Replacement tires for 41-48 ford convertible

flathead47

flathead47

Member
The 6.00-16 tires need replacement.
Looking at diamondbacks auburns. Will be going with big and little look.
What are some of the combos you are using. Rims are stock.
I am thinking 5.50R-16 or 6.00R-16 on the front and 6.50R-16 or 7.00R-16 on the rear.
Pictures if you have , pro’s or con’s
Thanks,
Flathead47
 
flathead47,i put modern radials 225/75R 16" blackwalls from amazon1yr ago this spring.$107.00 each.had local tire shop mount on my orig.'37 fordor rivetted wide five wheels.what a difference from the nine yr old bias ply tires that were on the the car when i got it over 4 yrs ago. have not leaked at all and the tires are tubeless! i wondered how blackwalls would look after having wide whites,but i kinda like the rum runner look. Tom.
 
farmertom, what is the width of these rims?
What tire pressure are you running?
What is the tire side bulge like with these rims.
Thanks
 
Not sure how helpful this is since I have a '40. But I am running Diamondback Auburns on the later 42-48 rims. Rear is 7:00x16 and front is 5:50x16. Car is not lowered.

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544453
 

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flathead47,the oe rims on my '37 i believe are 41/2" wide.they had 6.50x16" bias ply tube type not the exspensive bias ply look radials. im sure the rims on your car are wider and welded and wider than mine maybe 51/2"? some say on here my wheels being riveted and narrow and not having a "safety bead" to keep the modern radial from walking off the rim in turns. i havn't had that problem. i don't drive the car any faster than 50mph on straight and maybe 25 or slower in turns. those others have said also that the riveted wheels would leak air as well ,but have not since mounted.the tire sop that mounted them put that black sealant on inside every rivet. i beliueve it was nthe stuff that they use on alum.rims that are badly pitted around bead area.when i researched the tires on amazon that size i ordered was closest in dimention to original tire size other than when mounted the radials are a little bulgier than the bias ply. i didnt want to spend the dollars on those bias look radials. hope this description helps. ive looked the ntires over alot and the dont seem to rub on front fenders at all.fine on back as well. hard to tell from pics of the Zax40 but those tires he has on his car look to have less clearance than my '37 could be desieving. Tom.
 
Flathead47,if you want to see the modern radials and the before pics of the 9 yr. old bias plys pete hoovies enlarged pics on page 1 and 2 go to statics in my profile page then click on posts by farmertom find out more about my '37. date was 2/23/24#21 there are 2 pages. i do run 35-36 psi. they ride,brake,steer so much better than the bias plys. mind you the old bias plys i removed were not those bias ply look radials.like i have said before i wasn't looking for a correct show winner i wanted all aspects stated above for best price.the bias look radials that the suplyers sell would have cost me some where in neiborhood of $1200,00 the modern radials i settled on were $420.00 plus mounting at the time couple yrs ago. hopes this helps,Tom.PS. I drive my '37 almost every day,weather permitting up to around 40ish degrees F. no sand and salt
 
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farmertom said:
flathead47,i put modern radials 225/75R 16" blackwalls from amazon1yr ago this spring.$107.00 each.had local tire shop mount on my orig.'37 fordor rivetted wide five wheels.what a difference from the nine yr old bias ply tires that were on the the car when i got it over 4 yrs ago. have not leaked at all and the tires are tubeless! i wondered how blackwalls would look after having wide whites,but i kinda like the rum runner look. Tom.
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I am thinking of replacing the bias tires with whitewall radials. I want to keep the original size tires, though. I've heard that the radial tires will GREATLY smooth out the ride, and my 47 rides like a tank.
 
Old College Kid said:
I am thinking of replacing the bias tires with whitewall radials. I want to keep the original size tires, though. I've heard that the radial tires will GREATLY smooth out the ride, and my 47 rides like a tank.
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the modern radials which are a cooper brand i got off amazon for 108 bucks ea.which i saw now afew weeks ago are $96.ea. now. not sure if they come in a white wall. i like the way they look on my '37 rum runner.red wheels,stock hub caps,red pin stripe,black car. and i'm running them tubless and not balanced. the'37 rides a lot better,brakes,and stops better as well. Tom.
 
flathead47 said:
Looking at diamondbacks auburns....pro’s or con’s
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Bought a set of these a couple years ago. Car drives like it's on rails. Very high quality, unlike the 'square' tires some other reproduction vendors sell. If you want the traditional pie crust sidewall look, these are the ones.
 
Narrow whitewalls are readily available on current radials at about the same cost as blackwalls. They just don't look right on the older cars. When you get to wide whites, the price goes through the roof. The newly released Kontio tires are a bit cheaper and, from all reports, are very good tires. I'm putting a set on the '51 when I get back to Minnesota.
 
Unfortunately the economy of scale for white walls and the additional cost to add a white wall isn't there for us.

-Conrad
 
SoCalCoupe said:
Bought a set of these a couple years ago. Car drives like it's on rails. Very high quality, unlike the 'square' tires some other reproduction vendors sell. If you want the traditional pie crust sidewall look, these are the ones.
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I went the same route with the same results. They look really good on my '42 Mercury coupe. The only thing I was not sure of was the tread pattern, which is a bit course. I have not figured how much pressure I should run in them, I am at 32psi now.
 
I need tires on both my Corvette and Ford when I get back to Minnesota. Coincedently, they both use 205/75R15.

Corvette - Generic white stripes <$400

Ford - Kontio wide whites >$1000

I hope I get back before the tariffs kick in.
 
tubman said:
I need tires on both my Corvette and Ford when I get back to Minnesota. Coincedently, they both use 205/75R15.

Corvette - Generic white stripes <$400

Ford - Kontio wide whites >$1000

I hope I get back before the tariffs kick in.
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Tubman - Right! Unfortunately tariffs will impact most of the repro parts for our cars because they're all mostly not made in the U.S. anymore.

-Conrad
 
Conrad Rossi said:
Tubman - Right! Unfortunately tariffs will impact most of the repro parts for our cars because they're all mostly not made in the U.S. anymore.

-Conrad
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Neither are tires. The Kontios are made in Finland (of all places) and most others usually in Asia.
 
I remember many years back your could get people, with special machines, to come and grind a recessed band around your tyre. They then filled it with a white, presumably rubber. compound.

The tyres looked quite good but I have no real idea how long they lasted.
I had it done to cars when I was tidying them up for sale.

(I had real white walls on my tyres)

Geoff
 
47 Fordguy
I'm looking to buy new tires for our 47 convertible. How does your car drive, handle, and ride with the new tires.
Bud
 

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if one hasn't driven a car designed for four tires of the same size, that was then shod with tires that were taller in back than in front, then it might be wise to think very carefully about mis-matched tire sizes, unless the plan was to not drive the car more than 50 MPH or corner very rapidly.

i tried it on my 2001 dodge ram pickup soon after purchase. they were just a little taller in back, and the oversteer was positively dangerous at anything over 50mph. i had the same experience with my '53 MG too, although it was anticipated. a slightly larger tire in back adds an enormous amount of oversteer on cars, IME, that are not designed for it.

OTOH, i recently sold an Aston Martin that was designed for taller and wider
tires in back and the handling was exceptional. ...just beware.

BTW, all the tires were radials.

and i should mention that my new-to-me '41 convertible with standard sized bias-plys probably comes in last compared to any car i have ever owned WRT handling. not that i expected anything more, but my '67 Jaguar Mk2 is not far behind! ha
 
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