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Cleaning up old wheels

Gotcha640

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
948
Location
Houston TX
I have an old VW beetle I'm cleaning up, and the previous owner had screwed dish wheel covers through the wheel lip and in to the tire.

Screws and a squirt of silicone will hold air for a few hours, but I'm pushing it in and out of the garage, and across the street to the neighbors garage, over the next few months, and it would be nice to have them hold air a little better.

Current plan is to pop the tires off the beads, no problem, wire wheel the schmoo off the inside of the lip, and then either jb weld or real weld the holes.

I'd also like to be sure the tires will hold air. They will never be driven on (I have good wheels and I'll order tires when the rest of the car is ready), so not too worried about balance and smoothness. I've been thinking about painting the insides with slime, but I'm not sure how long that lasts. I was also wondering about a runnier version of silicone, that could be painted or poured on and would stretch or seal when the tire was inflated.

I thought about tubes, but at $15 a piece, they aren't really worth it, when I can get used tires for about $35 each.
 
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astroracer

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Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
3,001
Location
Mid_Michigan
Do the holes go thru the tire bead? If so just dismount and rotate the tire enough to get it out of line with the hole in rim. You can plug or weld the hole as you see fit but neither is necessary if the air doesn't have a leak path.
Mark
 
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vintagespeed1956

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Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Messages
221
Location
RanchoCucamonger, CA
I have an old VW beetle....Current plan is to pop the tires off the beads, no problem, wire wheel the schmoo off the inside of the lip, and then either jb weld or real weld the holes...

weld 'em up then take a flap wheel in a grinder & smooth them out. if you have a TIG, weld them on the inside of the bead, then use just the torch to smooth out the outside of the welded hole on the outside of the rim.
 
OP
G

Gotcha640

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 27, 2015
Messages
948
Location
Houston TX
When the time comes to put new tires on I can pull the old ones off, with a sawzall and a power washer if necessary.
 
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