'52 F-1 pickup tire question

B

Bruce_MO

Well-known member
It's time to replace the tires I put on my '52 F-1 a number of years ago. I got a good deal on some 6-ply 7.50 X 16 tires originally, but I never liked the fact that it made the truck sit more like an F-2 because they're so large. And the flat spots from sitting a long time in cool weather take a mile to work themselves out; sometimes it's like driving down a flight of stairs for the first few minutes.

I want to buy some Firestones that are more like OEM tires for a 1/2 ton pickup. Before I call Coker to see what they would specify, I thought I see what feedback some of you F-1 owners might recommend. Any suggestions and Firestone part numbers would be approeciated.

Thanks
 
There's lots of tire websites that let you sort by tire diameter and wheel size. I'd try to find something comparable that way.

I'm assuming you want to keep the bias ply option?

I ran 6.50X16s on my F-1 for a few years. You can see them in my photo gallery. Last summer I switched to 215/75/15 in the front and 235/75/15s in the back for a more hot rod look.
 
My truck didn't come to me with 16's, it had 15's on it. Because original wheels are hard to come by and are narrow, I decided to stick with 15's. I went with modern 235/75-15 Goodyear RT/S all-seasons and while they look like truck tires, they ride like a dream compared to a bias ply. I have absolutely no complaints about them, and they were $525 a set. I'm running '80's Ford F-150 wheels, so I can't use "innie" hubcaps, am using '54 Mainliner (car) caps, looks good to me. I like the modern rims' safety features.
 

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Caution should be the rule in selecting tires for your truck, actually for any vehicle.
Recent laws that pertain to tires can be very costly because the tires you purchased "last year" were actually four years old, and thereby can't be serviced by a tire shop.
If you are not trying to be dead stock, which I would assume you are not if you have 750 x 16 tires on the truck now. I would suggest that you pick up a set of '57 to '66 F-100 15" wheels, they will be 5.5" to 6'o" wide and will accept your stock hub caps. Then purchase a set of LT235/75R 15's.. You will have to have the front end alignment corrected slightly for the radials, and you will need to add a hydraulic steering dampner on the tie rod, however, you'll love how the truck drives and looks.
I've ran this size of tires and wheels on my Ford pickups for the past 20+ years.
You can also use the '66-96 F100 wheels, they to will be 15", however, they'll be in the 6'5" range and your stock hub caps will not fit. The '80's-'96 F150 wheels are HD, very desirable, except for the hub cap issue.
I would suggest that you avoid using the earlier '47-48 Merc, narrow 15" wheels.
 
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I got 15" Wheel Vintique Gennie wheels from Summit Racing. They take the original cap and were about $70 a piece. I messed around collecting old used wheels for a while and should have just spent the money up front for new ones.
 
The specs for F-1's thru F-3's as far as toe-in are basically dead-ahead (0 to 1/16" toe-in), and I find after some experimenting that that is exactly what the radials like.

I have had a couple of the original wheels (both 15" and 16") and their riveted construction gave me no confidence, especially considering the rust that inner tubes seem to foster. It's a crap-shoot whether they will be OK running tubeless, too.
 
Allow me to approach this differently...what tires were standard on an F-1 in '52? Thanks for everyone's comments.
 
I run 6.50/16 bias ply with stock rims on my F1. Some years ago I had a front rim split 1/3 of the way around while driving at 30 mph. Very attention grabbing with violent vibration. Just glad I wasn't driving at 60 mph ...
 
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