Thanks Plethora, that's what I'm looking for!!

I have used the Harbor Fright changer to mount many mini tires, after several variations of the locating pin and clamping I found the best way was to bolt the wheel to the changer using the lug nuts.  This was done by cutting away most of an extended rear drum (S, GT, 84+) leaving only the hub portion, to this I fitted lug studs and attached to the changer using the two drum screws.  This way the rim is held securely and will not shift/rotate as force is applied.  A professional manual changer will have plastic protective covers for the ends of the tool bar to not damage the rim, I took bits of plastic soda bottles to improvise my own.

For the last decade or so I have been using a Coats RC-100 air/electric tire machine with an accessory atv adapter kit.  The different holders allow clamping down to 8" rim, so 10, 12 and 13 are no problem (to hold anyway, some deep dish rims are nearly impossible to mount).  An atv dealer or independent repair/accessory shop in your area is likely to have the specialized equipment and may be able to mount the mini tires for you and as atvs can be very fast they may balance as well.

I balance using a Snap-On WB250 electronic wheel balancer.  I found many wheels were hard to center using the supplied cones and small rim to drum contact area( notably Inno stamped steels and rostyle 1275 GT) so again an adapter with lug studs was fashioned to mount the wheels to the machine using the lug nuts.  It takes longer to bolt each wheel to the machine but it always runs true without fuss.  I also use this setup with bare rims to check for damage, many steel rims are far from true.

I've asked around here everybody said " what size, no we don't have the equipment for that." that's why I'm on my own. harbor freight also tire spoons.
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I went to Costco, only because it was the only place open on a Sunday, and they really checked all the specs to make sure they didn't eff anything up.  They wanted to know the wheel and tire sizes, psi, and torque specs.  I was skeptical but needed tires ASAP.  So far I haven't had any issues at all.  They did a great job.  I think it came out to around $85.  I do want to get the Harbor Freight tire changer and balancer set.  I think it is around $100 total for both with coupons.  HF also has a bar with nylon edges top and bottom so metal doesn't touch the rims.  I think it is extra if I remember correctly.

Youtube the Harbor Freight set and you will get a few good videos showing how quick a change is once you know what you are doing.  I would probably use my spare and old junk tire to practice and learn before attempting to install a tire I intend to drive on.

Guys a complete ****ing idiot to try to tell someone to use a pry bar.

Yea,it works...obviously...My bare hands work as well.So do tire spoons.But there are better ways rather then to use some pry bars.And then someone reads that that is not as "bright" and damages a wheel .

There is a British car shop about 20 miles from where I live (Carrboro, NC) and they do not even mount or balance 10' wheels. I had to take mine to have them balanced at a Porsche and BMW specialist. It is getting harder and harder to have anything fixed on our Minis (or even looked at) at regular automotive shops. Luckily, there is always nice people around,
cheers
Abel

Senior Collin Whitley, actually pry bar works just fine, its how you use it, you cant just insert it and yank, there's a certain technique, some people keep on whining yet they havent tried it,  try it first then get back to me,  and as i always say time and time again, --> "i was once young and stupid"

It's unfortunate, but yeah. People here generally know that "Specialist" is a complete muppet on this forum. There is a special place on this forum for his useless ramblings, but this thread isn't one of them. 

The last straw which made me vow to never take my cars to the quick oil changes places happened about 5 years ago.  One "tech" was working on my car (Honda) and called to his coworker asking about tire pressure.  I heard him call back "set them to 45 PSI".  I immediately jumped into the shop and asked what they were talking about and their reply was "that's what's on the tire".  I had to explain that 45 PSI was the MAX tire pressure, not the desired one.  I then pointed out that MOST modern cars record the tire pressure on a tag in one of the door jams.  Never again.

And always remember to tell the tech doing the actual work to torque to 45. !! I learned the hard way when one idiot torqued them up to 90, questioned him and he said, "that's what the wall chart said", l looked at it, yeah, For new BMC Binis !

Now they call me mr 45

Big AL

God I hate reading some peoples replies.Pry bars? Really? Not even a proper tire spoon which is already bad enough.I do it by hand that way NO metal touches my wheel or tire.So far so good on everything ive had.

I foolishly took a set of 10" steelies to Walmart....must have been in a hurry....

I just needed the rubber off.
Well, I'm watching through the window as the young guy struggled with the first one.  After he had the tyre off I went in to look at the wheel.

I stopped him before he started the second one.......he didn't seem to care that he had totally wrecked the wheel.....into the garbage it went.
(roll eyes)

I use 2 Pry bars, and it works wonders, i need to DIY these things because its pretty pricey to replace this at the tire shop $9 per tire Gosh!!,  the pry bar costs me $7 for 2 and its a lifetime use.
and no it doesnt damage the rim. But you need to spray it with water for lubrication.

I would go to a good tire shop, mainly for the balancing, little tires spin much faster than the tires on your minivan for a given speed, make sure they can do lug centric balancing, as opposed to the common hub centric balancing. They need to have 4 lug nuts for your wheel type, and know that it's 4 x 4" pattern or look for on car balancing if you can find it. Here in Michigan Harolds frame shop still can do it on car.

That's a great price.  The only reason I mounted my own was local shops quoted me $25 to mount and balance each tire.  Supposedly Walmart was going to be less expensive but I did not want them working on my Mini.

At $40 per set, I would never bother mounting my own tires.

I nearly lost fingers trying to mount 008s to MWS wheels, but my Mamba (original not repops) mount easily by hand. I don't even think they required a single tool, which is scary when you think of it. I simply push the tire on then pull it up to hold enough air to set the bead.

It's all in the final rim size.

Discount Tire did my MWS quickly and easily for very little money. It helps if you can get the car there on other wheels so they can see it. Many employees like to see fun cars and help. The rest think you have a bad ars trailer or golf cart.

I pay $10.00 a tire to have mine mounted at a local shop, never had a problem over 20 years, in & out in half an hour

And BTW free coffee while you wait with newspaper and color T V to boot

Big AL

I bought the Harbor Freight manual mounting machine for about $40 on sale.  It can be used with steel wheels.  I probably wouldn't use it if my car had alloys.  I was given a too-small bubble balancer.  I made an adapter plate for my 10" wheels and spent about 20 minutes per tire checking and re-checking the balance.  

It cost me about $55 in tools and materials to mount my tires and probably 3 to 4 hours total labor to mount the machine and go through the whole process.  Your time is worth money.  Consider that when making your decision to mount tires at home or pay to have it done.

Ive mounted 3 sets around so far on diff wheels..

I put a little soapy water on the bead and rim and pressed them on my hand and worked my way around.Was very easy just work your way around and hold the one side and go to the other back and forth and on they go.I was quite amazed how easy.Mini lites,golf cart 10x7s,yokohomo and falken tires and a pair of Jr. Dragster slicks.I didnt balance mine though..I havent noticed any vibrations normal speeds or,even up well over 100mph but at that speed you're not really paying attention to tires lol

I have mounted 10's by hand. Harbour Freight sells a tire mounting machine, balancer and weights that work well with 10's or 12's.