VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Side-Mount Spare Tire Fit

Yesterday, for the first time in many years, I put the side-mount spares back on my '31. The front fenders were rebuilt with new side-mount wells by a capable, competent professional. My tires are 4.75-5.0-19. Initially I'd inflated the spares to recommended pressure only to find it necessary to let a lot of air out to get the spares to fit in their wells. They fit nicely now and look great. Is this par for the course? In yesteryear did motorists need to pump up the spares before using them?

Best Regards,

Tom

The original tires were 4.75x19. Most modern replacements are wider than the originals so don't fit in '31 fender wells. The do fit better in '32 fender wells that are the replacements available today.

No. In the old timey days, the sidemount tires were inflated to their full recommended pressure and they fit fine in the sidemounted fenders. As Chipper stated, the reproduction tires made today are not the same as the original tires since they are wider.

I have a set of six matching tires on my all original 1932 Special Sedan. While the tires are not the original issue from 1932, they are a direct replacement for those tires and they were made in the 1960's. The sidemounted tires are inflated to their full pressure and they fit just fine in the sidemount wells.

Tom, Same issue with mine, just replace my tires with Goodyear All Weather 4.75 x 19 and I had to deflate to set into side wells, good thing there is room under the seat for a hand pump. I do need to figure what to use as a liner to protect the white sidewall while it is nested in the well, any advise on that issue or do you have black wall tires.

Are the White Walls larger than the Black Walls? My tires are marked 4.75 X 19 and they are Black Walls. I see lots of White Walls that are 4.75/5.00 X19.

The tire width depends on the manufacturer. Some are wider than others. Doubt there is a difference black or white wall from a single manufacturer.

I don't think that there is a difference either between a white wall and a black wall from the same manufacturer.

The original tire was a 4.75.....the 4.75 was discontinued years ago and replaced with a 5.00 - which is a larger size. That combined with as mentioned some brands are larger than others is your problem.
In some more modern sizes I found Firestones to be wider than other brands as an example.
The correct 5.50X17 Firestone is too wide to fit in a 1934 Master spare tire cover as an example..

That's another problem......metal sidemount tire covers. Take the 1932 accessory metal sidemount tire covers for example, some of the modern replacement tires will not fit in the covers due to their size, and for some of the tires to fit they must be completely deflated.