Whitewalls

29Cabriolet

29Cabriolet

Senior Member
I sense there could be a debate judging from posts I've seen that touch on this subject, so here's a couple questions to kick it off:
1. How many run whitewalls on their Model As?
2. Were factory whitewalls ever available on early Fords (A,B, V8)? If so, when?
 
No factory Whitewalls until 1934. That is why some folks don't like them on A's. In my opinion they were available during that time and well before, so if folks like them, then they are still "period correct". But to each their own, on their own cars. Not for fine point judging,
 
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29Cabriolet said:
I sense there could be a debate judging from posts I've seen that touch on this subject, so here's a couple questions to kick it off:
1. How many run whitewalls on their Model As?
2. Were factory whitewalls ever available on early Fords (A,B, V8)? If so, when?
Click to expand...

1) The trend is not a prevalent now as it was in the 60's & 70's however old habits die young. :D One observation that I have noticed is it seems the elderly are more likely to run whitewalls than the younger generation. Naturally there are exceptions to that mindset but many are now more versed in what is correct.

2) Whitewalls were not available as a OEM installed item on the Model-A. I cannot answer towards Ford's latter years but I would suspect it would have been post-depression on the majority but offered in 34 or 35. One thing to point out is most, -if not all whitewall tires that were available during the Model-A era were actually whitewalled on both sides, ...not just on one side like we find on today's 19 & 21 inch tires.
 
I have WWs on my 29 Coupe.
I like WWs on the most Prewar-Cars.
Current age 44.
greetings from Switzerland
Barney
 
I have them on my 29 Roadster. I like them, and since it is my car, then they are correct.

Current age, just older than dirt.
 
I'm 44 and my cars are 80 and 85 years old, both have black painted wire spoke rims and black firestone tires.
 
I have www on mine running '35 spoke wheels. They also came on the wheels. When I do buy new tires I will not run whitewalls simply because they are more expensive.
 
My '30 coupe currently has blackwalls. Got it that way from my friend, who was 82 when he died three yrs ago. It has less to do with taste than frugality. It will need new tires in the spring and I will probably get blackwalls to keep it original. I'm 64. (My '41 Hudson now has whitewalls, incidentally, because I like the way it looks with them).
 
Got them on my 31 roadster [avatar] & 28 Chrysler and like them..66 years young
 

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My '30 Town Sedan, '30 CCPU, and '42 Tudor have whitewalls. The Town Sedan and Tudor came that way and look nice. The CCPU is finished as a Fire Chief's car and I reasoned during the restoration that being the Chief's car would be blinged out a bit. All the rest have blackwalls.
 
I have whitewalls on my '32 roadster. They will be black when I replace them. I think you can again buy whitewalls that are white on both sides, talk about a job to keep them clean. I am 69.

Charlie Stephens
 
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Have them on my 31 Tudor Deluxe. True about factory not offering them, but a lot of authorized stuff was sold by the dealer, if the buyer wished to pay for them. That's the problem. Most folks that bought a Ford were on a budget, and WW tires were an extravagance. The economy began to stabilize by '35 so there became more of a market for those little extras. I'm 64. I have 'em on a stepdown Hudson & a 50 Cadillac.as well. Frankly, I love the look, but I think that I spend more time cleaning the WWs than with any thing else for maintenance. Curious, the folks at the Hudson Forum just asked a similar question regarding the stepdown cars (48-54). Nine out of 10 preferred WWs.
 
I have whitewalls on my coupe, black walls on the speedster. Current age 20, I think some cars & color combinations look good with them and some don't.
 
All the cars I had as a youth had whitewalls. If they didn't, we either painted them on or got those fake ones that just fit under the rim. So, since I grew up with them I have them on my '29 roadster. I like them and think they make the car look a little sportier. Or, maybe it's just a bow to the past. I think Brent is right, though, young folks don't have them and don't want them. But isn't that partly because they've never, or hardly ever, seen a late model car, the kind they would buy, with them?
 
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