MTFCA Forum

I purchased 4 Blockely tires this past summer and really like them. However, one tire the bead seems to have seperated. I sent two separate emails, one with a picture, to Blockley and have not heard from them to date. Im curious to know if others have had this same problem, lack of communication from Blockley? Im very disappointed because I really do like their product. Thanks, Matt

Post a picture here

what you are describing sounds very much like a rim cut from a faulty rim combined with low tire pressure.

Is your rim edge sharp? Could this be a rim issue & not a tire issue?

I suspected the rim, but can a rim become sharp over time? Reason I ask is the old tires must have been at least 30yrs old (15yrs non driven) before I got the car. I've had the car five years and been driving on the old tires since I purchased the car. I reached out to the company to see if by chance they had an issue with a batch of tires. If not, and its my rim then so be it. But it would still be nice to hear from the company.

MattM wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:36 pm

I suspected the rim, but can a rim become sharp over time? Reason I ask is the old tires must have been at least 30yrs old (15yrs non driven) before I got the car. I've had the car five years and been driving on the old tires since I purchased the car. I reached out to the company to see if by chance they had an issue with a batch of tires. If not, and its my rim then so be it. But it would still be nice to hear from the company.

Why don't youu post the pictures you sent to Blockley here. The rim cedge could have changed taking the old tires off and putting the new ones on. Check the rim

Here is a pic of the tire still on car.

MattM wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 30, 2022 6:36 pm

. . . can a rim become sharp over time? . . .

Yes ! It can ! The reason is years of corrosion - rust between the rim and the tire bead.

Please examine your rims carefully and post pictures of the rim inside edge and the tire damage. It would be very helpful.

Cross-posting. Thank you for the photo !
IMHO, it looks less like tire failure than damage from a sharp rim and / or under-inflation.

What should the cross section of that type rim look like?

Looks like the tire bead tore off because of limited flexibility in the rubber. If the rubber compound is too firm, and has no give while under pressure and stress, this may happen. Let’s see the rim edge.

I just had to replace 4 gorgeous looking rims. Perfect cadmium plating (?), ancient tires, being used as "rollers" for the last 20 years at 40PSI. I removed the tires to put on new and found the insides of the rims were rust-welded to the tires and all of the edges of the rims were rusty razor sharp...and no damage to the rock-hard tires. I was forced to replace 4 rims which were probably the nicest I've ever seen (on the outside!)

I'd be inclined to mark the rim indelibly, remove the tire and inspect the rim at that point. Once a tire is cut, the failure will grow. Been there, done that on another rim.

I've seen rims where the edges have gotten so sharp that you could cut a finger on them if you're careless. Rust is the most common culprit. Here is a photo of a cross-section of a clincher rim and tire. Truthfully, the rim in this picture shows more corrosion (pitting) than I would be comfortable with. The edge should be rounded and fairly smooth. Your photo looks to me like the rim cut the tire.... remove the tire from the rim and you should have your answer.

This has been around before about sharp beads on steel rims. I Read about that years ago when ‘ Tinkering Tips’ was popular. Old rims get that way and a fix was using a file to round the rim inner edges to eliminate the sharp edge.
Some rims are really to far gone though from the rust and that’s something to check closely when buying some at swap meets.

Some rims are really to far gone though from the rust and that’s something to check closely when buying some at swap meets.

True Words!

the only thing less likely to be found at a swap meet than pristine rims, would be an original radiator that cools. In pretty much all but the luckiest cases, if any of these items were worth owning, they'd still be on a car...

I took a wild leap of faith and bought 4 rims off of eBay (HORRORS!) and ended up with 4 good rims. For the price esch, plus shipping, I hoped for 2 good out of 4 and was presented with the Holy Grail...4 out of 4 beautiful rims. It can happen, but boy, don't count on it.

Thank you for all of the insight! When I take the tire off I'll post a pic of rim.

Here is a photo of a Ford rim (top) and a Kelsey on the bottom.
You can see how thin and sharp (and rusty) the Ford rim is compared to the Kelsey.

