White Walls

[Beemon]

What were white wall height for 56 (same as 54,55?)? 2 3/4? I ask because someone near me is selling 4 new Diamondback Radials 235/75R15 with 3 3/4 width white walls for $850 and I'm wondering how big they would be in comparison. I have no comparison photos to look at the differences. I doubt I'll be able to grab these tires anyways, but thought to ask just in case...

[SpecialEducation]

I studied the width of wide whites for a quite a while, years back, so I generally believe this statement from Coker to be true: "If your car was built before 1954, it would’ve featured a three-inch (or wider) white wall and if it was built after 1964, it would’ve come with a one-inch (or narrower) white wall."

[MrEarl]

2.5 -2.75 WW for '54. I think the 3.75 would look a bit gaudy on tha '56

[avgwarhawk]

I agree with Lamar, 3.75 WW is getting to be the entire sidewall of white.  Not always becoming IMO. 

[old-tank]

...and look at the date code on any new or used radial tire.

[60FlatTop]

I wouldn't buy used radials. That price is pretty close to new ones anyway. My first set lasted 11 years, My second set of four cost $990 or something like that. They are 4 years old now. Ninety bucks a year isn't bad if they go the distance. A lot of people spend extra money trying to be cheap.

Bernie

[NTX5467]

Date codes are VERY important, even for some tires at the tire dealers!  You might save any freight from this particular purchase, but if only a few years of "life" before the 6 year anniversary from production, they get to be even MORE expensive on a per year basis!  Wait until you NEED THEM before you get them.  In the mean time, normal P235/75R-15 whitewalls are much less expensive.  There are some things in DiamondBack's warranty that you might need to consider, too!  Considering they are "modified post production" products.

 

Back then, the narrower whitewalls were generally viewed as "upgraded" and "more stylish" on older vehicles, as I recall.  Remember, this was the time of The Pepsi Generation" and what was young and energetic was more desired than what had come before it.  Whitewalls were in that mix, too.

 

Many lamented that the white rubber was still hidden in the sidewall area, just not ground out to expose it.  They still didn't like paying more for whitewalls and not seeing the white rubber.

 

Then came the "gangster walls" for cars that didn't come with them.  An alleged "throw-back" to the earlier times and "status" of sorts.  Some modern cars tended to tolerate them better than others.

 

The more white showing on a whitewall, the more scrubbing that will need to be done to keep them white.  But you're young and energetic, although there can be other things to occupy your time in college (like studying and "life investigation").

 

NTX5467

Edited June 29, 2017 by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[1953mack]

23 hours ago, SpecialEducation said:

. . . I studied the width of wide whites for a quite a while, years back, so I generally believe this statement from Coker to be true: "If your car was built before 1954, it would’ve featured a three-inch (or wider) white wall . . . 

 

I don't believe what Coker says. You need to study more factory and showroom-new Buick pictures and come to your own conclusion. All tires were not built with 3" or wider whitewalls by the three major tire suppliers for Buick in 1953 and other prior years.   

 

▲  1953 BUICK SHOWROOM PHOTO. Questions: could you get four of these dealer-accessory curb feelers on your

wife's Buick if you lived on a one-way street? Do you think she could hear them?

 

▲  BUICK FACTORY PROMO PHOTO

 

▲  BUICK FACTORY PROMO PHOTO. These tires would take a box of S.O.S pads to clean!

 

▲  LATE-1952 MAGAZINE AD

 

 

Al Malachowski

BCA #8965

"500 Miles West of Flint"

 

Edited June 29, 2017 by 1953mack (see edit history)

[NTX5467]

From the noted images, it might be that the width of the whitewall would depend upon the sidewall styling of the particular brand of tire.  On one, it goes all the way out to the "pie crust crimps" that lead to the tread.  On others, it goes to the rub strip about 1/2 way between the rim and the tread.  Therefore, I don't believe you can really go by arbitrary whitewall widths, per se.  Might be best to do some "on the ground" research at national car club meets, in order to see what a particular band of widewhitewall tire looks like "in the flesh".  Then make your purchase decision accordingly.

 

The common thing in the images is that the whitewall goes all the way to the wheel rim.  Past that, the width seems to vary.

 

I tend to concur that Coker's advice is not completely accurate, as to model year.  Looking at print advertising can b a valuable research tool, but might take a while to complete the research.

 

NTX5467

[Guest]

If you just halfta C wat they would look like, you could follow the instructions in the Buicks tips book sold by West MI chapter. Buy latex white paint used to seal your basement concrete blocks. Very inexpensive and easy to touch up! Available in any width desired! Remember, advice is usually worth what you pay for it!

[avgwarhawk]

I use Cover it correction fluid.  Covers mistakes. 

[Beemon]

Does anyone have experience with porta-walls, too?

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Yep. You do not want them. Trust me. 

 

  Ben

[JohnO]

I would pass as well. I did order a set from diamondback for my 55 and was pleased. The whitewalls were really white. As noted in a prior post, something in the 2.5 inch range shows well for a car in this era.

[NTX5467]

I had a uncle that liked to drive fast.  At the time, he had a '55 Olds.  He'd gotten some PortaWalls for it, as he and his wife were still in the "family building" stage of their lives.  He worked the night shift at a chemical plant east of Houston.  Back then, the roads were deserted when he got off of work.  One night, on the way home, he thought he saw something fly past the driver's window, but didn't see what it was.  Later that morning, he was awakened by his wife wanting to know where the car only had three whitewall tires on it.  They probably bought real whitewalls from then on out.

 

After that Olds, he bought a used '60 LeSabre.  A big upgrade compared to the Olds!  The factory a/c didn't seem to cool well, all things considered.  He kept at it until he found a mechanic at a Houston Buick dealership (possibly DeMontrond?) that knew how to adjust the POA valve on the a/c system.  NO ice on the underhood lines and improved interior cooling to boot!  A pretty neat car, even if it was a 4-dr sedan!

 

NTX5467

[SpecialEducation]

 

On 6/29/2017 at 7:13 AM, 1953mack said:

 

I don't believe what Coker says. You need to study more factory and showroom-new Buick pictures and come to your own conclusion. 

 

 

I think you are agreeing with Coker, because all of your photos look like they are before '54, and they all looked pretty wide. Again, these are generalizations because there were a lot of tires out there, and they didn't last as long back then.

 

Either way, white walls were starting to get narrower by '54, and by the mid-60s, they were pretty thin.  The visual effect of the tire is a bit different between bias ply & radials too, but since Benjamin has a '56, let's look at this factory image from the November 1955 Buick Magazine:

 

And our car today:

 

These are Coker Classics...

 

 

[SpecialEducation]

Here's a couple more:

 

 

As far as Portawalls go, $100 will get you a decent look from a few feet back for a few months. 

 

We we bought a set of 100mm in 2012, and they looked good for one summer.  I don't think they put UV inhibitors in them. They were dried out & cracking at a year old. 

 

They drove fine with radial tires & all of that, they just turned ugly fast. 

 

[Beemon]

Thanks for the photos and information! Nothing for me anytime soon it seems.