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I've never read a description of this tire and wheel set up that was accurate. Most descriptions of these wheels describe them as a solid wheel with a metal disk or washer placed on the wheel to mimic the later thermofoil chrome plastic hub with tire.

In effect, these early wheels and tires are nearly the same thing. Only the thermofoil chrome plastic hub is about 1/2 the thickness of the later chrome hub. The tire has a deep pocket with a very thin back. The thinner hub fits into the tire's deep pocket and the thin back on the hub traps the tire from coming off during play. The thinner hub is identical on both sides and will fit on into the tire either way.

The tires are not hard plastic like the solid plastic wheels and not as soft as the later tires. The material is about half way in between the two. It's too bad Lesney changed the design as there would never be any models with missing tires if they had stayed with the first variation of hub and tire. My guess is that the change was made so that the hub and tire could go on either way and not have to be hand installed in the correct orientation. Sorry the photos are so dark, best my old camera could do.

Front side of tire:


Back side of tire:


Tire with disk hub sitting in the deep pocket (for the disk-hub).

tinman wrote
It's too bad Lesney changed the design as there would never be any models with missing tires if they had stayed with the first variation of hub and tire. My guess is that the change was made so that the hub and tire could go on either way and not have to be hand installed in the correct orientation.


I must say I think this is the first time I have seen this hub separated from the wheel in an online photo. This is very interesting. Good job Joe.

I remember Kevin speaking of these wheels in a “superfast wheel design” thread and had asked the question of why they weren’t put into full production. I guess the answer is in the labour intensive fitting. Interestingly I have never had a model in the hand where it was fitted the wrong way round but I do recall a member posting a pic with one wheel around the wrong way in recent times.

I am a bit of a fan of this sort of detail and while variations like this are hard to spot when on display in cabinets it is the long lasting toughness and clever design of these wheels that have the appeal.

A quick look at my childhood and my younger brother’s models showed up these wheels as still in good nick as apposed to a few others minus their tyres from the separate hubs.

Thanks for the pics of an overlooked detail.

Bert

I had no idea the hub was so thick. I had thought they were like a washer which sat between the wheel and the head or tail of the axel.
Thank you Tinman for the great explanation and photos.
Kurt

After all these years I also finally see one of these taken apart for us. Thank You Joe! I too have always thought the hub cap to be just a thin chrome disc, never knowing how thick and solid they really are when apart from their "Special" early separate tire. I think I only have a single example on a model that was put on backwards that I got from a fellow Forum member. I do remember that Hardy outbid me on a 67B VW with one of it's early front wheels like these on backwards. I only know that as fact because he later advertised it in his E Bay Store rather than keep it as a Great example of a factory Error for his own large collection. I was a bit disappointed in that, but Toys are his living, and not just his hobby as it has been for us all these years....Kwakers