Projects whitewalls or blackwalls for late 50's build??

hey guys, I'm building a 32 coupster circa 1959. I'm starting to get into final fitment and it's coming apart for blasting and bodywork. I'm about ready to order up some tires and would like a little help.
I'm thinking about going blackwalls with this car..definitely firestone deluxe. would whitewalls still be the tire of choice in 1959?? the car will be 1939 garnet maroon with a white carson top and firewall.
I want 750/16's for the rear to fill up the wheel well area, even the 8.20's I stole for this mock up don't look too big!

For the fronts I like the 600/16's that are in the mock up.. but I'm not opposed to something a little smaller something like a 550/16 would be perfect. I also have 15" rims. anyone know the sizes that match the 750/16's?? I've seen conflicting images and don't want to order mismatched tires.


block huggers are gone fyi lol.



this is the tread I want

 

The modern traditional builds today are a mix of too many decades, that is why they don't look at all like the old pictures show.

A guy who wanted the new modern Chevy V8 in 1959 and had the money to do that, would want modern new tires and more modern wheel sizes, not 15 to 20 year old 16" huge whitewalls from the junkyard on a 1940 Packard. There were no 16 tires made in 59 with the huge whitewalls, and bias only lasted 15,000 miles or so, so finding good used ancient ones would be impossible.

That car would have had 15" front and back. Most ran whites with full wheel covers. Whitewall widths were 2 to 2.5", and you could look for old pictures of brand new tire ads in 1959 or look for new factory 1959 cars to see for yourself.

I have a 59-60 built open wheel car from Boston with it's original front tires still on it. They are 6.70/15 with about 2 to 2.5 inch whites. Don't know what the rears were, but it had an Olds rear end,(and Olds V8) so it would not have been 16".

"Most" rods in old pics did not have a huge difference in front to rear tire size. No tiny fronts, and no huge oversized rears.

one more thing overlooked by 1959, is that they wanted the modern style steering wheel with a dish, rather than an outdated 1930s-40 steering wheel. ... also, As far as many parts of the country in 59, most new builds would not have been built as highboys, but an old flathead highboy rod might have gotten a new Chevy/etc motor swap.

 

the bold is exactly the scenario I'm building towards.... 39 trans... 47 rear... f100 box... steering wheel is an old cast aluminum boat wheel... rams horns, generator... etc. like a car built in 1954 that had it's motor swapped out.... I may swap out the 283 for a flathead sometime in the future if one presents itself to complete the 1954 look

the skinny whites on 15's is exactly what I didn't want to hear as an option.. bleh!

I want the bigger rear tires to fill the wheel well area visually.... I have 600/16 on the front and 650/16 on the back right now and the tires look completely out of proportion. I'm not really looking for a rubber rake, just to make it look right aesthetically if that makes sense

 

I agree with F&J above, 16's would have looked out of place or dated in 1959, the same way 15" billet wheels and heartbeat graphics look on a car today. Stick with the 15" rims, maybe cheater slicks and some 6.70 15" tires for the front might fill up your wheelwells and still look period appropriate.

 

I went for a late 50's style and I run 600-16 up front and 750-16 rear no white walls. The thing about the 750-16 Firestone tire is they now have a big rib on one side of the sidewall, I bought a set and mounted them up, looked like crap. I had to send them back they made the tread look off center from the rear of the car.

 

I would suggest getting ahold of some old late 50's Hot Rod magazines or little books and take your que from the actual time period you are asking about.

 

any pictures of the 750's from the rear??

good call, I should raid my uncles stash of little books... it's been a while.

I am a little bit torn on this issue as you can see. I like the history of the car from 1960 but I like the earlier style a bit more. my ultimate wish list is to find a good early flathead and make an overhead valve conversion for it.

on a side note, summit has free shipping on coker tires... anyone have a discount coupon code for them??

 

My suggestion too. White walls or no white walls, it's really your choice. A 59 Chevy steering wheel and 57 Caddy caps was another choice. A 1959 "Little Pages" magazine holds all the answers.

 

This is good advice, and you will see that F&J is bang on. 16's were passé by '59.

 

And I also see that I type slow....

 

34 & earlier, blackwalls. Anything later up to around 53, wide whitewalls. Whitewalls just don't look right on early tin.

 

Black walls!!

 

Either would work.. I do believe you could still buy wide white 16" tires in 1959.. There were still a lot of 40's daily drivers running the streets and they needed 16" tires.. I think the more beater rods ran black walls but the nicer finished highboys and fendered rods were still running white walls so I think it's really up to you which you prefer.. Cool highboy by the way...

 

ok... so it sounds like none of the options I want are perfect... I can live with that.

anyone know if the 5.50/16 firestone deluxe matches the 750/16??

also, since I also have 15" rims.. is there similar sized 15" front tire that matches the 750/16??

