Removing side mount tires-how ??

[gary678*]

Other than removing the nuts, what is the secret to removing the wheels from the fender wells ?

[eagle]

If the tires are tight in the Wells you may need to deflate them somewhat.

[MAG]

19" Firestone tires (fatter tire) can be very difficult to remove from the well. As mentioned, they have to be deflated some.

[Bill G]

Pardon the dumb question, but why have a spare that you cannot keep inflated to its optimum pressure?

[Smog Tech]

I have side mounts and use Firestones. They were tight in the wheel wells. Noticed they were tight near the bottom, and fine near the top next to the fender. Put two small 2X4 blocks down in the wheel wells and pried them apart with two crow bars being careful not to break the wells loose from the fenders. Worked well on the left side, but still need to deflate some on the right to remove the wheel. I also removed the studs holding the wheels and replaced them with bolts that fit the lug nuts.

[Charlie Stephens]

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Originally Posted by Magicbox51

Pardon the dumb question, but why have a spare that you cannot keep inflated to its optimum pressure?

Because you carry a tire pump realizing you may need it. It is the price you pay for running 19 inch Firestone tires or 600-16 tires of any brand. On my everyday car I get about one flat per hundred thousand miles. At the rate I drive my Model A I don't think I will live long enough to put one hundred thousand miles on my Model A. I think I will take the chance of having to pump up my spare if I need to use it.

Charlie Stephens

[CarlG]

I saw this article sometime back and altered my spare tire mount accordingly

"How to Restore Your Model A" Volume 7, page 94. This was a reprint from MAFCA's The Restorer magazine, but it doesn't say which issue.

I drove the studs out, & welded nuts on the back side of the plate. Then took the lug nuts, inserted a bolt into the nuts - screwed down tight with Loctite. Then cut the head off the bolt, chamfered the end to make it easy to guide into the welded nut.

As a side note, when I installed the Coker 550R19 radial tires, they fit the fender well much better than the 475/500-19 Firestones that I originally had.

Here's pictures of how I altered my mounting plate and stud/nuts: 1) backside 2) front 3) Stud bolt 4) Bolt inserted in welded nut

[gary678*]

Thanks guys ! Gary D.

[mike657894]

Originally Posted by Magicbox51

Pardon the dumb question, but why have a spare that you cannot keep inflated to its optimum pressure?

the tires are over the spec that the well was designed for. or the well was put in slightly incorrectly. This reminds me i still haven't found a good jack to put in my car yet. its not on the roads yet.

[gary678*]

To Carl G. , Thanks for the info and pictures; very helpful. I am new to the Model "A" hobby and will make your adaptations this winter. Gary D.

[NCRebel]

I (like CarlG) have Firestone 475/500 19 inch tires. I keep the spare's pressure at 20 psi. This lets me remove either spare from the wheel wells. The owner did the same bolt mounting modification tip that Gary suggested. I figure that 20 psi will get me to a service station for air without destroying the rubber. Driving a Model A (like living well) is not a race to the finish line.

I found a scissors jack that fits in the front mounted tool box and keep a ten inch 4" x 4" block of treated wood also. This lets me lift the axle off any surface to get the tire free for changing.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by mike657894

the tires are over the spec that the well was designed for. or the well was put in slightly incorrectly. This reminds me i still haven't found a good jack to put in my car yet. its not on the roads yet.

A good jack is a scissors jack from a newer car, and they are often found at junk yards and swap meets for about $5.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

When putting a TIRE/WHEEL in a wheelwell, Chief LIBERALLY greased the wheel well. MESSY, but EFFECTIVE!
Chiefs' Son

[Jeff/Illinois]

Sidemounts are a pain in the arse in my opinion.

They came on our Roadster, and really dislike them. Big time. One of them rattles and shakes and makes all kinds of racket. It sucks dragging the spare out of that welled fender.

If I had my way our '30 Dlx. Roadster would become a 'one-off' with NO sidemounts and a rear mount like the Standard Roadsters had I like the looks of the '31 Dlx. Roadster, the factory pictures from Ford with the rear mounted spare tire, 10X better than the '30 Dlx. Roadster with fender mounted spare.

