didnt see if somebody already asked,what size tires are you runnin and how low are you.sorry if this has already been explained.thanks
I'm running 205/70R-15s on mine, on stock 5.5" rims from a '65 Galaxy. They're okay but I might go with something a bit wider/bigger like maybe 235/70R15s on 6" rims. The 205s are narrower than I'd like, and they leave a lot of empty wheel opening under my '56, which begs for more tire! But I also kept my manual steering so don't want to go too wide up front. Lots of choices for the '55s & 56s since the wheel wells are so big. I'm keeping mine at almost-stock height so if you're dropping yours down it's something to consider, regarding getting the tires on/off. There's other folks who've posted here that may have input regarding that issue. ron
FOLLOW-UP: Here's an older post regarding tires that was discussed awhile back, includes some interesting info: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=4322
Raceron: "There's other folks who've posted here that may have input regarding that issue." Ya'think?!? Two things: I'm as much a fan of driveability as the next guy, but my cars are as much "art" as function. I am looking for lines that please the eye and am willing to put practicality into a second priority position. So, when it comes to tire size, whitewall width, wheel size and width, stance and overall appearance, I let my eyes do the selecting. If it looks the way I want it to look, that's what I use. Period. Well...almost period. There are certain practical considerations one must make and Ron has mentioned two which must be taken into account: steering clearance and tire servicability. Steering clearance is less of a problem than one might think...unless the car is very low AND the front track unusually wide. Here's my solution: mock it up and give it a try. Most will have no clearance problems. Some will have minor "rubbage" on the inner fender lip. A rare few will encounter truly annoying clearance problems. The rare few can usually be greatly improved through the use of wheels with less offset. The exception is when a wider than stock front frame clip has been swapped in (Nova, Camaro, etc.) without regard to track increase. In this case you are truly screwed. The ability to get the tires off (the rear) is a concern, of course, but most tire problems on hobby cars are punctures and a couple of cans of "spare-'n'-air" will solve nearly all of them. A Triple A card will solve the rest. The other thing: Cars like ours do not exhibit overly-heavy steering effort, regardless of the tire size, width or design (I acknowledge that the old 50-series "wide-oval" bias ply tires are an exception to this, but since nobody is using them in front applications any more, the point is moot). They were engineered to be driven by women as well as men. The concept that oversize tires will make the car too difficult to steer is simply not true...unless, of course, one has a physical disability. In that case, power steering is a must no matter what size tires are used. Automotive design has evolved so greatly in the last 50 years that we, as drivers, have become spoiled when it comes to driving effort. I'm not against the use of power ***ist...or using skinny tires, for that matter...but I LIKE the old world experience of driving and cherish the difference between my 2007 HHR Panel and my older cars. And so, secure in the knowledge that there are no significant roadblocks to prevent me from turning my vision into reality, I do exactly that. Practicality be damned, full speed ahead!
oh my! i'm late out of the gate Mr. 52Plymouth. . (Mr. right?) I'm running Coker Cl***ic 6-70-15 bias ply tires. with 15 x 6 " wheels. I went with a little wider than stock wheel, but not too wide, so that the tire will be a little squattier than tall by filling up the width of the wheel, i think they look good that way. also, not too wide beacuse of rear inner fender/brake drum clearance when installing. . (oh man. not an easy job with my setup) I've put 3" blocks on the back, and flipped the bottom leaf spring. i think that got me about 4-5" lower in the rear. the front was a little more involved. My friend stepped the lower control arm so that dropped it about 2' and i cut a coil and 3/4. that probably dropped me about 4-5 inches in the front. i have to still finish some work on the front end, and probably change a few things on my setup in the rear too. i'm not totally happy with it functionally, but visually i think i've got it right. by the way. i kinda feel special to have a post named after me here!!! teehee... thanks for that!! but remember the other fellas here know a whole lot more than me and have been in it longer than i have.. they've got a lot to offer.... i know.. i've asked them for their opinions on quite a bit already!!! xoxo thanks fellas!
Doll, if you could, please post some pix of your car in daylight. If you could post some full-car shots that would be cool too. I really like it!!!
thanks for the compliments!!! seems that i usually only think to take pictures after i'm done working on it for the day... which is when i start to lose daylight... haha.. as soon as i get the new front tires on, i'll be posting tons of new photos... hang on tight... i'll have everything on the car the way its supposed to be in about two weeks!!! there's a whole mess of photos on my myspace pages, just haven't added a lot of the progress shots to the albums here.. i figure most people see a few and they're good to go... everybody wants to see the "shiny" finished product! not all the work that goes into it!. . . maybe not the case here though!!!
