mountin old original hard tires

[acman63]

anyone have any suggestion on products to help mount some original pretty stiff Goodyears on original steel wheels.  would hate to tear one

[CSX 4133]

No real secrets.  First off warm the tires, a nice hot sunny day works well. Leave them in the sun for three plus hours, rotating the sides to warm them evenly. This will loosen the sidewalls up and prepare them for the next stage. Liberal use of tire mounting lubricant/tire soap on the bead will also help plus you will need at least two people to gently "massage" the tire onto the rim using tire spoons. Good luck

Getting really stiff tires to seat once mounted can be fun too. In a pinch I've had to use the ether, flame and air line trick.

[69mach351w]

+1. Also Maybe also using tubes inside would help hold air.

[pbf777]

+1. Also Maybe also using tubes inside would help hold air.

     When using old tire mountings, mostly for display purposes of course, use tubes not only to offset simply leak-down but also as a preservation purpose, this reducing the instance of the seepage air pressure (and moisture) alone causing separation with in the tire's construction.         

      Scott.

[NC TRACKRAT]

I wonder if some of that stuff the drag racers use to soften up their tires before a run would help.  Maybe some of the drag racers here could offer an opinion. 

[CSX 4133]

+1. Also Maybe also using tubes inside would help hold air.

     When using old tire mountings, mostly for display purposes of course, use tubes not only to offset simply leak-down but also as a preservation purpose, this reducing the instance of the seepage air pressure (and moisture) alone causing separation with in the tire's construction.         

      Scott.

Notrogen filling works well if that's an issue. 

[pbf777]

Notrogen filling works well if that's an issue. 

    That would probably solve the oxidation issue, but the air pressure may also invade within the tire ply's and cause separation, bulging and perhaps a POP!         

     Scott.

[427street]

The hot sun is a good idea to soften the tire/sidewall.

But you also need to soften the bead.

Use numerous coats/applications of Glycerine over a few days on about 1" of the inside and outside of the bead area. This will actually soften the bead.

Also if the tires are only being used for display, you can run a drum sander around the inside of the bead removing up to 1/8" of rubber to increase the ID of the tire to make it easier to mount the tire on the rim and seat it.

Tubes will also help.

Cheers
Greg

[FL SAAC]

The most inexpensive way we gave found is to soak the rubber for 2/3 day in kerosene or diesel fuel.

Less stinky but more expensive would be to soak in gallons of WD40.

Good luck and hopefully you won't be using these on the road