MTFCA Forum

Flat out side of Indianapolis with two tubes blown. Does anyone in the area have a spare 30x3 1/2. Tube?? Mssg me for Steve’s number.

I wish i could help you at this time, but I am too far away. However i am going to the OFC on Saturday and am planning to bring several new tubes as spares for you to get back home. Hope to meet you and many more of the model T folks.

Art Mirtes

I’m impressed Steve ! Well over 310 miles today. Aren’t you in Henry’s Hoosiers country ?

I’m 45 miles north of Indy and I have tubes.

The only 3 1/2 I have are mounted on kelsey rims. I have two good tubes with bad rubber stems. Not much help I know. Steve is welcome to use any of them. I am 3 hrs north of him.

I was able to call Steve. He is coming over to pick up a tube tomorrow

Thanks for your help Rod, we all appreciate all the help we can get.

I hope he is driving over and does not need the tubes tonite. Just needs them for spares since he has/had 2 flats.

We are waiting for u Steve.

I have some tubes in Waynetown.

Steve was hoping for a trouble free run with his new Blockley tyres and tubes this trip. I wonder what the problem is? Bad rims, low pressure are a couple of the problems that can cause flats but I assume Steve has been all over them? It will be interesting to get his feedback. Wishing Steve all the best for the remainder of his tour and I look forward to seeing pictures and updates.

Hot Temperatures, Hot Pavement, and Hot Cord Style Tires @ 55-60 psi are a bad combination. Hope he is doing well. One thing about this, he is a new product testing laboratory in motion!

Hank

I think Steve is/was stuck where he got the flats. Looking at this blog, he mounted two new tires and tubes the day before he left, but he had two or three bad tube blowouts during the process, leaving him with only one spare tube when he left home.

Has anyone tried to call him on his cell just to check on him & current situation? I don’t have his number but I’m sure someone does,

I called him and left a message but he hasn't responded. I know a couple of people in the area he's in so I sent messages out to them to see if they were close enough to help and Rod Barrett was able to help.

Not sure Steve is using the blockley tube so believe he's using Hartford tubes

I look forward to hearing from Steve about the cause of his tube problems but agree with Mike that I believe Steve has been using Hartfords with the rubber stems replaced with salvaged, original brass stems. FWIW I installed Blockley tubes in my Universal T-Drivers 5300 miles ago and have had no issues. Previous to that I had two flats with Hartford's due to valve-stem issues.

I wish Steve the best and hope the rest of his journey is trouble free.

If only there was some sort of product for under $50 that could be put in your tire along with a NEW tube that would greatly reduce tire troubles…

Steve's blog (to check if he doesn't post here)

https://dauntlessgeezer.com/blog923.html

Chris

Very interesting Chris. Thanks for including his trip blog. I didn’t realize he had so much tire trouble last Friday before leaving for OCF. I hope this is the last of it and its smooth sailing now on…

Steve has a few years on me & my knees surely don't appreciate the floor anymore - I do enough tires for the local club members that I justified the purchase of this mounting machine albeit manual ! Oh and yes, I install flaps if you want me to mount up your tires !

Steve, I presume that is a modern tire changer.

How do you attach the different T tires to the base?

Front wheels with hubs, rear wheel with hubs, etc.

Source? Cost?

Yes, it's a motorcycle tire mounting machine. I had a longer "spools" made to hold the clincher rim. All three spool mounts are adjustable for tension and they hold the rim quite nicely - I use longer truck style bars for mounting - it came with a long bar that works good for removing the tire if not too old & hard. I'll dig out the paperwork.

Steve is back on the road. I took my trailer and picked him up. We removed the wheel and placed it on a work table then removed the tire. The source of the trouble wasn’t the tube. It was the locking bead on the tire. A portion of it was damaged so when the tire was inflated, the tire came off of the rim and blew a 12” slit in the tube.

We installed a new tube and tire and it appears to be OK. 60 psi and he’s back on the road.

That's a relief, thanks for the update!

Second major bead issue with Blockley I have heard of. Not very promising. They do not have much of a tread surface either.

Joe Reid wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2023 4:09 pm

Second major bead issue with Blockley I have heard of. Not very promising. They do not have much of a tread surface either.

Those rear tires ARE NOT BLOCKLEYS. Looks like a blockley on the front.

Wait for the full story before you start bad mouthing something.

John, you are looking at the spare he just replaced the Blockley with. The Blockley with the blown bead is on the running board.

I use the Vietnam tires as well, I have 4 Firestone sets and 1 Riverside. When I mounted the tires new I put in new tubes and flaps and have had no issues in ten years. You are at the mercy of what is available.

Joe Reid wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 07, 2023 5:04 pm

John, you are looking at the spare he just replaced the Blockley with. The Blockley with the blown bead is on the running board.

OK my bad maybe.
I have seen dozens of rim cuts from sharp beads. Thats a fault of the rim, not the tire.
I expect that to be the issue, but will wait for a first hand report.

Steve has been in a t-bone and you can read more here: https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38610

Keep the comment and wishes in that thread,