We are all about seeing the progress here. Personally, it gives me hope that I can eventually achieve the same results.
We like to see pictures, for sure. I have some of my '56 from forty-some years ago - when I looked better than it did - now it's the opposite way around ! I gotta raid Mom's photo albums for those old pics to stick in my car's album.
I checked out your photo album Doll Kustom. Welcome! I'm running g78-14's they handle great are a smooth ride down the freeway.
MissysDad....I totally agree with you. I too cherish the difference between my 54 going down the road and the "perfect" ride of my wife's Honda Odyssey. I like the fact that you have to pull on the steering wheel a bit when you're parking and that you can't throw the thing around in heavy traffic. Then, I take the experience with stock Model As that I've owned and it's even more bare bones....but I just eat it up. Having to advance or retard the timing and carb mixture on the fly, while sitting in the driver's seat, is just cool I've never understood why people try to make "brand new cars" out of old cars by stripping off everything that makes them look old and turning them into jellybeans that look like a 2009 Camry. ok...deep breath....i'll jump down from the soapbox now.....this thread is, after all about tires! I've run relatively skinny radials (I'll go check and see exactly what they are) on my 54 since I first bought it in 1986 and have never had a problem.
I think I may be able to offer some useful experience. I built my 1950/51 Victoria (OT for this group, but relevant to the discussion) more than 10 years ago. It has a Nova front clip which is narrowed 3" and stepped 4", meaning that it's very low and has a wider-than-stock front track. I chose to run 215/75R-15s on 6" rims, which look right to me and provide good cornering and ride. It was necessary to raise the front wheel openings by 2" to achieve a decent turning circle. In the rear, I have 3" lowering springs plus 1" blocks. The wheel and tire sizes are the same as the front, but I have slightly different offset on the rear rims for the best clearance. It is very difficult to change the rear tires on this car because of its low stance, low wheel wells, and relatively fat tire section: When I built my '56 more recently, I had decided to run a low/level stance, rather than the slight rake on my earlier car. Remembering the clearance difficulties on the '51, I chose the slightly smaller section 205/75R-15, again on 6" rims. This one is lowered using Jamco springs at both ends, plus dropped spindles and lowering blocks. In spite of its very low stance, it is relatively easy to change both front and rear tires on this car. Bottom line: for lowered '52-56 Fords, 205/75 is about as large as you can go without heroic changes to the axle width or the wheel wells. PS: both of these cars settled over time from the original ***embly of their front ends, and ended up impractically low in the front for daily driving. Both have since been raised slightly through the use of front end coil spacers -- 3/4" on the '51, 1" on the '56. The attached pictures were taken AFTER the spacers were installed.
changing rear tires on these cars really is a chore. i had to put a jack between my frame and leaf springs to jack them down to get the tire in without totally biffing up the white wall... AND had to let all the air out, and still push, shove and cuss it in there! it took an hour per side to change the tires . . . even with my big brother's help.... i'm thinking instead of 3"blocks, i'll remove the bottom two leafs and put in 1" blocks. but that's a whole new job, for a whole different time... maybe when it's time to get new tires again.... . . . 50Fraud. glad to know that you've discovered some alterations in your experience from one car to the next to make life easier if you have a blowout on the side of the road. that's my goal too! i took two new photos this morning. will post them today in my album! xoxo
To be completely current, I should mention that the '56 is now wearing different wheels and tires than shown in the picture above. The difference is only cosmetic, however; the sizes are identical:
Doll, the wheel/tire change is a long and boring story, but your preference for the current look seems to be the general consensus. The hubcaps are '56-57 Lincoln.
you got a good set, and good taste to pick them out darlin!!! i'm not sure what i'm gonna do with my 54 caps now that i've got the new chrome wheels, prolly shouldn't sell them. they can go on my next heap until i get some cash to throw at it........ til then, i'll make my high school art students draw them!
just an update, i put the new tires on the front of the car and got the bumper on it too.. i'll be washing the car and taking some good daylight photos of it tomorrow afternoon! YAY!
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