I had the same problem a number of years ago on my vintage racer 3000.
Unfortunately the manufacturer (in my case Hoosier Speedsters), seems to have
fallen in love with the bloomin' stickers and generally there are at least 3
inside each tire (inspected by Inspector X, Y, and Gadget). The friction of
the tube rubbing against these stickers causes abrasion that eventually leads
to leaks. This tends to mess up the car's handling.
The stickers seem to be partially impregnated into the inner surface of the
tire. I use a hair dryer to soften the sticker/tire surface, and then use a
Dremel tool with a small wire brush to get the worst of it off. I then use a
finger nail to get the remainder off. Once it's all off, I use a small amount
of paint thinner to get rid of any residual gum and sticky residue.
Then I use talcum/baby powder when the tube is installed, followed up by 3
deflating/inflating cycles to make sure there are no wrinkles in the tube.
Also, double check to make sure the valve stem is perfectly aligned with the
valve stem hole in the rim (I've ripped off a tube valve stem even with a
small misalignment). As a side note, Ibve drilled out the valve stem hole in
the rims and have installed plastic inner tube valve stem protectors to
protect the inner tube valve stem where it protrudes through the rim. I've
purchased these plastic valve stem protectors from Coker Tire
www.cokertire.com/. These protectors are cheap and I bought a dozen and
replace them when I replace a tire/tube.
Since Ibve been using the above procedures, Ibve had no problems with the
tubes/tires. Now if only the driver could be fixed the same way!
Cheers Fred
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