Advice on opening a tire.

[TarheelRick]

I am in the process of building a "vintage" replica of my 2022 F150 based on some AMT '53 Ford pickup kits. These are the wheels I ordered to replicate my 1:1 although they are 7 spoke and 5 lug whereas I have 6 spoke and 6 lug.

[TarheelRick]

For some reason it will not allow me to edit. The tires that came with these wheels are rubber bands. I ordered another set of 3D printed wheels and tires, the tires are close to the correct size, but the wheels are not close.

Herein lies the dilemma.  The chrome wheels have a .930 o.d., the tires are .894 i.d., and the gray wheels are .891 o.d.. The gray wheels simply slide through the tires, but I believe they could be super-glued in place.  Is there some way to concentrically open the i.d. of the tires so they would fir the chrome wheels?  Any suggestions/recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Edited June 10, 2023 by TarheelRick

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've done this several times. It helps if you have access to a lathe, but you can do it with just a power drill.

You use the lathe to taper a piece of wood dowel so that the end goes into the tire easily, but as the taper gets bigger, it won't go any further.

Glue/wrap a piece of 120 or so grit sandpaper to the tapered end of the dowel, and twirl it inside the tire (by hand) just until your wheel is a very tight fit.

Most likely, the enlarged area of the tire will be a little "fuzzy", but this can be corrected by doing the same process with 600 grit on the dowel, using water as a cutting lubricant. After de-fuzzing, your wheel should fit the tire like it's made for it.

Naturally every wheel-tire combo is a little different, so some innovation might be required.

Work carefully, sneak up on it, end you should get what you need.

[TarheelRick]

I was kind of thinking of something along those lines.  Thanks for confirming the process.

[R. Thorne]

The expandable rubber freeze plugs with a strip of sandpaper is another consideration.  Commonly available at auto parts store in either 3/4” or 7/8”. I also use them with masking tape to sand the tread onf tires.