Scored some great old Rader wheels at the Symco Shakedown this past weekend and am eager to get tires mounted for my '64 Oldsmobile. However I've heard that these early two-piece riveted wheels sometimes leak, much like a wire wheel. And I'm assuming this particular set may have had problems in the past since the previous owner duct-taped the inner rim over the rivets. Any advice on what I should do to avoid leaks? I'd hate to get my tires mounted and then have issues, and the tires I'm putting on them are a pretty unique set that I wouldn't be able to replace one if it was damaged. I'd thought about brushing bead sealer on around each rivet, or maybe a wire wheel rim strip, but the strips I see for sale look like they're just to keep a tube from getting nicked, not for sealing the rim. Do I need tubes? Any help or experience here would be much appreciated, or direct me to any other threads where this has been discussed, I really want to do this right the first time.
Take my 2 cents for what it is worth, but I would not be against running a tube if I was worried about it. CJO13
The set I have has bead sealer schmeared on the the rivets inside, they still would leak down after a few months.
a dab of 3M 5200 over the rivet heads, that is what I use on my wire wheels. It's expensive, but it works
From my personal experience with aluminum ATV wheels, silicone caulk works great too! PS - Those rims & tires will look killer on your Olds. Nice score!
If you have access to it, something like an aircraft faying compound would do it, aka polysulfide. The mil number is MIL PRF 81733, Type 1 is a brush on, Type 4 is more of a spreadable type. We use it to seal pressured compartments on aircraft assemblies. Bob
There's one of those wheels in crap shape on a Chevy in the junkyard. Tube in it and it's holding air and the car hasn't been messed with in 20+ years.
I saw a wheel that was built somewhat like those you pictured.. when it was broke down to have new tires put on it.. it looked like the owner put plasti-dip on the rivets. it was hard, but still a bit flexible, and it wasnt coming off they came into my friends shop holding air, and went out holding air
Squablow, Im with Steve29, I used JB weld on my 49 chevy wheels around the rivets and have been running tubeless for a while with no leak down issues on my 36 pick-up. I did them in around 1981 so they have been fully tested. Mitch.
i used 100 percent clear silicone on my wire wheels ! used an old axle in the lathe to turn em at slow speed while i used a squeege to smooth it out ! hold air perfectly ! thats how ralleye america does their wheels also
This is what's great about the HAMB, in just a couple hours I find out from someone's personal experience that my initial plan (bead sealer) isn't going to work and I get lots of feedback on what has worked for others. I really, truly appreciate all the responses, getting good info up front saves a ton of time and headaches down the road and I really want to do this right the first time. I don't have a tire machine so it's not something I can easily undo. Sounds like a proper sealant around the rivets or tubes would work equally well, I'll pick one and when I get them mounted I'll post some pics of the wheels on the car. It's got bellflowers, vent shades, and dual antennas on it since the picture was taken, the flipper caps are OK but they're a little too 50's looking for me, and being the car is a four door I feel like all the little details need to be right to peg down "the look". Thanks again for all the great info.
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