Tire & Wheel questions - Bias-ply?

Hi guys,

I have a 1953 Ford F-100 that I'm thinking about running bias-plys on, 'cause they look so good! I'm also thinking about running 16" steel wheels.

My questions are:

What wheel width should be used with a 670-16, 700-16 or 820-16?

Is there a tire tread/sidewall width chart for 16" tires? (I found a bunch for 15" but none for 16")

Anything I should know about bias-plys since I'm new to them (No horror stories, just factual information)?

Finally, anyone have 3/4 view photos of cars with 820's on the rear and either 670's or 700's on the front?

Thanks,

Ben

 

I think this is the one I used, I thought Universal had one, but couldn't find it.

http://www.kelseytire.com/pages/tirechart2.html

 

Thanks 4t64rd, unfortunately, that one doesn't show the sizes I'm looking at using, either...

Ben

 

Good write up on bias-ply vesus radial from www.cokertire.com. They may also have the info you seek in picking and running the right size.

http://resources.coker.com/tire-tech/tire-history-and-information/bias-ply-versus-radial-tires.html

 

No one ever ran 16" wheels on those trucks when rodded or customized ... the very first thing changed was the wheels, usually to 15" Merc or Chrysler (6.40s front, 8.20s rear) or 14" '57 Imperials (7.50s front, 9.50s rear).

 

Yep, that's the first place I looked... but they don't have the size info I'm looking for either... thanks though!

Ben

 

But... I'm not no one! I like the look of the larger wheels. It's a subtle difference so I'm guessing not many people will notice, but I think it will look nice. I know 15's would be cheaper, and are more available... but the 16's just look _right_.

Ben

 

I agree with you Ben. I'm going to go with 16's too. It's not unusual to see 4" wheels with those sizes, but I seem to recall (from the Coker website I think) that they suggest not using a wheel smaller than 5" for the sizes in question. I remember reading threads here on this whole thing that were very informative, so it might be useful to try to get some of that very good info via the search. Beauty certainly is in the eye of the beholder, especially with wheel/tire combos.

 

For what its worth. I kept 6 bolt centers machined down with 8 x 15in rims on rear 7s on front.Still had torque tube and original rear but the radials were 275 x 75 (same height as 16in bias) Put a Patricks 3.55 center and you got a great highway runner. Radials better and safer for a daily drlver.My 2 cents Cheers

 

It is only my opinion but, having owned a 56 effie myself, 820x 16's are gonna jack the *** end up so high it wouldn't look right at all. I would go equal sizeall around with bias, probably 600 or 650's. But I can tell you that 750 is about the max you'll want on a 4" wide rim. All the charts aside, the 750 x 16 rears on my model A are a 33" diameter. On my truck my tires were about 26" in diameter and it was lowered as far as it would go without rubbing on the rear and it sat perfect. Not too low. Just right. Sorry I don't have pics...

 

Bias tyres(aussie spell) as follows
670x16 28.6 tall
750x16 31.5
825x16 32.4
Firestone vintage tyres Hope this helps, came from an Aussie dealer who carries Coker now

 

Maybe this is the page your looking for? from the Aussie/Coker
connection. These are the Firestone Vintage.
http://www.antiquetyres.com.au/firestone.html

 

Thanks guys, definitely helping me out here... yes, it'll be a daily driver (or pretty darned close to one), but I'm not worried about the bias-plys... they worked fine for 60 years... and the modern ones are designed even better. Plus I only have a five mile commute...

Ben