Hi, I am looking for 18 inch inner tubes for 1932 Ford wire wheels. They will be used for a vintage race car. I am hearing many stories about thin inner tubes and failures! Does anybody have a source that makes a sturdy inner tube for my application? Thanks.
there is a thread going on now at the fordbarn/ model A forum. it seems some guys are using radial tubes from coker, and they say Brattons antique auto actually sourced his own, china made, but good results so far. tubes have been a problem for a while now
Just contacted Bratton's They only make tubes for Model A application. Guess I will try and find a source for radial tubes for the 32. Do I need both flaps and rim strip for the wheel?
Remember to use talc powder inside the tire...Helps with friction between tire and tube...I still have a can of tire talc..
Yup, use talc. More installations basics: inflate, deflate, re-inflate and make sure the valve stem is postioned squarely, not binding on one side of the hole. (And if you're having a shop do it, don't assume they knows this.)
i do not use flaps unless you have a real spoke wheel with exposed nipple ends in the rim. they are heavy, and make mounting a lot more of a challenge. did you ask coker about radial tubes?
No I have not. But will call them. I am seeing their tires are hard to balance if that is true. I would like to shop at 1 place for tires tubes and rim strips. And yes on the Talc. I had a 1973 Suburban with all new truck tires. I set out for a cross country trip and got to Ohio when I had a blowout. Low and behold no flaps in the wheel and the folks who mounted them twisted the tubes as you said without Talc! So I waited a day to have service center order in 4 flaps and replace 2 tubes. And this was a Goodyear shop that did them originally. We have a tire shop about a mile away from us but they are restricted by law to not mounting tires they do not sell. Kinda sucks. I do not want to over think this issue but just want good tires and tubes that work well!! I will call Coker. Thanks.
you dont need a shop to mount 18" ford wheels. use talc, and use rim lube, they practically go on by hand
Yep, Coker sells some nice (Michelin maybe?) tubes for 18" wheels. You only need rim strips if you are covering exposed spokes. Regular '32 wires don't have exposed spoke ends. Make sure to get some of those little bevelled plastic valve washers to place on the stem where it goes through the hole in the wheel.
O.K. I will nix the tube flaps! Rim strips it is. Do not know about bevelled plastic valve washers? Where do I find them? Called Coker (very nice on phone to my questions). They sell the bias tire tubes and sell the more expensive Radial tubes for the same application. I did find it funny that one tire tube is a TR-15 valve stem and the other is a TR-13 valve stem. Which should be used on a 1932 wire wheel rim? So final challenge is as far as balancing, I assume the tires sold today from the vendors can be balanced with weights. Is that correct? And yes I will mount them myself. Our local tire shop would not mount 5 new tires for my 1921 Dodge Touring. They are 32 inch disc wheels with a locking ring. Need to find a truck shop with a cage they tell me. And I am told it is not a split rim ring style so again confusion!
dyna beads work well instead of lead weights. just pour them in the tube. no rim strips either unless your rim is really rough or rusty.
I bought a set of the Excelsior radials, and the radial tubes from Coker. I didn't use any inside flaps, strips, or liners since the welded wires in a stock 32 wire wheel don't penetrate the rim. I did attempt to mount a couple of the tires myself, and used SamIAm's plastic bag method. It was rather hard to do. The second pair I had mounted by my local shop. They balanced all of them, and regular modern edge weights work fine. You can find the valve stem protector plastic washers at most local tires stores, but maybe not at Coker. You could probably buy them from a vendor that sells farm imp tires. They are a good idea to prevent chaffing. The model differences numbers on the tubes spec what the valve is made of, and which direction it points. The 32 wires have the hole on a tilt, so make sure the stem points at a diagonal.
