Tire changers, do you use the DIY units?

[Synchro909]

Originally Posted by updraught

I was watching a video recently about a couple of guys that went out, in recent times in 4wds, looking for the remains of the "Kookaburra" a plane which disappeared here in 1929.

They had to go about 30 k's thru the Tanami Desert (fairly open country, but can be deadly as it all looks the same).
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cpb0k6y4R8...nami_Deser.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanami...6.1_Tanami.png

If I remember the figures right, they got 240 punctures going there, and 290 going back.

One of those tyre thingy's might have come in handy...

On the return trip, that is a flat every 100 metres or so. No chance of a speeding ticket!

[ericr]

I'm glad to see this topic....just out of curiosity, isn't the historical background that the original tires were natural rubber and not as stiff when changing?

[BillEbob]

I’m not totally sure, but I’m thinking this topic has been beaten like the proverbial dead horse ❗️ LOL

[saintjoelarry]

Just one comment...I don't even take the wheels off the car. The car does a great job of holding the wheel for me.

[ursus]

I have also found that positioning the tube is the most challenging part of the mounting process. Is it possible to install a lightly inflated tube in the tire prior to mounting, then mounting it with the stem lined up with the rim hole? That is common with bicycle tires.

[rogerkb1936]

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did you find the airplane?

[old31]

I ended up doing it exactly like 160B #8.

Tried it both ways. Like 160B and on the car. No comparison. On the car is much harder than on the homemade stand.

I won't talk about the pinched tubes.

[TerryH]

My Goodyear tires are fine, new just a few years ago. But, unfortunately I had new tubes installed at the same time, and they were junk....everyone of them leaks about 3-4 pounds in a couple of weeks, so I need to replace just the tubes. I’ve heard Bratton’s are the best, but is it possible to remove and replace just the tubes without removing the tire too?

[updraught]

Originally Posted by rogerkb1936

did you find the airplane?

I take it you mean the Kookaburra? Not me. Not going out there. I hate punctures!
The truck that went out there, back in the day, was a Thornycroft truck with solid tyres. A good idea that.
The Kookaburra was a Westland Widgeon. Like this
https://cdn.exploroz.com/images/foru...TN1000x800.jpg
And was brought back to a museum 50 years later.
https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1395238/
Burnt out by grass fires. I gather the blue one has some parts in it from the wreck.

Les Hiddens, known as "The Bush Tucker Man", an army survival expert made this doco about it.
Read the blurb underneath first to understand the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auYjUKGFTVI

[katy]

What holds the wheel down on that HF unit? Is there a thread? Or? Can't see it in the pictures.

[rotorwrench]

Car tires are easy compared to motorcycles and especially Harley Davidson type spoked drop center rims. I fabricated my own rim protector from some nylon tubing so that the spoons won't mar the rim edge. and it can be scooted around the periphery of a rim to follow the spoon leverage spots. I eventually purchased a No Mar manual tire changer to do the car and bike tires to make the bead breaker and removal jobs easier. On some wheels I still use spoons and the rim protector to mount but it depends on the shape and style of the rim.

The old Model A rims are a lot harder to dismount the tire than mount one usually due to the old decrepit tires that have been mounted for 20+ years or more. New rubber is a lot easier to work with. I've done them on the car many times but I have to use a big clamp and some wood blocks to break the bead sometimes. They don't have a safety bead like the more modern ones have.

[rotorwrench]

Originally Posted by updraught

I was watching a video recently about a couple of guys that went out, in recent times in 4wds, looking for the remains of the "Kookaburra" a plane which disappeared here in 1929.

They had to go about 30 k's thru the Tanami Desert (fairly open country, but can be deadly as it all looks the same).

If I remember the figures right, they got 240 punctures going there, and 290 going back.

Dick Smith with some other adventurers finally found the Kookaburra and recovered it from it's resting place in 1978.

He went on to set some records flying his Bell Jet Ranger after he learned to fly it.

[rotorwrench]

double post

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by updraught

I was watching a video recently about a couple of guys that went out, in recent times in 4wds, looking for the remains of the "Kookaburra" a plane which disappeared here in 1929.

They had to go about 30 k's thru the Tanami Desert (fairly open country, but can be deadly as it all looks the same).
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cpb0k6y4R8...nami_Deser.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanami...6.1_Tanami.png

If I remember the figures right, they got 240 punctures going there, and 290 going back.

One of those tyre thingy's might have come in handy...

So did they find the plane?

[updraught]

Originally Posted by Ruth

So did they find the plane?

No.

[rotorwrench]

They found what was left of it. Wild fires and weather had not been good to it.

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/them...burra-memorial