White Wall Tires – Which one to choose.
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An interesting aside is the wide use of Cadillac caps in the pics presented so far. I’m equally interested in what modifications people are making to rims or caps to get them to fit. I have a pair of 38 caps in transit and think that I’ll need a pair of 16 inch rims to fit them. But how do you put sombreros on Ford rims?
Nice work Rik,
Man I could have really used this a week ago!! Just put my order in for a set of 16 – 6.00 Generals Jet Airs for my 40 convertible. I’ve been collating my own stash of white wall photos (from the hamb and such places) but finding the actual tire size can some times be difficult. This thread is a godsend, thanks!
Do you have any photos of the General brand tires in use?
Thanks Tom,
No currently I do not have any photos or info on the General Brand white wall tires… but if you get them in.. and have mounted them on your rims. Please send some photos of them so we can add it to this thread. Also please list the white wall width.Enjoy the beauty of Customizing
But how do you put sombreros on Ford rims?
Ah Grasshopper, many ways…but most involve modifying a regular 15″ dress ring and bonding it to the back side of the sombrero. This has been done by both gluing and welding. The sombrero then clips on like a normal wheel cover. The central Caddy mounting is deleted.
Here are a couple of photos of BF Goodrich Silvertown white wall tires.
These tires have completely smooth white wall sections on the tires. The brand name and numbers are in the black portion of the tire. Sadly I have no numbers and measurements for these… hopefully I can add them later.
1939 Mercury with BF Goodrich Silvertown white wall tires(below)
1951 Mercury with BF Goodrich Silvertown white wall tires (below)
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Original 1940’s ” FIRESTONE ” double sided white walls were originally made in NEW ZEALAND in there factory for U.S.A. Under the second ” S ” for FIRESTONE is says
” MADE IN NEW ZEALAND ” ” Lucas Classic Tires ” in LONG BEACH had N.O.S DOUBLE SIDED W.W FIRESTONES…… These were stored in dark by LUCAS CLASSIC TYRE shop in L.A in 2010 who had 3 sets of 4 original tyres left from the 1940s NEW OLD STOCK and in perfect order. $160 each. Tyres have ” MADE IN NEW ZEALAND ” on the side wall. Reproductions don’t.Thank you Kutomland. Interesting info.
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Another BF Goodrich Silvertown white wall tire. This one is an G78-15 Sadly no photo showing the whole car.
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I’m a bit confused. My experience is that these tires combined with old rims requires a lot of balancing weights. In the pics above there are only a handful of cars who has these ugly weights visible and it seems as there might be a geographic difference as well, so what’s the secret? Modern glue on weights (I thought that type would interfere with a snap on type hubcap), only weights on the inside, or…?
They can put weights on the inside edge Bert. Otherwise part of Custom culture is “Shake, rattle and roll”.
Ok, I feel a bit stupid right now so just disregard my comments above. I just had to go outside and check to get the answers. The pic below shows BF goodrich 6.40 X 15 with 3″ whitewall, snap-on type hubcap and glue on balance weights combined and it works fine. The hubcap tabs sits on top of the weights when the hubcap is positioned. On a side note, I started with 6.70 X 15 Firestones but got clearance issues when cornering with the steering in end positions, so I had to step down one dimension.
And from trial fits with 6.70 X 15 and 7.50 X 14.
As per Quentin, I have only ever used weights on the inside (hub side) on steel wheels, no problems.
Thought I’d add some info on my favourite tyres (borrowed from Kelsey Tire)
Goodyear Super Cushion
Remember the Packard Mayfair, the Hudson Super Jet, Studebaker President, ’50 Mercury, or the Pontiac Chiefton. Quite a collection representing but a few of the original equipment applications of this beautiful Goodyear tire. After World War II, this was the tire that carried the automotive industry quickly into the future 1945 to 1952
Size. Rim Width. Section Width Overall. Diameter. Rolling. Circ. Rev./Mile. Tread Width. Max. Load
670/15 5.0” 7.47” 28.40” 89.22” 710 4.5” 1450 lbs. @ 32 psi710/15 5.0” 7.74” 28.50” 89.54” 708_ 4.6” 1550 lbs. @ 32 psi
Hey Steve, welcome back. Just don’t tell a guy wearing a mauve cravat and bell bottomed pants at the florist shop that you love super cushions . . .
Restored Barris Built Ralph Testa 1950 Mercury Coker G78-15 with a 2 3/4 inch white wall. (Note: original Barris version used different tires)
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John Williamson send me an email about the US Royal Masters white wall tires.
The favorite tire in the mid to late 50’s in So Cal was the U S Royal Master with the indented white smooth side and nylon and straight groves for tread. It was on most of the big Cadillacs, Buicks and lasted forever.
The most Beautiful tire ever. The rubber was so hard you could wax it like your paint and had so much tread you could by bald ones and “Regroove” them or just use the bald ones for slicks.Photos are from an US ROYAL MASTER cheater slick 8.20-15 (photos from ebay)
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