Help needed

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Mel King
Posts: 96
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:23 pm
First Name: Melvin
Last Name: King
Location: Portsmouth VA

Help needed

Post by Mel King » Fri Oct 11, 2019 4:00 pm

I have tried to mount my 30 inch clincher tire on my rim and between my back and wrong tools I can not do it ,is there anybody that could help me in Portsmouth, VA ?.I could pay a reasonable amount. MEL. :(

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TWrenn
Posts: 3389
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:53 am
First Name: Tim
Last Name: Wrenn
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '13 Touring, '26 "Overlap" Fordor
Location: Ohio
MTFCA Number: 30701
MTFCI Number: 24033
Board Member Since: 2019

Re: Help needed

Post by TWrenn » Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:50 am

Did you try your local tire shops? Maybe you'll get lucky like I did and find one with not one, but two fellas that actually like to mount them. Or a motorcycle shop. Good luck.


Tom Hicks
Posts: 761
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 12:07 pm
First Name: Thomas
Last Name: Hicks
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '24 TT, '26 TT, '24 Speedster, '26 Speedster
Location: Chesterfield, VA
MTFCA Number: 32518

Re: Help needed

Post by Tom Hicks » Sat Oct 12, 2019 12:37 pm

Leete Tire Petersburg VA.
Technology, the solution to all of our problems... and the cause of most of them.


Erik Johnson
Posts: 850
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2019 10:25 pm
First Name: Erik
Last Name: Johnson
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Re: Help needed

Post by Erik Johnson » Sat Oct 12, 2019 1:08 pm

It's much easier to mount a clincher tire with the wheel on the car.

You can mount the tire without using any tools except perhaps toward the very end of the mounting process if at all.

The last couple times I did it, I did not need any tire irons to mount the tire - just my hands.

With the above being said, you may have a friend, relative or neighbor willing to help you.

See this thread and scroll down to where Royce Peterson shows how he installs clincher tires - this is exactly how I have done it:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/25 ... 1343386992

If you don't have any tire irons, pick up a couple at Harbor Freight - I see they have a store in the Portsmouth area:

https://www.harborfreight.com/24-inch-g ... 93230.html

Before using the Harbor Freight tire irons, check them for sharp edges and dress them with a file if necessary.


Wayne Sheldon
Posts: 3639
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 3:13 pm
First Name: Wayne
Last Name: Sheldon
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Runabout 1913 Speedster
Location: Grass Valley California, USA
Board Member Since: 2005

Re: Help needed

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:00 pm

Mounting (and removing) model T type clincher tires/rims is much more about technique than it is about strength. My point in saying this is to point out that a friend or neighbor that does not know them is likely not going to be much help. Good model T people that become masters at fixing T tires start out taking a couple hours fighting with one tire before they begin to "get" it. I have seen 80 year old owners fix a flat in less than a half hour after refusing help from younger club members on T a tour! That less than a half hour was the full remove tire, repair tube, replace tire (portable air compressor to air it up, hey, the fellow wasn't crazy at his age!). Done during the lunch stop, and still had time to eat!

I am not deriding Mel King's abilities. Just saying the help he needs is someone familiar with clincher type tires. Besides, if his last name is King? And from Virginia or anywhere around Tennessee? He may be a distant cousin of mine! (Actually, almost any last name with family going back to the revolutionary war time in that area is likely a distant cousin of mine!)

I know a few people here have said they found tire shop personnel that knew clinchers. But those are rare. Motorcycle shops are a bit more likely, as some motorcycles did use clinches, and not so long ago. Tom Hicks may know the shop he recommended?

User avatar

Oldav8tor
Posts: 1930
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:39 am
First Name: Tim
Last Name: Juhl
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1917 Touring
Location: Thumb of Michigan
MTFCA Number: 50297
MTFCI Number: 24810
Board Member Since: 2018

Re: Help needed

Post by Oldav8tor » Sat Oct 12, 2019 4:10 pm

I tried the "bag trick" unsuccessfully and decided to take my tires to a local tire shop (not a big name franchise). For $10 a tire they mounted the tires complete with flaps and did a nice job. They were actually excited to work on something that old so I took the car over after I got it running and took them for a ride. I made some friends and have my future tire problems solved.
1917 Touring
1946 Aeronca Champ
1952 Willys M38a1 Jeep (sold 2023)
1953 Ford Jubilee Tractor

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