O.K. Great info and appreciate it. I found valve stem bushings I believe allow the TR-13 valve stem to go inside the larger TR-15 valve stem hole. Assume both tubes have the same valve stem length and offset as I need. Still confused as to buying the radial tubes. I do not see specific title radial inner tube! Am I missing something here. I assume the inexpensive $22.00 ish tubes are thinner and bias ply and I should buy the more expensive $75.00 ish radial tubes. I see 2 prices on them. About 56.00 and $76.00 tubes. Are they the same or different? They will be used in Bias ply tires 5:25 5:50 18 tires. This car is a 2 man car I located in Minnesota (what was left of it) . About 30% was there and current owner gave me description of what it looked like many years ago. I had to wing it on restoration. 8 years now and almost done. It was owned by an elderly gent who raced in the day around Rochester Minn. I purchased the remaining pieces from someone who bought it from his estate. Remains were in the woods! Much easier finding an almost complete car. I restored 2 midgets and a stock car but they were almost complete! Want to resolve the tube issue then move on to buying tires. Thanks.
https://www.cokertire.com/accessories/17-18-e-ret-michelin-tube.html Pretty sure this is the one I used on the front of my car with 5.50x18 tires on the 32 wheels. No liners or flaps. Here's the stem protectors. https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Tube-V...t=&hvlocphy=9017876&hvtargid=pla-909096876217
the big circle track action in minnesota in the old days was the track at jackson, not far from rochester. still a big interest there, some one there may know something about your car
O.K. Will give it a try. Most groups do not answer questions like this or they only go back so far on info. Realize it is becoming ancient history! I tried getting early info from Eldora in the mid 1950's and zip for a friend who raced there! And yup on the bushings. Thanks. My big problem at the moment is now getting someone to give me a straight answer on a good quality bias ply tube or go with the 3 times more radial tubes! Stopped by 2 local tire shops today and they are perplexed on this too. Neither show an application or advice on them. They know there are poor quality tubes out there and do not want to deal with it! one shop was going to look at his old books to see if he could pull up info on light truck tubes but they tossed away the old books. He even called his distributor for me. They are in the dark on this too!! this is not Rocket science. I am willing to spend the money on good tubes but cannot get questions answered I am asking. Anybody??
I run tubes in my Harley, I cruse 90^ no problems. You can get 18" bike tubes no problem Good year makes 'em.
"We have a tire shop about a mile away from us but they are restricted by law to not mounting tires they do not sell." I would bet that is their policy, not law. To waste your time, you could always ask them what specific law or statute they are referring to. I still sometimes use (radial) tubes in 13, 14 and 15 inch sizes. I get them at a local tire shop for under $20. They are Korean, but seem fine. The shop agreed that the Chinese ones are poor, but the Korean ones are fine.
I have a call into a shop that restores older race cars. Possibly I will find something out and learn. That is why I ask here. You guys have a great knowledge base. Yes 1st shop I stopped at were not very helpful. Got the impression they did not want to help. Oh Well!! Have used them before for modern stuff but guess I crossed the line.Will let you know if i find any good info. Thanks.
I believe it's Bratton's that has the tubes made special from all rubber for the Model A's, not sure if available for the 18". Worth a phone call. Radial tire requires a radial tube. FWIW Paul in CT
I’ve been using motorcycle tubes with steel stems in my Bonneville tires for years. I like them because they are skinny. Just make sure you get the stem in the right position and use talcum like the say.
No actually its a cop speedo. Which is a good thing, it saved me a ticket a few years back over the 4th of July. I pulled in for a gas stop and this Hwy trooper pulled in behind me. He said, "I radared you down the road do you know how fast you were going?" I said, "Yup 66 mph, one mile over when I passed you." he looked at my speedo and said, "Well yes you were." then began to quiz me about how I came about a certified speedo. LOL Here is some advice about tubes. No matter what you are running for tires you want radial tubes. they are more durable than the more "traditional" offerings.
No reason to be dry. LOL Just so you'll know, there are just a handful who's questions and corrections are acceptable. if you catch my drift.
Hi, Got info from 2 restorers. Both have heard of the problem but get tubes in their sizes. I have a call into motorcycle shop and Michelin North America about the radial tubes. Waiting to hear on it. Also there are a few choices of material used for tubes and thickness. It appears some tubes are made from partial recycled rubber and may lead to spotty failure. This would explain the hit and miss of responses. I looked on line for tubes for motorcycles but cannot find anything close to tube size or offset stem I need. How close do you have to be from actual tube size as opposed to offerings from motorcycle tubes?
Hello all. Well I found a motorcycle shop and got Michelin heavy duty tubes for 18 inch rims. I will weld close the angle stem holes and pop new holes in center for straight stem. Tubes are nice and sturdy. Application is for an old sprint car so no problem welding up factory holes knowing i will now have good tubes. Thought I would let the group know. And again you are a great resource for info and appreciate the help.