 

Late 50's makes me think 15's with full wheel covers like Caddy sombreros or Olds hub caps. Looks killer as is though!

 

search my latest posts someone chimed in and posted photos of the same problem tire.

 

Its a hot rod or custom thats whats its about do what you like black or white,can you imagine EL MATADOR with black walls or Two lane black top Chevy with white?

 

Heres my two cents. Get the set you really like(say the blackwalls) and then down the road get the whitewalls. Mix it up and run one set for the first part of the summer and then put your other set on. Your hot rod should have more than one pair of shoes. This is my T modified with steelies and coker radials and with wires and firestone 5.00 and 7.00s

 

How about post your pic over on the Photoshop thread - ask them to 'paint' the car the colour you want, then add a set of whitewalls and another with blackwalls so you can choose which you like. If you want to try your luck, you can even ask if they can stick on some Sombreros or your other fave hubcap.
As for trying to perfectly emulate 1959, it's not a 100 point concourse restored car (unless I'm mistaken), so just do what you want. Even the traditional police wouldn't get hung up on 15's vs 16's .............................................. or would they?
BTW, I do like your car. Please post us up some pics when you're finished.
Cheers.

 

wish I had some better side shots that I could bring over to the photoshop thread... I should take some good final mock up pics and throw a sheet over the carson top to get a good idea how that will look too. would be nice to see a comparison in color of the white vs black sidewalls and even the full caps

 

A non-fendered car needs SMALL tires on the front...5.50 or 5.60 ..A FAT front tire looks like shit on a non-fendered car

 

Looks great in the above pic. What engine is in it?

 

Do what makes you happy. It's not like you're pouring concrete. It's an easy change and not terribly expensive!

 

F&J says it all.
If you want a genuine 59 look it is 15 inch wheels with wheelcovers and whitewalls.
And not to big difference front and back. 8,00 to 8,20 in the back and 7,10-7,60 in front.
And a build from 54 would have whitewalls to on a street driven car.
You can take any magasine from 50 - 63 and allmost all cars have whitewalls and
hubcaps/wheelcover thats are build for the street.
With that say you could just build a cool hotrod inspired by the era and use what you want.
The car would look great but not era correct.
EDIT/ For a 54 look the front and rear wheels should be the same size about
6,70-7,50 x 16 and whitewalls.

 

This is that grey area so many sweat about. A big part of me says fuck it and build what feels right. If you want to go back, emulate a time for whatever reason, it's worth the research through old books. The only way to handle it right is when it's done. "I made it just exactly as if it was 1959.", or, "I was inspired by the late 50s to early 60s build style". If you say the 1st then deal with the flak, the 2nd, who gives a shit. You have it, it's yours, you built it for that guy over the top of your bathroom sink. My opinion is wide whites and never look back. The white firewall and top almost demand it from an aesthetic point of view. Full wheel covers will seal the deal. It would also "feel" right to even the most casual observer. Whether we acknowledge it or not all of us look for the approval of our peers but that doesn't mean we have change ourselves to suit them. That car is totally kool. Real right coast/midwest vibe happening there.

 

I was in high school in L.A. in the late '50's. Everyone WANTED 15" wheels, but they were not so easy to find at a good price, especially 6 lug chev and early Ford. Most guys around our area ran whitewalls and many were the "Mickey Mouse" type. The guys with money or sticky fingers ran Olds Fiestas or Dodge Lancer hubcaps. The rest of us popped the dog dish hubcaps off and painted the wheels red. Around '58-'59 we started seeing chrome reversed wheels but that was high bucks. I was running black rims with whitewalls on my '40 coupe.

 

For a 1959 hot rod build, 15" wheels would be the norm. Fronts would be 5.90/6.00x15, with a 6.40 on the large side or a 5.60 on the small side. For the rear, a 7.60 or 8.20x15 would be the choice. For a 1940's or 1950's car in 1959, 6.40, 6.70, and 7.10 x 15 would be normal sizing all around, maybe larger for a luxury car. White walls were popular, but black was still ok for a hot rod.

That is my memory for that era, coming from northern CA and reading Hot Rod Magazine, which heavily reflected southern CA area trends.

Just a note, by 1957, 14" wheels and tires were standard on new cars.

 

Go with the white walls if your are staying fenderless.

 

Depends on the car and the color. I have white walls on my coupe and I think it looks perfect. I have black walls on my roadster and I think that works as well.

 

I think this may be what they looked like in about '58-'59
These are '56 Olds wheels and caps. Firestone Deluxe Champions 7-10-15.
Many times back then the junkyard provided the engine and the wheels
and hubcaps from the same car if you were lucky.
Just my $.02