51 Patrician 400 Rear Tire Removal

Posted by Mike Grimes On 2008/5/6 0:51:35

For the first time with this car, I had the tires rotated and balanced on my 1951 Patrician 400. The tires are L78's, 15 inch diameter. The technician removed the rear fender skirts and the lug screws from the wheels but the tire was too wide for the cavity between the hub and the the fender wall to remove the tire. Their solution was to remove the air from the tire and the tire easily dropped from the cavity. They reversed the process replacing the tire. Placing the wheel on the rear spindel with no air in the tire and then reinflating the tire after the wheel was mounted in position. I don't recall ever having this problem with my 55 or 56 Patrician. Did the technician not have the patience to tilt the tire at the correct angle to remove it or is there a special technique with the 51 Patrician 400 for tire removal/replacement?