You will need good, long tire irons (spoons). Mine are about 2ft long,
they can be hard to find these days but I got mine from a trucker supply
store. When I had wires, the tubes got punctured often (long story) and
I got to be pretty good at fixing them. Be careful not to damage the
bead on the tires or they will be junk. Having a small bucket of soapy
water on hand helps a lot, but spit will do in a pinch. Its _very_ hard
work, after doing 4 wheels you'll be sweating buckets.
I would NOT recommend using screwdrivers, you run a much greater risk of
damaging the bead (or tube where fitted), and they do not give the leverage
required.
The "bead" is the circle of rubber where the tire contacts & makes an
airtight seal against the rim. Rims have a little "platform" where the
bead sits, sometimes with a slight hump so the bead is wedged between
the hump and the lip. Obviously, two beads per tire.
The procedure I've used is as follows:
1. Deflate the tire (remove valve from stem).
2. Use a spoon to lever the tire towards the CENTER of the wheel, you
may need to go around several times and jump on it to "break" the bead.
The idea here is that you need the opposite side of the bead to be able
to tuck down into the lowest part of the rim, so as to give it enough
slack to get the near part of the bead up and over the lip of the rim.
3. Now, stand on one side of the tire so that it can tuck in to the low
part of the rim, and lever the opposite side up and over. You will need
two spoons, leave the first one that you get over in place, and use the
second to get more of the tire over the rim. You'll have to start in
small increments from the stationary spoon, but after you get half the
tire over it will get easier. Eventually it will be all on the other
side of the rim lip.
4. Flip the wheel over and break the other bead as in Step 2.
5. Now there is only one bead inside the rim, and the tire will be
loose. Put the "tire side" on the ground, and lift the rim so
part of the bead is in the lowest part like in #3. Start one spoon
in and move the second as in Step 3, and the rim will pop out.
6. Stretch your cramped back and enjoy the beverage of your choice.
Skye
> In theory you can do it with tire irons, or even with large screwdrivers,
> but I couldn't manage it myself. YMMV, give it a try.
>
> on 9/18/02 11:27 AM, Dan DiBiase at d_dibiase@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > I want to remove the tires from the wheels of my '65B project. Is this as
> > simple as deflating the tires and levering them off the rim? Any special
> > tools required? The wheels are steel, not wires... Thanks in advance.....
> >
> > =====
> > Dan
> > The Garden State (What Exit?)
> > '76 MGB Tourer (Driver)
> > '65 MGB Tourer (Project)
> > NAMGBR #5-2328
> > http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dibiase/Working_MG_Gallery.html
> > Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
> > http://news.yahoo.com
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