My recent acquisition (57 Eldorado Survivor) has tires from the 60's and were dry rotted & cracked so I recently bought a set of Coker Whitewalls (8.20xR15) to complete the look on my original Sabre Wheels.
The tires were shipped by Coker completely wrapped in very tight plastic and when we tried mounting it to the Sabre wheels, it was too narrow to catch a bead on the rims. They tried blasting compressed air numerous times but it was still not enough to catch a bead lock.
Has anyone ever installed Coker 8.20x15s on Sabre wheels and seen this problem ?
Thanks in advance
Mike Nelson
Denison, Tx
Was this being done at a professional tire shop?
A shop with no "old timers" may not know all the
tricks as to dealing with this problem.
I've mounted hundreds of tires when I worked for
Gulf Oil in the 60's and this is how we did it on the
old Coats machines (see video). Newer wheels
and equipment, tire sizes, etc. are much different.
Sometimes, it takes more than "blasting air" to get
the bead to "catch". You are using the right size for
the Sabres. I have those on my '55 Eldo.
Here's a clip from YouTube that explains the tricks nicely:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mounting+tire%2c+bead+won%27t+catch&view=detail&mid=B33C1FCEDA2CA47458F0B33C1FCEDA2CA47458F0&FORM=VIRE
Good luck & let us know how you make out!
Mike
Hey Mike
I’ve been through the same struggle many times before. Start by unwrapping all of the tires. Then I use cut pieces of wood to hold the beads out to roughly where they will be when installed and inflated on the rim. I usually let them sit with the wood in between the beads for a few days. Remove the wood and install on the rim as normal. This should make the beads seat easily. Hope this helps.
Jeremy Weiss
I know in the 61/62 shop manuals, tire installation is illustrated with an affair that almost looks like a ratchet strap around the tread area to swell out the bead area when pressure is applied. The shop that mounted the bias ply tires on the 61 had the same issue with pancake tires. Their solution was like Jeremy's - several pieces of wood letting them sit out in the sun.
Thanks Guys
I'm on it
Mike
Mike:
As Dan said, the "ratchet strap" device (shown in the film) is
what was used to help spread the bead area open. It went
around the circumference of the tire. A lubricant around the
bead helped it seat (we used RuGlyde). A good tire shop
should know this. See pic:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=IR4SsCbG&id=C7FED4BB01B7772C1C9DE0C352DD0CC80EB7D0D4&thid=OIP.IR4SsCbGG3oNw1dKxbHePAHaI-&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.lastgreatroadtrip.com%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2009%2f06%2fratchet-strap-to-set-tire-bead.jpg&exph=1110&expw=916&q=ratchet+strap+to+seat+tire+bead&simid=608009582704067507&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0
Unwrapping them and propping them open with a few pieces
of wood is a good idea. I don't know where you live but even
out in the sun here, it's well below freezing. If you have a
warm basement that would help.
Mike
We always have trouble mounting their tightly wrapped tires, pita, we use the compressed air tank that is used for truck tires, doesn't always work. Spreading the bead in a heated area seems to work. We have repeatedly complained about this to Coker , some of the tires have been wrapped for a year.
After my first problem with this, I cut the wrapping off the tires the day before I took them to Discount Tire to install. They were able to do it.
David
Thank YOu
Quote from: Dan LeBlanc on February 06, 2018, 07:48:56 AM
I know in the 61/62 shop manuals, tire installation is illustrated with an affair that almost looks like a ratchet strap around the tread area to swell out the bead area when pressure is applied. The shop that mounted the bias ply tires on the 61 had the same issue with pancake tires. Their solution was like Jeremy's - several pieces of wood letting them sit out in the sun.
That's what I remember. I think it was called a bead expander.