tires

[loveoldiron]

im looking to put some new tires on my 49 d24 4door with the original wheels, what size and manufacturer should i go with and im on a budget. thanks for any advice.

[greg g]

If they are 15's and you aren't going for a pure vintage look radials in 215 75 15 are a close match in diameter to the original 6.70/700 15 bias plies. Just go to Wally world and buy what ever is least expensive. I got some Uniroyals about 5 years ago for 35 each. Their only detrimental factor is that they steer real hard at rest.

[loveoldiron]

we got some michelin 215 75 15 for it and nobody can seem to make them work. we tried with new tubes and the tire didnt seem to seat the bead very well. we also tried some oversized valve stems and tried putting them on without tubes that didnt work either. everybody says to buy new wheels but we really want to use the originals with the dog dish caps. im not sure what to do.

[Young Ed]

I've got that same size radial on my factory rims too. No issues with mounting tubeless.

[Plymouthy Adams]

When mounted and air to proper pressure, where did the tire leak, around the bead? Did this get wire brushed down good...? The tire should seat to the bead..sealing may be the issue..chances are demounting these..dressing the bead seat with a wire brush and sealing the surface with a good paint will work wonders.

[greg g]

Well michelins are notorious for being hard and having stiff sidewalls. If your rim's inner surfaces aren't clean and rust free, the beads won't seat well. If your rims are riveted some of the rivets might leak, and if the rims have oval stem holes, you need to use the 2 piece screwon metal valve stem. They should work without tubes ans hould fit the side beads without difficulties.

[Uncle-Pekka]

I bought a set of Dean Alpha 365 215/75 R15 w. narrow w.w. for $50/each, total $247 incl. shipping from Vulcan Tire. Have not mounted yet, because I have to sandblast & paint the rims first and now it is season to drive rather than stand on the blocks...

Anyway, the tires "look allright" (sounds stupid thing to say, doesn't it...) and the price is right...

I'll keep you up-dated as soon as I'll get to test them on the road.

[greg g]

I just put aset of Dean Alpha's on my Jetta. I got them from a friend who had them on his new beetle and sold the car. They are 245 55 16's on alloy rims. They are the same diameter as the stock michelin 195 65 15 but a bit wider. (probably screw up my gas milage but for 100 bucks for the 4 with wheels I couldn;t resist) Any way, they are noisey over anything but the smothest pavement. I put a bit more air in them (36 psi) and they quieted down some. noise might be related to low sidwalls who knows. Any way I had never heard of Dean tires apparently they are a house brand made by Dunlop.

They are round black and hold air so so far they are doing their job.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I know about noise on them little wide 15's Greg..on my GLH I had Goodyears as factory..not a favorite and happy to remove them..they were a tad noisy..the Avons however were super quiet but soft and low mileage tires...I found an excellent between tire with the BF Goodrich T/A Radials...

[loveoldiron]

thanks for all the info guys we will get to work on the wheels and get some screw in stems a give it another go ill let you know how it goes.

[Uncle-Pekka]

Hi Y'all,

I promised to share my experience on cheap Dean Alpha 215/75R15 tires I bought from Vulcan Tire net shop.

Well, I mounted them on my original but sandblasted & acrylic painted rims on Sunday past. Here's how they look:

- without beauty rim:

[/url]

...and with the chrome rim (from Capital Wheels at $20/set of four):

And they DID IMPROVE the driving BIG TIME!

Now I do not need to STEER on a straight road as I used to had to running my old bias ply tires(*. Still I have to admit, the bias ply tires looked much better...

*)...before anyone will ask: YES, of course, also cornering and driving on curved roads is much more precise & feels safer.

Alltogether, (after driving a 200miles trip and a couple of days in town), I feel definete to buy this brand at that price ($50/apiece) for my other rides as well when the time comes to replace the tires.

[BobT-47P15]

Pekka.....wonder how it would look to use that white tire paint that's

available and widen the whitewall down to the rim. Paint over the white

plus the black. Just a far out thought.

Your wheel looks great.

I'm surprise nobody has yet asked.....how did you do the stripes????

[krodaddy]

If your rims are riveted some of the rivets might leak, and if the rims have oval stem holes, you need to use the 2 piece screwon metal valve stem.

\

What's the deal with oval valve stem holes? I just pulled the wheels off my parts car and 3 out of the 4 have oval holes with tubes on the inside.

Can I weld them closed and drill new holes the correct size to use modern valve stems?

Where can I get the 2 piece screw on type? NAPA?

These wheels are in better shape than the ones on my 52, so I want to use them.

Barry

[Dennis Hemingway]

I have found the 2 piece screw on type valve stems at the local truck stop and at older tire stores.

Dennis

[BloodyKnuckles]

You can definately weld up an redrill the holes.

I picked up a sweet set of oval, 2-piece, brass, valve stems from Discount tire for about $5 each. They work great, easy to install and are re-useable. I've had my tires mounted for about 4 years and haven't had an issue yet. I would also use a poly-butel sealant on the rivets as said previously.

Good luck

BloodyKnuckles

[Normspeed]

OOOOOOOhhhhh yeah, Uncle Pekka, the trim rings look great with that combo. I had a great handling and ride improvement when I went to radials.

BK, the rim color matching the scallops is great.

Anyone in picking-up range of me, I have 2 1950 Plym 15" rims with the oval holes, they have old tube tires on them and are holding air. Free if you want to come get 'em. They are copper color and have the hubcap clips intact.

[Uncle-Pekka]

Pekka.....wonder how it would look to use that white tire paint that's

available and widen the whitewall down to the rim. Paint over the white

plus the black. Just a far out thought.

Your wheel looks great.

I'm surprise nobody has yet asked.....how did you do the stripes????

Thanks Bob,

The narrow ww is raised on the tire and there is raised black lettering on the outer diameter as well, thus I am uneasy to try widening the white...

I kind of like the narrow white - After all, this is a Dodge, not a Packard.

I did the stripes with a striping paint roller tool, not the exact same as in below link, but similar with one wheel. The tool was old and crappy, thus the job was kind of difficult. To be true to original, there should have been three stripes, each ca. 3/32" wide - but making two equispaced was such a job, that I quit at that point. I will buy a better tool and maybe do it better in the winter coming...

/Pekka

the striping tool link:

http://www.dickblick.com/zz289/08/

[Lou Earle]

I had 16 inch rims on my 47 4 door . Hard and expensive to find 205/75/16- coker about 140 each delivered. Got a set of 15 inch rims and put 205 /75/15 on the 47 - work great 60 each at wally world- just ran them on 100 mile trip on interstate- 70 mph- did fine -20 mpg with overdrive- very pleased.

One rim had a bad rusted hole for the stem. Go to tractor supply or any tire store that has tractor tires and get a stem that allows water to be added to the tire as an option- it has a great sealing system fro the worn hole. I put that on- that stem also take air- and worked great.

the 205 75 15 appear to be the exact same size as the 600 or 650 16's.

Also the speedometer is very accurate - 60 is 60

Lou