.
I am thinking the brass stems may be a better buy.

I too have had trouble with valve stems separating and leaking.The only cure I have found is to cut it off and glue on a replacement stem. They may be getting hard to get now but I had a stock of Schrader jobs that have not given trouble.
The wear at the rim hole can be fixed by inserting a plastic bush through the hole that fills the excess space, supports the stem and prevents chafing. Funny, Olympic used to provide them free at any of their outlets.
The bush is like a Top Hat with its lid removed, and no more than 1/2" tall. It had a slight swelling on the outside wall that helped it snap in place. The thickness of the wall was only 1/64" or so, and being black they were not at all obvious. One could whizz some up in a lathe from a soft plastic quite easily. I have not had stem problems once these were fitted, even to my everyday car at the time, an FJ Holden, and later to my next car a Humber Super Snipe. I presume the trouble arose with a reduction in valve stem diameters that left older cars with too big a hole in the rim. They have worked a treat also with the Chev.
If turning some up,bear in mind that the inside corner against the 'brim' needs to be chamfered to avoid cutting the very base of the stem.
Hope this helps.
Geoff.

Well, that is a good modification. I wonder if one might use a thin wall black pvc tubing and clip 1/4" vertical slots several places on the lower end, flare it out and insert it into the rim from inside out, maybe glue it in with a dab of RTV silicone? I may try that,
thanks, gmccorkelle

I have found that the repruction tubes leak when over 22 lbs pressure, probably because of the crappy rubber used today. I had new valve stems fitted to my old tubes (any truck tyre dealer carries these) and they never go down.
Speaking of old tubes some of you may be aware that my 28 2 door sedan (coach) was written off in an accident a while ago, well the body is now on a new rolling chassis and the woodwork is now under repair, shoul be back on the road soon. Whilst rebuilding a new chassis I needed extra wheels and tyres, so resurrected my old 28 tourer wood spoke wheels and tyres that have been up under the house for 35 years and they were old when I put them there, anyway I blew them up and those old tubes have stayed up now for over two months.
Chris