VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 '51 Spare Tire?

The spare tire in our recently purchased '51 has the marking of 6.70 15 6. What is the meaning of the 6?

I believe than may refer to the tire being intended for a 6" wide rim.

6 PLY?
does it mention 4 ply or 6 ply any where else on the side wall?
What brand (Firestone etc) of tire is it and what "MODEL" such as Air Ride,
Deluxe Champion, etc.

Or for 6 cylinder car

Gene, I was thinking PLY was well as another possibility.

This tire has never been on the ground. It is a F F Goodrich Silvertown. On the back I see 4 Ply, Load Range B, DOT CYNKC224429.

Then I have no answer for you. I suspect Wally put a set of ne BFG tines on the car at some point.

This has nothing to do with your question but 1951 cars produced after about June did not caome with a spare tire, just the wheel. No white walls after Feb.

Thanks Gene, I have a feeling the man I sold the car to put the BFG tires all around and then Wally put Radials on the ground. The spare looks new.The car got a Second Place at one of the Anniversary Meets before Wally got the car. I'll leave it this way because I'll never have the car Judged. I got it back for a tour car. I did not have the car from 1991 until last September. It still has the Dayton AAA sticker on it that was on in when I bought it the first time as well as the SWS Chevrolet license frame from where it was purchased new in Dayton, Ohio. Hope to see you down the road sometime.

Jim... have you got a picture of your new/old ride yet?

Yes, I'll have Ken send one to you. I'm sure you have seen it on Six Cylinder Tours.

Is the car the black 51 sport coupe that Wally and Dot Dixon owned? They drove that car all over, very sad that they had to sell it.

Yes, this is the same car. I sold it in 1991 to someone in Northern Ohio. My wife always wished I had not sold it. Wally called me one evening looking for a nice 51 or 52 coupe. I gave him the phone number of the person I sold it to and he bought it. When Dot called me and asked me to help her sell their cars I told her we would take the 51. She said that will be like going back to Daddy.

The 6:70 x 15 was mounted on a 5" Chevy rim, don't know who had a 6" rim back then.

Where the bead seats is probably about 5". I've seen rim width measured from the deepest portion where the tire seats to the upper part where the rim begins to flare outward. So, going by that width could be anywhere from 4 3/4" to 5 3/4". I was measuring the outside of the rim itself. So perhaps the 6 signifies the widest rim you should put the tire on.

Gene, I noticed a rectangular stand-off welded to the edge of the tire well. I wonder if this may have been added to support the wheel when it did not have a tire mounted when secured in the trunk.

My 1951 Chevrolet does not have that standoff in the wheel well.

I can not explain the welded in support. The cars that came with no spare tire did have a bare wheel resing in the tire well. In the dealership we installed a tire and tube because 99% of the buyers wanted one.
Chevrolet did reduce the price ofthe car eflecting the fact one tire was eleminated.
We used a Dayton brand tire for the spare so it never matched the factory US Royal, Firestone or Goodrich tire. White walls were not available after the early 1951's were assembled.

Over the years, I have owned several 1951 and 1952 Chevrolets and none of them had that welded bracket.

How is it welded in. Spot welds or brazed?

What body style is it?

Wheel width is measured from bead to bead. All 1949-1956 cars had 5" rims.

Typical stick arc weld as near as I can tell. It's a Fleetline. My Business Coupe does not have it so I began to wonder. Still has sealant on it that was used around the spare tire well. As an experiment, I tried attaching a bare rim in place but a spacer would obviously be needed as without a tire on the rim, the securing lug nut would come to the end of the threads on the pivoting securing stud. The bracket does however hold the rim fairly centered front to back in the well. I'm curious as to how Chevrolet shipped a bare rim with the car from the factory.

I would guess it is a Fleetline only part. I searched through the parts book but find nothing that sounds likely.
The Fleetline opening/lid was different from a Styleline in that area and may have needed more support.

Gene, it is not in or on the trunk lid, it is in the trunk floor...in the tire well.

OH, that is not what I was looking at. I was looking at the verticle brace.
Back to thte drawing boards.

Another guess. It pushed the spare more to the center or left as the lid may have hit the tire if it fliped to the other side. Possibly if a 7.10 tire was used.