[Tom F OHIO]

Gary, I had the same problem as you. I wanted to take them out and clean up the tires. Took the 3 lug nuts off and could'nt get past the studs. I marked the plate so I knew where it was and I tilted the spare enough to get a wrench in an take the large nut off the plate and took the plate off and the tire slid right out. Put it back in the reverse order.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Sidemounts are a pain in the arse in my opinion...

If there was an equitable way to carry a spare on a pickup, I wouldn't have a side mount either.

I was asked once if I wanted to trade my right front fender for one with a wheel well in it. I answered with "I don't even like the one I have on the left!"

[H. L. Chauvin]

Did similar to Mr. Carl G's #7 reply after following what he explained quite a bit earlier on this Forum. Thanks to Mr. Carl G.

My fully inflated Coker 550-19 radials tires can very easily slip in & out of an "original" factory installed fender well; hence, never have to perform a 1930's Laurel & Hardy Model A spare tire pumping skit on the side of today's modern highways.

After elongating the slot in the steel backing plate, I can easily remove and install the spare tire with this modified steel backing plate still securely attached to the Model A wheel.

If interested in "original" looking steel spare tire backing plates, Bratton's offers "original" designs of same ..... not all Model A Parts suppliers offer same with this "original" design.

[Tom F OHIO]

Mr. Chauvin, If your wheel is still attached to the plate I guess I don't understand how do you get the large nut off on the arm?
Thank You.....

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by Jeff/Illinois

Sidemounts are a pain in the arse in my opinion.

They came on our Roadster, and really dislike them. Big time. One of them rattles and shakes and makes all kinds of racket. It sucks dragging the spare out of that welled fender.

If I had my way our '30 Dlx. Roadster would become a 'one-off' with NO sidemounts and a rear mount like the Standard Roadsters had I like the looks of the '31 Dlx. Roadster, the factory pictures from Ford with the rear mounted spare tire, 10X better than the '30 Dlx. Roadster with fender mounted spare.

plus 1

[George Miller]

Originally Posted by CarlG

If there was an equitable way to carry a spare on a pickup, I wouldn't have a side mount either.

I was asked once if I wanted to trade my right front fender for one with a wheel well in it. I answered with "I don't even like the one I have on the left!"

plus 1 me to

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Tom F OHIO

Mr. Chauvin, If your wheel is still attached to the plate I guess I don't understand how do you get the large nut off on the arm?
Thank You.....

You have to take the hub cap off to get at the large nut on the arm.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by mike657894

the tires are over the spec that the well was designed for. or the well was put in slightly incorrectly. This reminds me i still haven't found a good jack to put in my car yet. its not on the roads yet.

You are spot-on. Ironically, a Coker Firestone 19" will fit in & out of an original welled fender fully inflated. For those that might be struggling with accepting this as fact, might I suggest you order a factory print that has the correct measurements and do a comparison towards the fender that won't. More often than not, most restorers (-including the gentleman at the Hershey show) do not install the well correctly. In addition, the repro well is not shaped correctly which compounds the egress issue.


.

[H. L. Chauvin]

Mr. Carl G.,

Per your: "You have to take the hub cap off to get at the large nut on the arm."

Exactly!

I shaped the tabs on this particular SS spare tire hub cap where this hub cap comes off very easily with my sharpened Popsicle stick that I keep in my tool bag.

Something I noticed was that this is an original spare tire carrier riveted to the chassis on this August 1930 Briggs Town Sedan.

The threaded end of the spare tire carrier had no drilled hole for a cotter pin, and even though the nuts offered by Model A parts suppliers are castellated nuts, this spare tire nut is a solid hexagonal nut & not castellated for a cotter pin to be inserted in same.

The longer modified and provided slot in the steel spare tire backing plate makes Model A 550-19 inflated spare tire removal and insertion in an original fender well a very easy chore.

[Tom F OHIO]

I thought about the idea of taking the hub cap off but my luck at the end of the day I would look and have an empty hole on the wheel. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

Mr. Carl G.,

Per your: "You have to take the hub cap off to get at the large nut on the arm."

Exactly!

