Wire wheels and radial tires

[USAFRet92]

Anyone running the Concours Parts wire wheels and radial tires on their Skyliner? I've heard the bias ply rims are not reinforced in the bead area and the radials apply more pressure in this area. I've also heard if you run radials on your stock rims, the rims MAY flex enough to pop off a hubcap. Any truth to this or is it just another urban legend?

Thanks for any advice!

[leonard b]

Ihad a56 ford that did that . My 59 fliptop did it,Igot some rims from some ford torinos. Problem solved. Leonard B.

[Colin]

I have a '58 original steel wheels and fitted Coker classic 235/75 R14 radials
The trims come off driving in a straight line even the rears
I bought another set of trims and drilled and tapped the trim to the wheel to stop them coming off

[Skyliner57]

I've been using the Coker radials on the 57 stock rims and have had no hubcap problems, but can't keep the skirts on the car as the tires rub them when turning.

[Art]

I had the same hubcap problem on my 58 shortly after installing Coker wide whites. When the first one happened, I assumed it was installed wrong. I checked them all and the valve stem wasn’t coming through the hubcap hole on one of them. Eventually I discovered scratch marks on the rims from the prong that hold the caps on. For some reason, using radials on these rims causes the cap to want to rotate on the rim. The torque must be a lot to bend over the valve stem. The scratch marks show that once the stem is under the cap, it pushes outward causing the cap to unscrew until it pops off. My solution was to put a small amount of RTV on the rim where each hubcap prong will sit, and install the cap. It’s been ten years and I’ve had the caps on and off many times and had no more problems. The original RTV is still keeping them from rotating. I’ve since met a friend with a fifty’s Chevy who solved his problem by running a small weld bead on the rims in several spots. Anything to stop the caps rotating should stop it.