If I was to run wide white slicks on the rear of my Plymouth what is the proper etiquette for the front tires? Do they need to be wide whites, front runners, bias ply whites, can they be front radial runners, etc. I'm not sure what is kosher on a 40's hot rod, I'm not planning on going custom with my car. I'm not sure if I can pull it off with the current stance, raising the rear is no biggie, but I'll have to get new springs to raise the front...I really like the current stance, but I just don't know what It'll look like with the slicks on it tucked under the rear quarter, I'm also not prepared to radius the rear wheel well. Any pics or advice would be appreciated!
I like wide whites front and rear. I have run both radial and bias ply on the front. Keep the stance where it is. Looks good.
I've been drooling over that website for a while now...I'v found some ole piecrust whites, and some recaped whites, the new ones are a little out of my price range for the time being! I'd be cool with a blackwall piecrust like the Hursts' but what I've found in my price range is white wall so that leaves me up in the air about my front tires, I would think they either need to be blackwall or fat white wall, not thin white wall? I would like to go with BiasPly's on the front to get it a little more period correct. But If it won't handle then I'll have to go back to the drawing board
I guess I should also be asking how the old recap's are gonna hold up, I believe they are older ones, what should I look for on them to make sure they are in good shape? The car is mainly for local cruising, I don't plan on driving it more than 30-40 miles very often, and if I am I can throw the slicks in the trunk for road trips.
If you run wide whites you want the front whitewall to be smaller than the rear one to look proportionate. For example, if you are running 8:00 x 15 slicks with a 3 inch whitewall and front tires of, let's say, 5:60 X 15 size, you will want about a 2 1/4 inch whitewall on those. If you have taller back tires than front runners and use the same width whitewall it makes the fronts look disproportionate and odd. You want about the same ratio of black vs white showing on both the front and rear tires. Don Here, this picture will explain it better than I can.
A nice choice to go in front of the Hurst slicks is the Firestone 6.40....it's just a bit shorter than the 6.70, which is too close to the height of the rear. The other option, a 5.60, is likely going to be too small, and look lost on that car. It will be too small to look right on a 6" or bigger wheel, too ( IMO ) so...your stuck with a 3 1/2" or 4" wheel...again, probably a bit extreme for that car on the street. The 6.40 is a good bet in front of the 8" Hurst slick. If you choose Radir, however, the smaller slick they offer is too short ( and has the funky flag pattern on it, too) but, the 8" that they offer is probably too wide, since it has something like a 12" cross-section. I just went through this...lots of months of numbers going 'round and 'round in my head! Take a look at the 6.40's and 28 x 8" Hurst's on my car...not wide whites, but...you'll get the idea. If you want a 6.70 up front, which would, admittedly look nicer on a 5" or 6" wheel, due to the the tread width, cross section, etc..., you will probably need to go a bit taller out back, like 29"...but, if you are low-ish, like me, it might rub, and I think, IIRC, the options for a 29" tire were greatly reduced, even from Hurst. I have not checked in there in a bit, though.
Yep, Dirty is right, I only used the 5:60 as a point of reference as that is what I have on my roadster. You need a taller tire on your car to look right, unless it is a gasser. Don
I'm sorry man, white wall slicks always make me think of the Beach Boys' lyrics .... "White wall slicks with racing mags She's just for looks, man, not for drags" disclaimer: Above thought does not apply to Dean's '29 RPU
As far as slicks on 1940's hot rods go, they were mainly designated for competition-only machines. During that time period, most rodders ran bald tires (Poor Mans Slicks!, I don't advise this.) Enter the mid-50's, slicks started becoming more prevalent on strip/show/street builds. But if you're still set on them, go HURST!
I don't really mean a 40's period car I'll b running a 283 SBC from the early 60's, so I would like to keep a mid to late 60's street/strip vibe! Eventually I woul like to build it strip dedicated but street legal, but I don't have the budget for that and I would like to enjoy it on the street till I can afford to have another street driven project! When ever that may be!
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