VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 600 vs 650x16.

i'm going to need a new set of casings for the 41 coupe soon and i was wondering if i should get 650s instead of the 600s.

The problem with 600x16s on a 41 is that they look so narrow when viewing from straight on. Even on a coupe. They look like they have been stolen off a 37/38. you know.

i know the 650 will not slide under the shelf in the trunk. Well, not inflated to 32 lbs or so. i was thinking that if I underinflated the spare and could slide it under there with maybe 20 lbs in it i could then drive on until i found one of those 50 cent machines at a 7/11 et al. i'd perfer not to carry a 600 for a spare although that would be one solution, I suppose.

The larger tires would be hardly noticable except to a trained eye and would make the car look it was not running on such spindly legs.

Anybody had any experience with such a substution? Any trouble with messing up the geometry (caster or camber) of the front end?

Thanks,

Charlie

Hi Charlie,
I have bought 600 x 16 W W last year and I also wondered about putting 650s on. I chose 600s because the specs call for that size. They actually look and perform great but it is your personal choice.
Also I found the old black wall tire fit fine under the shelf in the trunk but the W W is a very tight fit.

To me the 6.50 looks too fat for a 1941. Also too squeezed together on a 4" rim. If they would have offered a larger size in 1941 it would have been a 6.25, a size that was discontinued during WWII.
I would suggest 6.00 Firestone. They run a little plumper more like a 6.25 wold have looked.

In my 38 Master specifications they list 600s on a 4" rim and 650s on a 4.5" rim. I think the larger ones were used on the taxi.

They used 600x16, that is just how they looked. 41s were not that different from the other years back then! Sorry Charlie.

Thanks everyone,

So far it seems the consiencus is to go with the 400. I will go with that. i wonder which other GM car was elevated to the 650 during the same era. Was it the Pontiac or Oldsmobile. i'm pretty sure Buick and, of course, were as big as the 650 or perhaps even bigger.

Gene,

you have switched on your recommendation here lately. you used to say B.F> Goodrich now its Firestone. Why the switch?

Charlie

Small Pontiac and Olds had 6.00. Mid Pontiac and Olds 6.50.

Gene,

Thanks. i don't think i know what a small Pontiac or Oldsmobile was. Were they defined by whether they had a six cylinder engine as opposed to an eight?

i once had a 47 pontiac (sort of torpedo or aerosedan type body0 with a six cylinder engine. i don't remember for sure but i think it had 650s on it.

Charlie

The "small" Pontiac (Pontiac Torpedo-Olds 66 or 68) was these makes with the smalll GM A body like Chevrolet used. In this example in 1941 they were available with a 6 or 8 cylinder engine and weighed 100 to 200 pounds more than a Chevrolet.
The 1941 Buick A Special used 6.50X15 tires and was 400+ pounds heavier than a Chevrolet. The large B Special and Super had 6.50X16.

Gene,

Thanks for the information. I'm going to go with the Firestone or BFB 600s. i think that will work out much better.

Charlie

BTW: last time i noted Coker prices, the Firestones were about 20 some dollars more than the BFGs. I don't know why. So a set of 5 Firestones will be a whole lot more.