Thanks. I was originally looking for something similar to what you have; I was going to do the 1000HP 427 thing on a TCI chassis, but I stumbled on this Roadster and after some back-and-forth thinking - the decision was made to leave it alone. I'm running an H & H Super Stroker Flathead. I do have a 383 stroker in my rock-crawler, Edelbrock Pro-flo, and lots of gears. The 383 stroker is a great engine. Like I said - there's a lot of room in those front fenders. Have you looked at the width of your axle to see if maybe it's pushed the wheels too close to the outside edge of the fenders? I could give you the kingpin to kingpin measurement of mine. I could probably figure the center of spindle to bottom of the fender arc as well.
At the ride height I have there is not a lot of room. Like I said I can barely fit my hand between the tire and fender. I have already removed the fender brace at the top of the fender for clearance. My rub is very slight only on turning right on a bump. At this point I am thinking the Excelsior Stahl sport radial 500R16 at 25" tall is the tire unless I find something else. Although not available from Coker until Nov/Dec
How about something like these...available in a 5.00-16 bias ply, black wall or small whitewall. I didn't check availability. Granted, they're for a motorcycle, but I'm thinking if you don't tell the tires, maybe they'll never know (though they may be too rounded in cross section?). https://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tu...nko-super-classic-270-motorcycle-tire/p/43949
I've got to agree with Alchemy Wrong wheels for what fru fru and trinkets are on the car. Plus on that car those wheels turn the car into a background for a wheel add rather than being a contributing part of the total look. That's hard to to do on a bright red car but that's what I see.
You need to watch load rating on the bike tires. That specific tire is only rated for 717 lbs. The other issue is bike tires aren't known for their longevity; 10K miles is good, many are less.
Getting tires is tough - like every other thing now days. We might have the 5.00's stashed in the warehouse -unless they found their way onto another car. The problem is they are the Firestone "Pie Crust" tire. Good luck getting those tires.
I did find this 175/60R/16 which is 24.3" which would be pretty much perfect and in stock. What think you??
So, are you after simply a smaller tire or also an improvement in ride/handling? If you go off the reservation and into metric sizes you'll find more choices. A 185/55R-16 comes in at 24" diameter and will fit on a 5.5-7" wide wheel. That's as short as you'll find in a 16". This will give a bit larger footprint also. A fairly common size, you won't have any trouble finding them. And not expensive either.
Yes to the above, better handling and more clearance when comparing to my dirt track tires. The 175/60/16 was the narrowest I could find as I like that look on my 5" wide wheel. It is also less square looking for a modern tire. Better price too. Just curious if I am totally off track or?
Radials with those wheels would be my choice. Then you'll need to go radial on rear's also. Another dilemma finding a radial with a tall enough sidewall to fill the rear fender. Good luck. Bloody nice car by the way.
Thx. I am aware of the "don't mix radial and bias ply", but I have done it before. I found that a skinny radial up front doesn't seem to outperform a wide bias ply out back. I am keeping my cheater slicks as I really like the look. Hence my indecision on a perfect sized modern tire or a slightly taller bias ply looking radial for the front.
Let me get myself in trouble here. How about running 16" space saver spare tires? Yes, I am fully aware that they have "for temporary use only" written right on them. I found one that says t145/d16 that has an outside diameter of 23 1/2". I also have genuine street legal Firestone 125r 15 tires that have a diameter of 23". I don't see where the spares are any poorer constructed than the Firestones. I would think that the temporary use declaration is for their intended use as a spare where the tire on the opposing side is a larger diameter and it throws the dynamics of the car out of whack. If you have both sides with these tires, what would be the issue? Before the stone throwing begins, I will add that these little tires are intended for my '34 Austin which is a very small car.
If improved handling is one of the goals, a extra-skinny tire won't be a help. I wouldn't hesitate to mount a 185/55R-16 on a 5" wide wheel or mix radials and biasply in this instance; it's been done for years under these parameters. You may not get the exact 'look' you're after, but you'd be more likely to get the results you want. Sometimes compromises are the only way out...
I have previously run Excelsior 500/16 on the front that handled well. That is my comparison to the dirt track tires.
Be aware that a smaller diameter tire will give you more clearance under the fender, but will also lower the ride height. Make sure you have enough ground clearance to accommodate the drop.
It's just advice, take it or leave it. I didn't see anything that should offend............ Some of the guys answering just might actually have a great deal of knowledge to pass on, but if you flip them off you will never know.........
The part you are missing is he didn’t ask for opinions, he asked a specific question, instead he got told what he should do, either way thanks for your input which ironically was criticizing me for offering my opinion!
All the posts before your first comment, except mine, recommended a tire. My post about maybe needing a taller tire stemmed from the OP's comment that the current tires "don't handle the best", and the fact that a taller tire will be an improvement in this respect. Then you stepped in with the first irrelevant and unrelated post, and here we are.........................
woops shouldn't have posted that...now that we know the original paint is under there ...can I come by later with some oven cleaner and get to work on that red paint ala iron trap garage? jk sweet car man! we'll just pretend you said Packard 383 and warford trans...lol back to the tires
Too funny. This was the 350 engine I originally ran using the short block it came with. Dressed it up with the deuces and other bolt ons. Ran it for a number of years.
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