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You really need some form of flaps. When driving - those split rims flex. After awhile they will wear through the tube at that joint and cause a flat. Buy a rim spreader, or borrow one from a local model T club member. I bought my rim spreaders from local model T traders for around $35 each. Get either some tire lube from a local tire shop, or a small jug of talcum powder. This is used so that as you spread the rim back to its latched position the tire will slide around to its final location. Lay it out on some cardboard, or an old rug so you do not unduly scratch up your rims. It will be a learning curve with the first one taking the longest. For instance the tube stem needs to be angled so that as the rim is spread back to the latched position the tire and tube assembly will rotate slightly. The final position of that stem should be straight. Some rims may still have the old size of tube stem hole. Check this before assembly and ream it out about 1/16" larger than your new inner tube stem.
Sometimes I will take an old tire, a used rim, and the rim spreader in my '29. I set up a "living history" display to get people interested and talking. People take things for granted.They do not realize that there were no service companies to come get you taken care of if you had a flat. No cell phones to call for help. If you did not fix it yourself you might be there awhile. I do not pull it down all the way because there is a lot of tension on it, and if it popped loose it could cause an injury.
Keep the forum posted as to your progress.
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