VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 Tires

First my apologies (again) to the guys who responded to my posting of June 9th...but it's Dungeness crabbing season here and the outboard motors(yeah, two boats) been giving me fits and I'm easily distracted). Thank you, thank you guys for your input. Will get back to the brakes on the 50 Coupe soon. BUT in the meantime, also looking to put some new rubber on my baby. Has G78 15's on it now (bias) and though would rather go with something a little wider even this tire says a 5.5 inch rim required. Shop manual says stock rims(and I assume they are) are 5"...What are the rest of you guys running. And do I really have to deal with Corky Coker to wide white walls(seems he's the only game in town).

Ed Ides
Seattle area

I'm on my forth set over the years..
coker wide whites..Ran into a problem,not with Coker but with installer..Seems I was sold a set 4 years ago that had sat...After 10 years on the sidewall date, the warranty and even to put air in was not to be bythe installer.Check the dated sidewall...I figure I cost myself 6 years of use

Put some Cooper radials on my 51. Not sure of the size at this moment, but they work very well, and were half the price of wide whites

Thanks for the comeback, guys. Yes going with the radial, but gotta go white, though the extra 100 bucks a tire tweaks my jaws a bit. If either of you can take a couple minutes to peak at the SIZE of the tires you're running and yell back at me, I'd surely appreciate that. The "G78's" on it, or 205R15 or P215/75R15(modern equivalent numbers vs the 1970's(?) G78 designation is where I'm headed, but before shelling out the 800-1000 bucks wanna be sure they'll stay put on the 5inch rim I have on the car. Just not too keen on shelling out even more money for new rims cause the P215's won't go on a 5" rim.(I know, they SHOULD as G78's are on there now, but maybe a G78 from decades ago ain't exactly what they are today.)

Thanks, guys.

I have 215/75R15 on stock rims

While the 205 is the correct rep;acement for the original size the 215 mentioned above is a little "taller" and wider and looks the best for that car.

I'm running 21570R15 radials with radial tubes on my 51 Coupe and they look awesome as they're a bit wider as Chev Nut suggests. (blackwalls). Car handles fine too although they are a bit noisy.

I think the 215s are equivalent to the original RPO tire option for taxicabs, etc..

Alright, guys! That's what I wanted to hear. My gut said the 215's would not only work on the 5' stock rim, but look good too. Just needed some "back-up" before I forked over the better part of a grand($) to Coker Tire. As usual, this VCCA gang is without compare.

Ed Ides

I hate to kick tires again since 2013 but I'm now ready to order a set and Coker has a rebate of $40 total if bought before the end of the month. May pay for mounting?

Anyway it looks like in 2013 most were recommending the 215 75R15. Radial wide white wall
Is recommending them that still the case for my 51 deluxe Fleetline?

I'm gowing to order 5 so I trust they will fit the spare compartment. Their site says 8.63 Section Width?

As before the 215 will look wider but the width will be more in propotion to the height. I can't say that the spare tire well is wide enough. The wider tire will prbably make a big difference in the increased resistance in turniing the steering wheel when parking, etc.

After trying a set of 205;s on my '50 I am happy with going back the orginal 6.70X15 bias on my '50.

I was not comfortable with the width of the 215's, as compared to rim width.
I bought the 205's.
I have two '51's, one with 205's, one with 670's.
Can't tell you if the 205 will fit in your tire well, but will say the ride, steering and handling is better with the 205's.
The radials will cost you points, when judged, I think.

1950 chevy literature I have seen says a size replacement for the stock (I think 670-15) deluxe rims is p205/70r15 as the 215 or 225 for sure show as oversize (turning in the fender well issues). I am going to be going with the recommended 205's.

depends on the judging. I want to get the bias ply look radial wide whites...eventually. but then the show I am gearing for is period correct. each to his or her own, but the radials will be a smoother ride. (Though I have heard that the suspension may need tuning for radial use...not sure)

I ran radials on my '50 for one trip to Vermont and bought a new set of bias when I got back. They are noiser, ride harder and make steering harder for parking.

I have run radials on my '51 the entire time I have owned it. It is primarily a tour car. The reduction in wandering particularly on uneven roads is a real benefit. Yes parking and low speed turning effort is worse but in total I'll stay with the radials.

I just got home 30 minutes ago after getting a brand new set of radials installed on my '66 Corvette. For my money, it's ridiculous to do it any other way (eg. Bias ply).

I care about how my car rides and performs when driven -- NOT how the judges view it.

That is true for later mmodel cars, especially performance cars and Corvairs.

I run a set of blackwall 215-70-15 Goodyear radials in my 51. The 70s are a little wider than 75s and just barely fit the spare tire well if you gently push it in. I like the wider look of the 70s on the car. As others put it, the trade off is the noise and ride, but the car does handle better. Each to his own.

BTW I run Coker radial tubes inside my tires and they hold up well after 4 years of mostly sitting.