Vintage Tyres for a Riley RMA in Thetford | Hometyre Mobile Classic Tyre Fitting

Since the lock-down began, classic cars have been shooting up in valve and have become more and more common on the road. Unfortunately, on the flip side, more and more owners are finding that their tyres are quite old, sometimes as old as the vehicle! Finding the age of the tyre is quite easy. On the side of the tyre in a small circle will be four numbers: 2218 for example. The first two numbers are the week of production with the second half being the year. In this instance, the tyres will be week 22 of 2018! This customer was having trouble tracking down two tyres for his Riley RMA. After 15 minutes, we managed to track two new tyres! After choosing his preferred date and time, we booked him into the diary and ordered the tyres. One of the stipulations was that the vehicle had wire wheels.

Wire wheels are no match for us. Building from years of experience, we know that these types of wheels can often be quite delicate and fiddly to work with. In addition, when installing the new tyre, ‘rim tape’ is used to ensure the wires don’t rub or cut the tube.

After the wheels were removed from the Riley, these were placed on the van ready for the deconstruction. First the tyre was deflated, and the valve popped out of the hole. From here the tube could be removed in much the same respect as removing a bike tube (push the bead of the tyre back and pull through!) and finally the tyre itself could be set free. Before installing the new tube and tyre, the wheel was inspected for any signs of corrosion or damage. As the customer had recently restored the vehicle, the rims were in tip top condition! Before installing the new tube and tyre, the wheel had the tape applied and then the new 600/R16 TT Classic tyre installed. Reversing the deconstruction of the tyre, the tube was slipped into well and inflated to the correct pressure. The wheel was then balanced on the mobile balancing machine, popped onto the Riley and the nuts torqued to the correct setting.

If you’re looking for an unusually sized tyre, need something for your classic car or just have a puncture, why not give our friendly sales team a call on 0333 444 5454 or send an enquiry to info@hometyre.co.uk!