9 replies to this topic

[stuart bowes]

bit of a long shot probably 

 

is there anyone in the Essex area ideally close to dagenham / romford / ilford who has a set of 4 old tyres they were going to throw away or willing to sell for like £20-30 or so (have you just put a nice new set on and wondering where you were going to ditch the old ones ?)

 

not concerned about tread or cracks as long as they hold air

 

basically I want something to put on the old rims that I can use just to push the shell around on once I've built up the subframes and brakes etc

 

then when the build is complete I'll commit to refurbing the rims and putting fresh rubber on

Edited by stuart bowes, 08 April 2024 - 11:43 AM.

[Verderad]

I have 4 12" tyres just removed due to age.  All held air, good tread, couple of cracks. 
I'm probably as far west away from Essex as you can get being just past Cardiff. 
I travel up to Warwick Coventry weekly if that helps with transfer. 

Yours if you want them. 

 

Darren

[stuart bowes]

just a little out of my range I'm afraid! but I appreciate the offer, thanks anyway 

 

I'm starting to think about ringing around local 2nd's tire places and see what I can rustle up, just thought maybe worth taking a punt on here first you never know

[Midas Mk1]

Might be cheaper finding a scabby set with tyres on, have the factor cost of tyre fitting if you can’t do it yourself, also the fact most reputable tyre fitters wont fit perished tyres due to liability.

[stuart bowes]

you may well be right on that, I do have a local tyre place that know me well though I could probably explain why and they'd do it for me

 

but yeah, I have also been looking on ebay for cheap sets of wheels, a lot of them say 'tyre's need replacing' though and what I don't want is to end up with a set that just constantly go flat because that's what I already have 

[Quinlan minor]

Just a thought: Why not stick a set of tubes in the tyres you have?

Pull the valves out, break the bead on one side, slip in the tube, valve through the hole.

Pump it up, job's a good un.

[DeadSquare]

I screw the 4 castors from a scrap supermarket trolley to the corners of a wooden pallet, but I have got a smooth concrete floor.

[stuart bowes]

oh that stage is fine I'm thinking more of when it's painted underneath, subframes on with suspension and brakes etc, just messing around with the upper / outer bodywork prep 

 

it would just be a lot easier to move about on the dollies if if has wheels on it rather than being stuck on axle stands

 

and yet I don't want to buy the proper tyres too soon and waste potentially a year or so of lifetime just being sat around

[RichB]

Mine is still on a dolly with subframes and suspension all in place. I'm only going to put it on wheels when the engine goes in, which will be the last big thing. I too like the ease of moving around the garage.

[1984mini25]

I had similar issues a few years back when looking for a scabby set of standard steel wheels with tyres to put on the car during winter hibernation. The mini still runs the standard 12” steels with hub caps, but it’s the tyres flat spotting I’m more concerned with.

I eventually found a set with reasonable tyres (reasonable age, decent amount of tread and no cracks) locally for £40.

I never checked at the time, but when it came round to fitting them I then found 3 out of the 4 all had slow leaks from the valves (old and perished) And yes I did find out after I’d fitted and left the mini for a few days.

A local tyre place wanted £15 each just to change the valves, but were reluctant due to the age of the tyres.

So I found a tool sold by Halfords for £20 (have to order online) were you can change the valves without removing the tyres, and bought the replacement valves off eBay.

 

Just looked, don't think Halfords still do it, but its Laser tools number 5540.

Edited by 1984mini25, 09 April 2024 - 10:55 AM.