Tube or tubeless

[scoutingranch]

Opinions on using tubes or trying tubeless. I did a search but came up with zip.
Can 69 year old rims with rivets manage to stay inflated with a tubeless tire?

[LarrBeard]

Probably not. Those older rims really want a tube to keep everything inflated.

Specialty Tires of America has distributors in lots of places - 16-inch tires of every description.

On the ’48 I went with STA Super Transport 6.50 x 16 on the front for a little better handling and less road noise and 6.50 x 16 Super Traxion on the rear (really, just because they look good ...). The Super Traxion tread sings to you at 42 MPH, but there is enough other noise from the truck to distract you.

They also have 7.00 x 16 if you want to big and gnarly with OEM rims.

[scoutingranch]

Sweet truck. I did elementary math and came up with: If I take the old rims to have the old tires removed then bead blast and coat the wheels, I'm in each "rivet" wheel $75-$95 ea. A new welded wheel is around $105 and requires no tube.
Ahhh the dilemma. I like originality but sometimes a different direction makes one think

[gmwillys]

Depending on how you intend to use your Jeep. Hard road cruising, you might want to consider radial tires. Now this isn't too far off the reservation from your question. If you don't want to follow every groove in the road, and choose a radial, then you'll need to choose a more modern wheel that is not only tubeless, but the rim also has a built-in safety bead. More on the safety bead in a moment. A modern tubeless steel wheel for a Ford F150 4X4 or Dodge 4X4 equipped with a large center for a lock out hubs with fit a Jeep. This will get you darn close to the original look, but a better ride.

A safety bead is an extra ridge in the wheel that keeps the tire in place, instead of rolling down off the bead in a hard turn or a hard bump. Some tire shops will not mount anything other then the bias ply tire with a tube on the original wheels for the fear of being sued.

$105 for a good wheel is worth it.

[scoutingranch]

It appears my direction is new wheels. Each of the original wheel have had it. When tightening the lug nut, the corners hit the wheel preventing proper torque. So that is it, the wheels are D.O.A and lug nuts as well. Then on to a new gas tank and copper radiator. Guess I'll need to put in some overtime :D

[gmwillys]

That's how it goes. Earlier this summer I had to scrap a set of four original 16" Kelsey Hayes Willys wheels. I bought an early '46 darned near 30 years ago. Long story short, the tires were beyond junk, but still held air. The wheels looked descent except for a soft spot around the valve stems. When the tires were cut off, the wheels lost their luster. The outter lips are pretty far gone.

[scoutingranch]

While we are chatting about wheels...I've been trying to find wheel colors from the factory. Such as red, black, or for the CJ3A? Were they all red/reddish. Please advise. I apparently have overlooked the intel concerning wheel color.

[bmorgil]

Probably one of the most elusive questions I ran into. It seems the wheel color on the CJ3A was dependent on the body color, as an option from black early on. Then there is some discussion indicating that in the later years of production, they were predominantly black. This is similar to the windshield, in reverse. The very early CJ3A's had a black windshield frame regardless of body color. The latter's were the color of the body.

[59Jeep]

I am also having a wheel color issue. I have a 1959 CJ-5 and am not sure if the wheels are supposed to be white, off-white or body color. Anyone out there know for sure?