TYRES

[Dilambdaman]

I'm desperate to find some 45 x 15 or 45 x 16 tyres for the Bibendum wheels on my Dilambda. Michelin produced 200 in January but rejected them as they were faulty and can't say when they will be remanufacturing them. Unfortunately 450mm is about 17.75" so 18" tyres are just too big.

Please help if you can.

Robin.

[timuth]

Robin

In the back of Classic and Sports car mag there is an ad for Longstone Classic Tyres.

www.longstonetyres.co.uk     01302 711123

or

Vintage Tyres

www.vintagetyres.com    08451 200711


You properly have already tried them, if not worth a shout.

Tim

[TimV1969]

I was just reading about Blockley Tyres in a recent copy of Motorsport magazine.  Without knowing anything else about them, it might be worth contacting them (email, phone and fax details on the website) to see if they make, or plan to make, something suitable, if you haven't already tried them?

[Dilambdaman]

Thanks Tim & Tim V.

Yes, I've tried all the vintage tyre suppliers to no avail. The Dilambda was fitted with 450mm diameter Bibendum wheels (17.75") and tyres by Michelin when new and no one it seems but them made, nor have made that size since. I'm told that that is one of the reasons so few Dilambda have survived, tyres were unobtainable so the cars were scraped! None of the other manufacturers are interested in making a size for which there is such a low demand so we are entirely at the mercy of Michelin. They made a run of 200 recently but rejected them as faulty and it seems unlikely that they will remanufacture until later this year at the earliest.

One alternative is to have my wheels rebuilt with 18" rims or have a complete new set of wheels made. The cost? £3600 including tyres for the first option, or £5800 for the second. Ouch!!

One well known club member has modified his wheels to take 18" tyres and has covered 22,000 miles with no problems. He has furnished me with detailed drawings and photos of the conversion which on the face of it looks pretty straight forward and very cost effective. Once on 18" tyres there is plenty of choice with off the shelf availability.

 Thanks again for responding to my cry for help.

Robin.

[johnturner]

Robin

You might want to persevere a little longer before you give in and rebuild the wheels.  Although the Bibendum wheel was a Michelin patent, other manufacturers have made tyres in these sizes, for example Firestone have recently supplied 14 x50 tyres (for the Lambda) and also supply a 14 x 45.  Though this is nomInally a bit thin the actual dimensions often vary wildly and these might serve.  Coker list them at $169 dollars which looks like a good deal at the present rate of exchange.

John

[Dilambdaman]

Hi John,

Thanks very much for your input.

14 x 45 will be I fear too small for the Dilambda which weighs in at in excess of 2 tons. Even the 15 x 45 I've got look a bit light weight under such a large body.

I hadn't come across Coker and got very excited when I found that they listed 15/16 x 45 tyres on their website at $235. Fidgeted all day until 5pm to ring them (they are some 6 hours behind us) only to be told the same story, 'Sorry, no can do, should be available later this year.'

I need to source some tyres before leaving on the Sliding Pillar Rally at the end of this month, so modifying my wheels to accept 18" looks like the only way forward.

Robin.

[donw]

Robin

If you are going for rebuild of wheels get a quote from SAS at Macclesfield they did a good job rebuilding Belna wheels for me a few years ago.

Don

[Dilambdaman]

Well, eventually settled for having my Bibendum wheels modified to take 18" tyres and having done the Sliding Pillar Rally in Belgium and then crossed to the West coast of France, (1000 miles in total) I'm very happy that I did. Morris Parry pioneered the conversion some years ago on his Astura and has covered 22,000 miles to date with no problems.

It involves rolling and welding two 16mm x 3mm steel bands in the well of the wheel and an 8mm hoop on each of the outer edges. This increases the size of the wheel from 17.5" to 18" giving a much greater choice of tyre. I chose 600/650 x 18 Michelin DR tyres as these not only look right but were the only ones that gave me closest to the original overall diameter.

I doubt that anyone would detect the conversion unless it is pointed out to them and drawings and photos are available for anyone interested.

Robin Lacey.