New tires on '47 with 16" rims

[Mortimer452]

Current tires are 650-16 tubed bias ply of unknown age - guessing at least 20+ years old.  Valve stem is cracked on the driver rear and leaking fast so finally looking at just replacing all the rubber.

 

I love the wide whitewall look so I'd definitely prefer to stick with that, anyone running bias-look radials?  I've found Coker and Diamond Back online with pretty decent prices, anyone running their "bias-look" or regular radials with whitewalls?  With 16" rims, what's a good radial size to go with, I'm thinking something like 215/70/R16?

[greg g]

If you go with Coker, and you choose to run tubes, before they are mounted, inspect the inside of the tire for small mylar barcode stickers. They will charge the tubes and cause flat tires by wearing away the tubes.  You might want to check any brand you find but Coker has that problem.  Universal and Diamond backs are possible too.

[Mortimer452]

Any tricks you can offer to removing these old bias ply tires?  I cannot for the life of me get the outside bread to break on this first one.  Tried soaking it in gas for a day, tried running over it with another car, even tried using my log splitter to smash it down good, still no luck.

[Plymouthy Adams]

the repair manual of old shows sitting the lower end of the car jack against the bead and jacking the car...this is beside the road old school stuff if you do not have a changer at home and care also not to carry them to a shop...

[Mortimer452]

What about size, can anyone recommend a size that won't rub on 16" rims?

[casper50]

I bought the 6x16 WWW Cokers radials for my 47 coupe.  Also bought 15" 225. WWW radials for the 55 Pontiac.  On the coupe I have no trouble turning the wheels even when stopped.  Makes manual steering easy.

[Dan Hiebert]

From the Technical Tips tab on this site:

 

"Original sizes are 100 series aspect ratio, that is, the section width equals height from rim to tread. So, a 6.50-16 is nominally 6.5" wide, 6.5" high on a 16 inch rim. To determine what modern tire size is needed do the following calculation: 6.5 inches X 2 (tire height) + 16 inches (rim height) = 29" tall tire. The closest modern equivalent to the 100 series is a 85 series aspect ratio tire. Match up the tire tread width and tire height to the 85 series tire specifications and you will see what choices are available. Usually they will run in the range of a 205 to 225 size."

 

The same tire height (or as close as possible) between the bias plies and radials is what's "needed" to fit in the wheel wells and have the speedometer read about the same as with the original bias ply tires if you don't change the speedo gearing.  I've changed tire sizes from factory supplied 205s to 225s (27.11" to 28.29" respectively) on at least two other vehicles and had a noticeable difference in the indicated highway speeds vs. actual speed - enough to get a citation in some jurisdictions, i.e., speedo will indicate 55 and you're actually going 60.  If you're not worried about that aspect, then it comes down to personal preference on how they look on the car.  The above formula is for bias ply tires, all the dealers (incl. Coker) that I've perused will list the tire heights so you don't have to do that math (good for me).

 

I haven't made the transition yet, (that's this year's project), but I know many folks that have, including many on this Forum.  I've heard no complaints (save for Greg's issue) regarding tire perfmance - all of the brands you mentioned are good tires, and again, I think it comes down to which tread pattern you think is most appealing to you (some don't notice that, but I do).  (And price, of course.)      

[greg g]

Try to keep the revs per mile as near as possible to original size.

 

http://carnut.com/specs/tires.html

Edited April 18, 2020 by greg g

[Ulu]

Regarding the split valve stem, Krazy Glue or similar works great for emergency repairs on this sort of thing and it will also fix punctured inner tubes and flapping sidewall bits.

 

Use the thin stuff, Rather than the gel formula, and coat thinly, holding the split open slightly to dry and put an extra drop on & stick it together forever.

 

Less is more, and when this is done correctly you cannot pull it apart, but the rubber itself will tear instead, elsewhere.

 

This also works great for repairing torn driveshaft boots, bellows and seals, after you get the grease off of the wound.