Hammering ten stud, twenty inch, Budd wheels off and on all day with a one inch drive impact will give you arms like that. Doesn't do much for your hearing though.

Not really. Tire spoons, long metal bars used to manually pry tires off/on the rims, also come in handy for levering heavy wheels off the axle as well as getting them upright from flat on the floor. Not a job for a weakling, but not very difficult for an average man.

My best guess is this bus is a Yellow Coach Model 745. It appears to match this 1939 New York World's Fair souvenir.

I did a little research and found that commercial vehicles were exempt from rationing. No one would appreciate a bus, such as the one shown, carrying passengers on tires that had long since worn out.

The average civilian had to make 5 automobile tires last for the duration of the war. This included recapping as necessary. Some thoughtful planning was necessary for this to be accomplished, no doubt.

Not getting the wheel nuts off, but picking the tire up off the floor!