I shaped the tabs on this particular SS spare tire hub cap where this hub cap comes off very easily with my sharpened Popsicle stick that I keep in my tool bag.

Something I noticed was that this is an original spare tire carrier riveted to the chassis on this August 1930 Briggs Town Sedan.

The threaded end of the spare tire carrier had no drilled hole for a cotter pin, and even though the nuts offered by Model A parts suppliers are castellated nuts, this spare tire nut is a solid hexagonal nut & not castellated for a cotter pin to be inserted in same.

The longer modified and provided slot in the steel spare tire backing plate makes Model A 550-19 inflated spare tire removal and insertion in an original fender well a very easy chore.

Henry, I don't want to question you, -nor do I ever want to be guilty of the appearance of debating you on this subject however I would like to point out something to others in this so that misconceptions by folks aren't encountered on down the road.

First, when you look up the A-1405 and A-1405-B Wheel Carrier Support (i.e.: side-mount arm) in both the Oct 1929 and July 1931 Ford parts books, it specifies both of these different arms were to use an A-21894 nut, and an A-23552 cotter pin. No where do I find it mentioning using anything other than a castellated nut during assembly or for this application.

Second, in the early 1970s when "DeLuxifying" a Model-A was the trend for many restorers, Tommy Trailor (Specialized Auto) was manufacturing kits to put dual side-mounts on front fenders, -and to the best of my recollection, his did not have the hole for the cotter as that was something you could drill yourself and he could make them cheaper.

Therefore, I am not going to say or imply Mr. Chauvin's carrier support arm is not authentic, however I do want to point out that if indeed his Sedan's arm is original yet sans the cotter hole, that was not the intent of Ford on his vehicles during that production time.

.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

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A ROOF mounted spare would be a solution.
Bill Creative

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

A ROOF mounted spare would be a solution.
Bill Creative

NOW you're on to something kinda like the British Range Rover from the movie It's a Mad Mad Mad World!!

[H. L. Chauvin]

Mr. Terry,

Thanks for your response & your sharing details of what I think is very important authentic information. Even though the present carrier is riveted with what seems to be a good riveting job, I found this spare tire/no cotter pin hole extremely odd in that all new replacement nuts offered are made to have cotter pin holes.

The former (20) year owner in 1996 said this Town Sedan had new upholstery and new paint from the former (10) year owner; but everything else was original. I can see where when original, it was all black but now is green. With (30) years prior to my buying it in 1996, this fits your mentioned Mr. Tommy Trailer's manufacturing time frame.

With your detailed information, this could be a reproduction spare tire carrier.

Thanks.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

Mr. Terry,

Thanks for your response & your sharing details of what I think is very important authentic information. Even though the present carrier is riveted with what seems to be a good riveting job, I found this spare tire/no cotter pin hole extremely odd in that all new replacement nuts offered are made to have cotter pin holes.

The former (20) year owner in 1996 said this Town Sedan had new upholstery and new paint from the former (10) year owner; but everything else was original. I can see where when original, it was all black but now is green. With (30) years prior to my buying it in 1996, this fits your mentioned Mr. Tommy Trailer's manufacturing time frame.

With your detailed information, this could be a reproduction spare tire carrier.

Thanks.

Adding to this, the bracket is riveted to the frame, -which could indeed be original, yet the support carrier arm could have been replaced along the way.

Also, is it possible the threaded section of your arm has had a few of the threads cut-off or removed to shorten it? An easy give-away on that would be to look for a drilled center of the carrier where it would have been centered during the original threading operation.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

In my OLD DAYS, spares on the roofs were VERY COMMON, sometimes even in a STACK!
Bill Route66

[HalcyonDays]

I too was having this problem with my '31 Deluxe Roadster. I purchased this car restored. What I discovered was that the mounting plates on either side of my dual side mounted roadster were mirror images of each other. When I exchanged them, put the left side on the right side and right side on the left the wheel was able to fit without a problem. I figured this out by comparing the side mounts to the side mount on my pickup that allowed the wheel to be mounted without a problem. I am not sure this is correct but it worked for me. The pickup like most pickups has only one side mount.

[gary678*]

Thanks again! All good info! Gary D.