I.H.C. Auto Buggy Wheels

[Gary A. Craig]

Can some of you I.H.C. guys tell me about wheels for a I.H.C.

Auto Buggy . Did they have different size wheels for different
models were all the wheels the same? Any Help.

Thanks Gary!

[Kelly Tytlandsvik]

Sorry I can't tell you much about the different sizes but we did put new tires on the one in Crosby last year. A local fellow who has done alot of wheel work put wagon/buggy tires on. They worked fine.

Kelly T

[Bob Ronning]

The high wheels from 1907-1909 were 40 inches and 44 inches front and rear respectively, and in 1910 and later, 38 and 42 inches in diameter. in 1915 the model E had the same size [36 inch] wheels all around.

[Happy Old Iron]

Hello Kelly,

We are bringing our Auto Buggy back to life.
The tires became flat at the place where it stood for years. We can push them back to the normal form but they lost their form. We would like to keep the old original rubber.
Do you know if there is only one opening in them or are there more?
Maybe somebody has a section picture or drawing?
Marc.

[Bob Ronning]

The original hard rubber was one piece.and had a wire on both sides to hold it on. if it was changed at one time they might have used more than one, and could have use rubber with the center wire.

[Happy Old Iron]

Hello Bob,

Thanks for the answer.
I know it was one piece but I presume trere was a hole in it like a kind of air chamber? I cannot imagine plain rubber will deform like ours.

Marc.

[Roger Byrne]

Here is some info of what the hard rubber tires look like. They have heavy solid wires inside to hold them tight to the wheel. Last year I had new rubber put on my 1909 Sears Auto Buggy that still had the original white rubber tires on it. In the first photo you can see two samples of what came off the wheels and a piece of the new rubber that replaced them. Most good wheelwright shops have the special machine that is used to put the tires on. The old tire is removed, the wheel is mounted in the machine, the new rubber is cut to length(a little longer than is needed), the machine is attached to the tire material and it pulls the wires very tight while at the same time compressing/pushing the rubber back. After the machine pulls the tire/wire tight enough to the wheels, the wires are brazed together and allowed to cool. The machine then releases the rubber material and it covers the weld and you're ready to go. Now it takes an experienced wheelwright to know how long to cut the material, how tight to stretch the wires and how to properly weld them. The second photo is of the Sears with the original tires (soft/gummy/flatted/cracked) and the last photo shows my son sitting in the car with the new tires fitted.