Excellent comparison photo Peter. There should be no difference between the brands, but clearly one is very badly rusted thin. The problem for novice T owners is they often have no reference as to how a good rim looks. A number of times I have been told "My rims are fine". When you see them, and can show the owner what a good rim looks like, it becomes a different story.

I used to buy good rims, have them sandblasted, correct any faults and have them electro zinc plated for resale. I haven't been able to buy a good one for a few years now. Thankfully, the new ones out of Queensland are of excellent quality, so increasingly expensive tyres and tubes need not be at risk.

Allan from down under.

Thanks Peter for the comparsion pics! I defiantly see the difference. Im going to take the tire off this week to take a look. I decided and waiting for quotes for one new blockley tire as well as American vintage rims quote for a new rim. The plan is to slowly replace the other three rims over the next few months, in time for next years driving season.
Thanks guys!
Matt

Allan,
You have someone making new rims in Queensland? Do they ship internationally?

It looks to me as if the entire surface of the rim that is in contact with the tire would need to be in good condition, with its original contour intact, for best results. A rust eroded rim, besides allowing the sharp edge to cut the tire, would not give the proper support to the tire bead. If the rim's edge cuts into the bead cord, the tire is bound to fail.

Yep, rim seems pitted pretty bad.

Cut bead on tire

How do the other rims look?

Perfect cadmium plating (?)

Zinc. Rims were galvanized.


A guy at Hershey bawled me out for being rude and ruining the hobby by offering $10 for a sharp rim he thought was worth $60. I have bought good rims at swap meets and auctions, but I've probably passed up more that were rusted sharp. I used to think the rust happened when rims sat on wet ground for years. But, yes, it can happen with a tire on the rim too. I had one like Scott described. It looked fine with the tire on it, but with the rock-hard old tire removed it was another story.

I thought I remembered seeing rim repair metal strips being sold. They were/are a folded steel strip, formed into a circle that you were or are supposed to fit over the sharp lip of the rim, and then weld or braze it on. I have never seen it in use, but the idea seemed like it could work to save an otherwise sound rim.

As already said the times of finding good used rims at swap meets is getting harder as it is with finding supposedly good radiators. Rims and radiators fall in the class of looking good on the outside but the inside is another story. I’ve seen one really nice rim at Chickasha but it was being carried out when I was going in. Missed that one! I did buy one that had a missing lug that was really nice and not rusted up for $25. I have several rims at home saved for that purpose and used a lug on it. All is well on my 21 Touring and it’s working fine!

Tim, Vintage Rims, Australia, is owned by Steve Hood. He is in Kingaroy, Queensland, Phone 0429 622 208. He makes all types of rims, clinchers, split, lock rings, well based and motorcycle belt and brake rims too. My son got lucky on our recent national rally and won a $500 voucher for his choice of Steve's output. I am sure he would be keen to help, and the exchange rate will be an added help for you.

Allan from down under.

Allan

this is the first I've heard of Vintage Rims...I just looked them up...thank you

I think in the absence of anyone else marketing them here in the US, it would sure be nice to pull up a "Model T" on the quote page! Perhaps you could encourage him to do so?

Prior to my finding 4 good originals, I would have been quite keen to buy brand new.

Thanks Allan.... I'm with Scott. The availability of new rims is in the same category as the availability of quality tires.... worth the extra cost. We used to have a guy right here in Michigan but no more.

Vintage Rims New Zealand has been a quality source for many years. I have used several dozen of their rims and they are of fantastic quality. As I understand, these are the only rims available thru our US vendors at the moment.

Vintage Rims Australia popped up on my radar bout 5 years ago, but have not tried their rims yet. If someone orders rims from them, I would be interested to hear your opinion…

I recently restored as set of Budd wire wheels. The rims were decent, but I decided to do a bit of surgery on the rim edge as a precaution.

I was able to chuck up the relaced wheel in my lathe. I have infinite speed control on my lathe and had the rim barely turning. I used a right angle grinder and blunted the edges of the rims. That eliminated the possibility of rim cut tires. I then used my 3" DA sander to smooth the edges.

