It depends on what tire you're looking at. Regular radial then white wall, bias looking radial (Auburn Deluxe) then you can go either.
Since you are getting new tires anyway grab a can of black spray paint and coat the white walls on one side of the car. Take a couple snaps and compare to see what you like best. I suspect white walls but be careful what you buy there has been a lot of threads on white walls turning brown and creating warranty claims and costs.
Here is a thread with a lot of info that may be very helpful to you. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-do-i-add-to-make-this-look-better.1296251/ Yes, I'm a smart ***...... I know.....
Back in 2002 when I built the 2004 NSRA giveaway 30/31 roadster pickup I did WW tires and some commented it wasn't a hot rod with WW's. I was of a mind plain BW tires would have killed the theme of the car and I still think the same 22 years later. Your car looks *****in with WW tires. Don't ruin it with plain Jane tires.
Pinners, narrow white walls match the 1962/1963 era when you bought the then new hot lick on the new cars pinner white walls. Some of the old die hards stuck with wide whtes but they were more on the line of what you see on this 61 rather than the Gangsta white walls that you see now but were already obsolete by car guy standards. If you look at 62/64 (time period) custom car photos A lot of the fresh customs had pinners on them .
To me it all depends on era and style of build. Did the era of the car come factory with www, thinner whitewalls or blackwalls? This rod deserves www along with its slight custom vibe. That being said it’s your car, do what your gut tells you. Nice looking car!
The pics were a thousand words. Black walls looks like back of the used car lot where the price is the only thing written on the windshield. White walls look like front row.
I like a smaller whitewall, like 2". these were cut into white letter tires, or maybe a smaller whitewall tire. with hubcaps you need whitewalls.
Hello, When my brother got his 1951 Oldsmobile two door sedan, it was pale yellow with white wall tires. The tires looked great, but it went along with the flipper hubcaps he immediately put on them. The idea of whitewall tires was a no brainer for the 50s-60s teenager. But, it will depend on what wheels or hubcaps go on the hot rod sedan. Thanks, @themoose After a couple of months, he got thinner white wall tires and new Moon Discs all around. Now, his car stood out everywhere. With the Moon Discs, it look fast just sitting there on our driveway. But, by the spring/summer of 1957, he had his Oldsmobile sedan painted a lime green. Something was up and we stopped work on our old Model A Coupe. Then both vehicles got sold to close friends and now a new 1958 Impala sat in the driveway… with stock whitewall tires. Jnaki It was the stock narrower whitewall tires. But, they looked not racy enough with the full hubcaps that came with the new sedan. At the drags, obviously the hubcaps were gone and it ran without any wheel covers. 1957-58 on the left and 1959 on the right. The tires changed to blackwalls with a set of Bruce Slicks for timed runs only. Then it was silver rims to this version as I was a teenager in high school under the small hubcaps and trim rings. Now, everyone in our teenage group had blackwalls. There was no going back to white. Too much upkeep and it did not look like a hot rod or drag racer. So, it was blackwalls on every teenage car. If it had whitewalls, it was mommy's car or someone bought a new car from the dealers just down the street. Whitewalls did not look good with the hubcap arrangement, so they were turned inside out. Then we all got blackwalls straight from the local hot rod tire shop in Bixby Knolls. That lasted until after high school when there was enough money to buy a set of pristine Buick Skylark Wire Wheels for the Impala. Thanks, @themoose White walls just did not go with the 1958 Impala and/or any wheels we put on them. So, the final look after the Skylark Wire Wheels was black Buick rims with blackwall tires. The new teenager who bought the 58 Impala was overjoyed with his new purchase and it looked like this: Now, it had the look of all business and rather intimidating... as it should. No whitewalls in sight… black on black on black… yet, still fast… 300+ hp and a C&O stick hydro… YRMV Note: Whitewalls on our 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery? We think it was an appropriate look with all blackwalls and chrome trim rings on black painted rims. And, yes, we did not have enough money for all 5 Spoke American Racing Equipment mag wheels...
I almost always choose blackwall tires, with very few exceptions. But your car looks great with the whitewall tires and I'd stay with whitewalls. Print out a picture of your car and then color the whitewall tires with a black felt pen. Put that next to a picture as it is now, and see which you like better.
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