When I was a little kid, I could spot them from down the street, at night, in a raging monsoon. Thought they looked like **** then...... I would hang them on the wall, though.
Had them on my Dad's '56 Chevy 210, back in 1956. No radials back then, but they did manage to space themselves away from the tire sidewall, as time went by.
I had a 15'' inch set given to me in the 80's as a gift...tried them out of curiosity, but they looked ''cheap'' and didn't fit very well,....I pitched em' in the trash bin!....never thought about hanging them on the wall as decoration at the time...guess they'd be good for that I suppose!
Well, I like 'em and they are traditional - I know because none of the kids I knew back in the '50's could go out and buy a new set of whitewalls, we all ran port-a-walls. The secret to success is to find someone who knows how to install them. I called around and found a guy that had been putting them on for years. He carefully placed the port-a-walls around the rim and then inflated the tire in stages, checking to see that the bead on the port-a-walls exactly matched the bead on the rim. Sometimes, he had to deflate the tire and start over, but eventually we got them all done. The truck in my avatar is wearing them proudly. I've taken the truck to many a car show and cruise night, and NO one has ever noticed that they aren't real white walls, unless I tell them, or show them, and they are usually amazed. Yes, over time (7 years in my case) they might start to separate a little from the tire. My tires are radials - and I found that by using the smaller (2" or 2 1/2" port-a-walls) that the radial bulge doesn't affect them nearly as much as if you run the larger whitewalls. So, if you want to be traditional, and save a grand or so - I say go for it!!
Had to use a rubber mallet every time I drove over 90 to get them seated back into the rim, but, they fit well otherwise.
I bought a set of 4 potawalls used in November of 1977 and installed them on some old used tires for my 48 Plymouth convertible. I worked at a service station at the time, so I had use of a tire machine to break the bead and install the portalwalls myself. Like Waldo says, as long as you're careful while you inflate so that the portawall is properly positioned, they work out pretty good. That got me by for about two years until I could afford some real white wall tires. Now 40 years later I still have the car, and I still have at least one or two of the Portawalls mounted on spares. They don't lay as nice against the tire as they used to, but what do you expect after 40 years.
In 57' after school jobs did not pay too much took all my coin to buy this 51' Bel Air, so the white flapper's we re the thing for us guys
Well ' 302 ' in 57' I was going to ' San Fernando High School ' and if your car was not lowered they would not let you in school LOL , but slammed cars were the deal for sure A 6" spindle kit and 2 coils cut in the front, 4" blocks and the springs heat-rearched in the rear and had to cut the rubber snubbers to get any ride at all Only had 3/4" of ground clearance and just to much trouble going anywhere so I raised it back up a bit , but it did look good cruising the school each day before cl***'s and Bob's Big Boy too Went to go one day let out the clutch and it stalled cause the frame was on the ground with a flat tire , and I did not see it so it was time to get her up a bit DND
DND - love that Bel Air !! I drove this '49 Fleetline in 1957, went to HS in Highland Park. We might have seen each other at Bob's, or maybe Van de Kamp's on San Fernando Rd. Yeah, I drove them slammed too, I was forced to "lay frame" everytime I entered a parking lot or a gas station. I ran "Fiestas" until just before this pic was taken, someone else decided they liked them too. Oh, and yes, those are genuine Port-a-walls, just like almost everyone else ran back in the day.
Here's some from years ago on bias ply tires. At the time white walls were too expensive. Now days, there's no need for them. Plus, they don't hold up well to curb rash and the wind gets under them and makes them "flap" at highway speed.
had no choice but to use them on m Mysterion clone. If you do use them, do it on bias ply and need replacing every couple yea rs. They rot.
I had a set of 16" on my bud's Model A Coupe. They were thick, and had a 'ridge' around the outside edge. They went to L.A. and back 6+ times, never got 'out of whack'...always looked good. Someone gave them to me, (I had a channeled Cabriolet, but got some Merc 15" wheels, my neighbor gave me the 8.20 X 15s off his Caddy when he bought U.S.Royal Masters; Front tires came out of some unlucky VW owners' unlocked trunks! My pal 'Thievin Ronny' traded 'em to me for a Harley front wheel and tire!) So, Ramsay got 'Porta-Walled'. They always looked good, but some other guys had thin ones that flapped at 40. And, NOTHING looked as rank as a torn Porta Wall!
Neighbor kid (older) had 'em on a '53 Chevy. I remember he was always pissin with 'em. Think he canned 'em after not too long. Somebody school me on what the hell this means. Some kinda P-C ******** curse word?
You gotta be hip to the jive daddio. "OH SNAP (exclamatory phrase) a playful indication of surprise, misfortune, or insult popularized by Tracy Morgan of Saturday Night Live, OH SNAP is seemingly derivative of oh no you didn't where an insulted person, for example a guest of Jerry Springer or often a *****y African American woman contends the insult being made against him/her. While derivative of "oh no you di-int," OH SNAP has more of an emphasis on playfulness and can be said by people other than those being insulted. Ted: Man, where you been all afternoon? Darrin: I had to stop off at your mom's place for a nooner that last a bit longer than expected. Ben: OH SNAP! " http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=OH SNAP&utm_source=search-action
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