Finally decided to start breaking down my wheels and tires last night. For those who don't know, I recently acquired a '50 4100 that has been sitting up for nearly 40 years. Got it running and driving on fairly short order, but it is in dyer need of new rubber. I decided to start with the worst looking tire - an old Firestone. I figure the last time the inside of that tire saw the light of day Harry Truman was probably president. It was hard as stone. I ended up drilling a 1/2" hole in the sidewall on both sides and then cutting the tire off with a sawzall. I cut it all the way around about a 1/2 up from the bead. Then the rim pretty much just fell out. This allowed me to break down the locking mechanism without beating the ever-living hell out of it and tearing it up. Getting what was left of the tire off of the rim was another story though...lol. Took me about an hour to do one, didn't think that was too bad. My wheels are 3-piece "AR" types. Probably the best type of multi-piece wheel in my opinion. The worst one appears to be in pretty good shape still. I was pleasantly surprised.
