A new set of tires arrived for a Series II Ferrari 250 PF Cabriolet that is in the process of Ferrari Classique Certification. I have a shop with a tire machine very close to my shop, and I wanted to see if they could handle mounting and balancing these tires for me. Mounting center lock Borranis has a few extra steps than what most tire shops are used to. There are tubes, rim tape, and special balancing techniques to employ, so new techs have to trained.

One of the first things I had to do was get some talc for the inside of the tires. Sold as baby powder, talcum powder is actually being replaced with corn starch because the mineral poses a health hazard. Reading the labels, I found a bottle still containing talc at the pharmacy next to several other bottles containing corn starch. Since I’m applying it inside a tire and not on a baby’s bum, we should be OK!

The talc allows the tube to slide freely against the inside of the tire to minimize the heat build up between the two rubber surfaces. The heat could make the tube stick to the tire and make it difficult to remove, and the worse, cause a leak from a tear. It’s a step often forgotten, but I try my best to remember!

Most tire shops have similar mounting machines, but how careful they are is dependent on the care of the operator. I’ve learned some tricks through the years from helping tire mounters to safely mount a tire on a Borrani wire wheel, but getting the right guy and shop with the patience to do it right is the trick. Most production tire shops want to finish a job a quickly as possible, and the management wants the same thing. My primary goal is to not damage the wheel and to get the tire mounting done right. This usually doesn’t go hand in hand with speed, so getting everyone on my plan is my biggest task!

Unfortunately, the tire shop didn’t have the right adapters to balance the wheels, so I took the wheels to another shop that I knew could balance them. I’ll work with the first shop to get the right adapters, but for now, I needed them balanced without waiting. We found two of the five wheels to have a slight wobble to them, so we’ll have to see how bad it is when we mount them to the car. It’s never easy!

I brought the wheels back to the warehouse and put the wheels back on the car.

These reproduction tires made by Pirelli are really nice. They’re exactly what they put on these cars back in the 60s and look very nice on the car. Let’s hope Ferrari Classique agrees with us!

I took some photos of the wheels on the car with the correct tires and emailed them to Classique. Let’s see what they will want next!

Save the Date!

Tomyang.net/Radcliffe Motorcars Spring Car Show

May 4th 2019

8am-?

“A car show by cars guys for car guys!”

European Sports cars, British cars, Anglo/American, Italiamerican, and maybe even a few ‘merican cars.

Tech sessions, vendors, show cars, and food.

Radcliffe Motorcar Company

12340 Owings Mills Blvd.
Reisterstown MD 21136

‭Call to register your car for the show. Space is limited.

(410) 517-1681