American Classic Vs Excelsior radials

35fordtn

35fordtn

Well-known member
Guys I am about to buy two sets of tires for two of my"A"'s I am wondering if you guys prefer the American Classic radials or the Excelsiors? These are not show cars so ride quality is more important to me than appearance of price.
Also for the Excelsiors, do the 550's fit ok or should i stick with the 500's?
Thanks for the input
 
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I'd be surprised if you got opinions from anyone who had actually used both brands. Everyone I can recall saying they installed radials, either it was their first set or they were using the same brand on everything.

If price is no object, the Excelsiors are wider, and I think it's easier to source radial-approved tubes for them. Tube sourcing is an issue these days with all the supply chain problems.
 
I have 20K miles on Excelsiors on a Roadster. Four are great and wearing as expected. The other two have a shake, maybe because they’ve been in the side mounts. I gave up on them last rotation and put the good four back on. We have a Tudor with American Classics @ about 10K. I like the Excelsiors better because the AC’s sidewalls flex more and can “wag” in a curve. I remember this complaint about radials back in the 60’s. Once I got used to it, no problem. I like the “big” tires. I love the radial ride. I would/will buy the Excelsiors again.
 
I am running Coker’s tubes. Rubber stems in the Excelsiors and ‘31-style metal stems in the AC’s. No problem except you need to glue (tubeless tar in a can) the tire bead to the rim if you powdercoat your wheels. Slick rims have caused tire slip when stopping and have torn the stems out of two tubes (one each car). I know of two other instances of this heartbreak.
 
Google “tubeless tire rim seal.” It comes in a can with a brush in the cap. A few dabs around the rim will do it. Let it set up before you do any burnouts!
 
Someone reported elsewhere that the 550s sometimes require modification of the side-mount spare carrier in order to get them to slide properly into the well. They work fine as tires though.
 
I mounted the tire, inflated it, deflated it, broke the backside bead an applied a good dollop in five or six places between the tire bead and the rim. My buddy, who also “lost” a valve stem, used a wire wheel on a drill motor to skiff the inside lip of the rim all the way around. Both methods seem to work.
 
I ground odd the but that holds the lug in the mounting plate on the side Mount arm and knocked them out. (Carefully.). Now I wiggle the tire into the fender and push the bolts through. The square shank/hole keep the bolt from turning when I tighten the lug nuts.
 
I can't speak to the American Classics, but I can confirm my experience with the 550R19 Excelsiors. I now have about 15K miles on them with absolutely no problems. They have stayed on the powder coated wheels with no slippage or damage to the rubber stemmed tubes. As to the tire fitting the side mount, it fits much better than the 475x19 Firestones I had previously. While I still had the firestones I had modified the mounting bolts by knocking the studs out, welding a nut on the back side of the plate, then modifying the lug nuts by making them "lug Bolts". But this was done while I still had Firestones.
 
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