Time for some tires

[PbFlinger 90]

Spring time, trying to get everything back on its feet. Just got done putting new front tires & wheels on my Ford tractor, and now the 312-8 has a persistent leak on the left front. I just put these Hi-Runs on within the last few years. I pulled it off, brought it to the shop, put it in the sink & soaped it up to look for “the” leak. Looked like a bubble bath commercial, air coming out everywhere. Right through the sidewalls & tread. Strange, still new enough to be very rubbery, no apparent damage, just entirely porous. Junk. I could throw a tube in, but I hate tubes unless necessary, and I would expect them to start coming apart soon given the invisible but obvious degradation. Time for some new skins. 

[PbFlinger 90]

I very much prefer to (meaning exclusively) buy USA made stuff if possible. I was able to get American made rims & tires for the Ford, rims from Steiner & Titan tires. Upon researching all that, most guys said the best tubes available currently are South Korean manufactured, recommended Air-Loc. I got a pair of those with the TR-218 stems, which have a nut to hold them in place in the rims. I was very impressed with the weight & quality. 

[PbFlinger 90]

So, in researching tires, I didn’t see any acceptable American made 15x6.00-6 tires. I did see that Air-Loc makes some in this size. I ordered a couple of these R-1 6 plys. $75 for a pair, delivered. Not sure how much I’ll like the lug tires in front, but I’m expecting I will. We’ll see. Now just have to clean & paint the rims, and service the rotating bits.

[PbFlinger 90]

Wheel #1 knocked down, cleaned, blasted, given a coat of primer, and into the oven for a little bake. I got tired of waiting decades for crappy modern paint to dry, got this little oven to speed things along. A couple of hours at 225 or so & it’s about as hard as it’s gonna get.