Fellow CMP Owners,
If you have not ordered your new set of 10.50-16 tires, might I suggest holding off until the results are in.
I received four of the new 10.50-16 tires everyone is talking about.
I had a spare wheel for my 1941 C30 all sandblasted and painted awaiting some new rubber to install.
I dropped this wheel and a new Specialty 10.50-16 Chevron tire off at a large truck tire dealership which has mounted many of my WWII combat type rims previously. When I returned to pick it up I was told that they could not fit the tire onto my (Kelsey made in Canada) wheel because the tire bead was too small.
I attach a photo of the wheel so there can be no misunderstandings about what wheel I have.
Not one to be easily put off I had them dismount another old WWII tire so I could sandblast, measure and try anew with a second wheel.
Here attached, are the dimensions that an engineer and myself took yesterday from a Kelsey 16 inch wheel from my C30 and a post-war Jeep 16 inch US wheel.
Also of note: we measured a modern US 16 inch pick-up truck wheel and it too was the same dimension as the much earlier Jeep wheel.
I believe these tires are 1/8 - 3/16 inch too small to fit our 16 Inch C30 & C15 WWII CMP wheels.
I'll bet they will fit US GI WC, M37s and modern US 16 inch pick-up wheels just fine.
Cutting and trimming the tire's rubber does not sound like a smart idea to me.
Machining .125 - .185" off a wheel's metal might not be a bright idea either but I would be more inclined to do this than cutting on the tire. The Kelsey wheel is made from steel that is .320" thick. To remove .185" (3/16) from the rim's root outside diameter would require the removal of .0925 (per side) from the thickness of the wheel's steel leaving the metal approximately .230" thick in the center. If you could get by with removing only .125" or .0625" per side, we would still be reducing our potential strength of the wheel by about 40% (at this point). Unless you have access to a very large lathe or cylindrical grinder, I am certain this would not be an inexpensive endeavor. If you did opt to machine your wheels to fit the tire what happens if at some as yet unknown time in the future, some one offers us a correct tire at the correct bead size?
I previously owned a C15 and found five original NOS 10.50-16 tires at a warehouse in St. Louis. (No there are no more...I bought the only five they had.) I had these tires mounted by the same tire dealership mentioned earlier. They fitted with no problem what so ever. One tire was a Dunlop, one a Firestone, one a US type bar grip and three were Goodyear Sand treads. And I too thought the bigger tires looked better than the smaller 900s. I also found my 216 powered C15 would go a full 4 mph faster with the bigger tires. I know that is not much but every little bit helps.
Presently I have two Czech Mitas IM-10 tires that I got from a wholesaler in South Carolina. I became of these tires when I saw the Bofors AA Lorry on display at the Firepower Artillery Museum in Woolwich, England. But I have been unable to acquire a further two tires from this source but have found a UK dealer who is willing to get them. I think I'll go with two more of those Czech Mitas IM-01 tires. At least they fit properly and have given me no problems.
Terry Johns
St. Louis, MO
1941 C30.
P.S.: Here is that pic of my freshly blasted Kelsey wheel