Why did they use metal valve stems?

We had very few paved roads. Much of the driving was in mud, partricularly in the rainy season. The nut on the metal stem has a leather backing which sealed the stem hole in the rim. The cap screwed onto the nut and protected the stem from the muud and junk.
 
I would also think that the people of the time were very frugal. You could easily make a tube with just hole cheaper than one with a stem vulcanized in and one could reuse the stem over and over with different tubes.

Just a guess.
 
Don't forget that the quality of rubber, back then, was nothing like today's. The reliability was just not there.
MIKE :)
 
I think Fords got rubber stems integral with tubes about 1935. Was this when they became general practice or just a Ford specific changeover??
 
Changes to tires and tubes were generally dictated by the Tire and Rim Association (they issued the TR numbers to the various stem manufacturers for various applications), established in 1908 to help ensure and promote industry wide standardization like SAE. Ford used metal stems through 1934. The vulcanized integral rubber coated stem tubes were undoudtedly not proven or readily available until 1935. Use of these tubes saved several production steps and would have been employed earlier if they were reliable in my opinion.
 
Clem Clement said:
We had very few paved roads. Much of the driving was in mud, partricularly in the rainy season. The nut on the metal stem has a leather backing which sealed the stem hole in the rim. The cap screwed onto the nut and protected the stem from the muud and junk.
Click to expand...


Interesting, very true---- never thought about it from that point of view..
 
I have one original tube and 6-8 very old tubes
with metal stems
the quality of rubber was MUCH better than the crap we have now
It was butyl rubber
after 60-70 years of being folded they still don't have cracks
I have 10 tires on my model As that have been on the cars for over 50 years,and they still hold air just fine,yet the 4 tubes i replaced on my other model A have ALL failed due to seam separation or valve stem separation(rubber stems)
and no.they weren't Chinese junk they were made in the USA
the tube shown is at least 30 years old and in perfect condition when I removed it from the box for the photo,no cracks after being folded all these years

most likely the reason was as stated, the vulcanizing of the stem to the tube
was a problem
 

Attachments

  • MVC-003F.JPG
    MVC-003F.JPG
    50.3 KB · Views: 57
From a reply to the valve-stem question on the AACA Forum:

"Per the judging guidelines [ AACA ]... Valve stems must be metal prior to 1930 and must be the same as originally supplied on the vehicle. Documentation may be required. Fords will have metal valve stems through 1934."

Incidentally, this reply was from a Model A guy who hangs-out on the AACA forum...
 
mot said:
I have one original tube and 6-8 very old tubes
with metal stems
the quality of rubber was MUCH better than the crap we have now
It was butyl rubber
after 60-70 years of being folded they still don't have cracks
I have 10 tires on my model As that have been on the cars for over 50 years,and they still hold air just fine,yet the 4 tubes i replaced on my other model A have ALL failed due to seam separation or valve stem separation(rubber stems)
and no.they weren't Chinese junk they were made in the USA
the tube shown is at least 30 years old and in perfect condition when I removed it from the box for the photo,no cracks after being folded all these years

most likely the reason was as stated, the vulcanizing of the stem to the tube
was a problem
Click to expand...

I've had exactly the same experience. I bought 2 bicycle inner tubes and took them out of the box 6 months later and they were full of cracks at every fold. Now as soon as I get an inner tube home I inflate it for storage, and when I have a spare tire for it, the tube is stored inside the tire with just enough air to fill out the shape. I hope this will help, but I still prefer old inner tubes as long as they don't have a bunch of patches.
 
I store my new tire tubes in air tight ammo cans in cool storage. I have model A tubes that I have used that had been stored for 25 years this way. It sure helps if you start with a quality tube in the first place.
 
To bad they still don't use metal stems. Here by the left coast the long rubber stems quickly leak from ozone cracking. Just replaced my tires and went tubeless to get rid of the long stems. When I removed the spare the tube was rusted to the rim because the spare was mounted with the stem at the bottom.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top