Customs 40's era Customs tire size

Doing a search through the message board hasn't given too much information on the usual tire size the early customs usually rode? I know there were not a lot of tire size choices as there are today and obviously there were bias ply only. I am looking for information on what is good tire size setup for the 40's era customs on the late 30's early 40's cars. Was the norm, the 16 inch rim? Whitewalls are usually more associated with customs than hot rods. Were different sizes used, taller in front, smaller in the rear to help with stance? I see a lot of beautiful pics of cars with the early motorboat stance thats imperative to achieve. If anybody can chime in on what tire sizes are the most common for the custom look. Currently I am running 6.00-16's on my 37 Ford but the front's could look to be a bit taller.


-Fryguy

 

I plan to run 6.50x16's all around.... shooting for 1946 build timeframe...
remember... they don;t need to be too low in that time period... the 650's fill out the wheel well nicely

I just put some on a '39 Ford and they seem to clear the fenders pretty well...so I would assume they will on a '37 also...

Good luck
Zach

I would guess these are 6.50x16... but hard to tell... good example of a real early custom though...



Here's some 6.50's on my '39 Ford... not lowered or anything....

 

I got 6.50 16's on my 35. Theres a pic in my album.

 

I used 600-16s all around on my '36 when it was in taildragger mode, and I thought it looked pretty right:





After looking at it for a few years, though, I finally decided that when chopped and lowered, the car looks smaller, and the 16 inch wheels seemed a little too tall for my taste. If I had it to do over, I think I'd have run 15s in the interest of scale.

 

I always read 6.10's were the perfect fit?

 

Here's some 6.50's on my '39 Ford... not lowered or anything....
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Wow, now that is cool!

 

I'm running 650-16's on my Buick. That was the stock size for the car and many (most) other GM cars from the late 1930's through the early '50s it seems.

Then again, a lot of the 'performance' minded cars used a 15" wheel (ie the Buick Century). I'd go so far to say that a lot of customs swapped out for 15"ers too since many period pics show Caddy sombrerros as the wheel cover of choice, and with notable exception, those were all for 15" wheels.

I'd go for a 650-16, or 700-15.

 

Now thats a beautiful car with a nice stance. Is the front of your car lowered and if so, how much?

 

Thanks! It had a dropped axle and reversed eye front spring. I think it was 4-5" lower than stock in front.