Now to go 1 step further, I coated the inside of the rims with that rubber spray sealer advertised on TV. No need for a tire liner. Also the rubber spray has non slip properties to keep the tire from slipping on the rim. As a final thought the coated rim will not rust especially here in the ultra dry Seattle area!!! I have also ground the sharp edges of the rim and used a wire feeder to weld a bead on the raw edge. Then profiled the welded edges nice and smooth.

Generally speaking the reason the rim cuts the tire is 2-fold. 1st of course the rim is sharp,and 2, the tire is underinflated, and the tire moves back and forth as the car is driven. Therefore, the bed get cut. The third is the possibility of a defective tire. I run my clincher tires at 60 pounds and never take my car out without checking and topping off the air.

just sayin'

frontyboy

A couple of other points, I was on a tour in Wisconsin traveling with a guy when his front tire peeled off the rim as we were driving, or should I say when it peeled off several times during the day. He had ground the beaded edge so far back to get to good metal there was not enough left of the bead on the rim. You have to build it back to the same amount of metal.
The inside edge is hard to get into to paint or cover to stop rust, dipping in zinc was the guaranteed way, home DIY methods need a good method to make sure the inside (especially the underneath end) of the bead gets coated.
Also paint is not waterproof, if water is left in contact with steel for a long time it will go through the paint and the rim will still rust, that's why they put in "rust bands," tape or flaps.
Here is another problem, Years ago I purchased new non demountable wheels, They were painted and tires put on, I got a flat years later, when the tire was removed I found all the paint and primer was rattling around inside the tire. The tire was mounted onto the painted rim without a flap or band. When the car was put away after being driven in the rain (and that was lots of times) water stayed inside the rim. It can get in easy at the valve stem especially if you have original metal stems because of the stems washer holding it off the rim, there is no way of knowing as you don't remove the tire unless you have too.
Here is a photo of the amount of loose rust and paint which I cleaned out of the wheel when I took off the tire, all four wheels had about the same amount inside them. It was good hand full in each wheel. Only positive I have about the crap tires we have been stuck with for years one gets to remove the tire and see what's going on with the rim. "I hope the tire sellers don't use that as a reason why they made them so bad"
I like the idea of the rubber spray, would be better than paint.

I have bought 2 sets of 21" split rims from Steven Hood in Australia. I am running 1 set on my 26 Coupe and the 2nd set, I have not used yet. Steve is currently in the process of making me set of clinchers for my 25 RPU.

Vintage Rims Australia says that they ship worldwide.

Vintage Rims NZ, I can find nothing about Model T parts even though their website lists Model T parts. Catalog appears all Model A.

Has anyone heard of American vintage rims? Mclaren rims?

MattM wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:32 am

Has anyone heard of American vintage rims? Mclaren rims?

I believe that Mike Lebsack is making the wire wheels - what else ? https://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/7 ... 1486822092
Mike Lebsack in now producing the wheels.If your interested, 319-430-4995 You can also tex to this number. Vintage Wire Wheel 802 Ryan Ct.Iowa City, Iowa 52246 He also offers a 21" speedster wheel with spinners



From the Internet
American Vintage Rims http://www.americanvintagerims.com/ --
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McLaren Wire Wheels old web site no longer there http://www.mclarenmfg.com/ --
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Listing in Lang's

Both of the McLarens have quit the business from what I've heard. Is Mike Lebsack just making wire wheels?

Vintage Rims New Zealand is the primary supplier for Coker Tire in recent times, and I’m assuming most other US availability as well. American Vintage Rims has not been on the map for at least a few years. John McLaren sold the McLaren Wheel business to Mike Lebsack 5-10 years ago

Hello All,
Kevin and others are correct. I purchased only the McLaren Wire Wheel business from John McLaren 5-6 years ago. American Vintage Rim is owned by Mark McLaren, John McLaren’s son. I currently produce 30x3.5 and a limited number of 30x3.0 clincher style McLaren Wire Wheels. Lang’s carries the clincher rims which were produced by American Vintage Rims. I use the same clincher rims but do not sell the rims unless they are part of a complete McLaren Wire Wheel or an occasional Buffalo wheel that I am restoring for one of my regular customers. Thanks, Mike

Thank you Mike for the information on Mclaren business.