Wheel Tire ID Help

[afx]

Any one know the kit source for both the wheel and/or tire?

[Xingu]

Without knowing anything about what model they could have come from, they look similar to the wheels on a 1:1 '79 Nova that I owned.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Any one know the kit source for both the wheel and/or tire?

The tire appears to me to be a copy of the front Firestones in the Revell Orange Crate.

That's the only kit I've ever seen them in.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Mark]

Wheels are the rears from the first (and only the first) issue AMT '49 Ford coupe.  The slots are not open on that wheel as it comes in the kit.

The tires could be Revell Orange Crate (came in one issue of the ex-Tweedy Pie also), or they could be AMT.  AMT had a tire that looked exactly like that, they included it in a parts pack with some wheels as well as the first issues of the '56 Ford and '55 Nomad kits.  It may have been in the first issue '32 Ford sedan/'40 Willys double kit also, but I'm not 100% positive about that one.  Something must have happened to the tooling for the AMT tire, because it never appeared in anything else later. 

I'd guess those are AMT tires, but I'd have to have one of them in my hands to be able to tell the difference.

[dodgefever]

Tyres look to me like the AMT ones Mark mentioned.  Modelhaus replicated them as their T110.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Wheels are the rears from the first (and only the first) issue AMT '49 Ford coupe.  The slots are not open on that wheel as it comes in the kit.

The tires could be Revell Orange Crate (came in one issue of the ex-Tweedy Pie also), or they could be AMT.  AMT had a tire that looked exactly like that, they included it in a parts pack with some wheels as well as the first issues of the '56 Ford and '55 Nomad kits.  It may have been in the first issue '32 Ford sedan/'40 Willys double kit also, but I'm not 100% positive about that one.  Something must have happened to the tooling for the AMT tire, because it never appeared in anything else later. 

I'd guess those are AMT tires, but I'd have to have one of them in my hands to be able to tell the difference.

Man, you know your stuff. I remember the tires in the '32 Ford / Willys kit now that you mention it...

Just checked, and there they are. VERY similar to the Revell OC fronts, but I can't put my hands on those to compare at the moment.

I knew I'd seen the wheels too, but had absolutely no idea where they came from, and I don't have a first-issue of the '49 Ford anyway.

[afx]

Yea I opened the slots on the wheels.  The tire is similar but not the same as those in Revell's Orange Crate based on this picture from one of Casey's kit reviews.

Orange Crate Tire

My tire

Edited December 10, 2017 by afx

[Mark]

Those ribs on the inside of the tire clinch it as the AMT version.  I've got a Nomad in the works with those tires, but the wheels are already assembled into them so I couldn't look at that part of the tire.  I checked a first issue '56 Ford, and there they are.  The instruction sheet specifically shows that tire, and they are called "racing front tires" to distinguish them from the stock tires normally used on the front of most other kits' drag versions.

I checked an incomplete first-issue Nomad: the instruction sheet again shows those tires, but in the box were two Trophy Series tires in addition to the four narrow stripe Firestone Supremes that were included for the stock/custom versions.  My '32 Ford/'40 Willys double kit also includes Trophy Series tires for the front of both cars.  Strangely, none of these kits have the racing fronts illustrated or even mentioned in their box art.  You'd think that AMT dropped a few bucks to tool some new tires, they'd call them out on the box art.  I'll stick to the story...something probably happened to the tool used to produce that tire, and it flat-out vanished nearly as fast as it appeared. 

[afx]

Thanks Mark!  Sounds like both the wheel and tire are tough to find. That's a shame I think they are both great pieces, would like to have a few more sets.

[Casey]

On 12/30/2016 at 8:42 PM, Mark said:

I checked a first issue '56 Ford, and there they are.  The instruction sheet specifically shows that tire, and they are called "racing front tires" to distinguish them from the stock tires normally used on the front of most other kits' drag versions.

 

I've had the 5-slot wheels on multiple occasions, but had no idea which kit they were originally included with. The original issue of the '49 Ford appears to have been molded in white, creme, light blue, and grey plastic, and I know for sure I've had the light blue wheels before. Does anyone have a pic of these wheels in either white or creme-colored plastic? The below wheels are grey, but a bit washed out due to overexposure:

 

 

Also, why are there no lug nuts on these wheels? You could get away with that up front allowing for a spindle mount, but the center cap on these appears neither large enough in diameter, nor tall enough, to "cover" any lug nuts which should be present.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Casey