Guest BJE Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 What would be the most appropriate whitewall width for a '39 Buick? Mine has 3 3/4 inch whitewalls and to me they look a little too wide for the era. In original Buick factory photos of the period they are narrower, maybe around 2 1/5 to 3 inches. Any ideas? Of course all black is also appropriate but I want to stick with white. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RonJar Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 What would be the most appropriate whitewall width for a '39 Buick? Mine has 3 3/4 inch whitewalls and to me they look a little too wide for the era. In original Buick factory photos of the period they are narrower, maybe around 2 1/5 to 3 inches. Any ideas? Of course all black is also appropriate but I want to stick with white.My 38 came with 4 1/4" white walls and they look just about right. I'm guessing the wider w.w. would look OK on a 39. I have no idea what original w.w. width was for pre-war. A matter of taste I guess.My two cents .... RonJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 BJE, 3" sounds about bright to me. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 BJE, From scaling of the factory image, based on a wheel diameter of 16", the whitewall is about 3" wide. Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den41Buick Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 On 1941 Buick's with 16 inch wheels they call for 4" whitewalls, while 15 inch wheels call for 3 3/4". In my opinion the more the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 BJE,Re. the whitewall width on 1941 Buicks - The attached two pictures are of a 51C (top up, 16" wheels) and a 71C (top down, 15" wheels). I scaled both pictures with a dial vernier caliper. Both cars have about 3¼" of exposed whitewall showing. Perhaps the 1941 Buick documentation (mentioned above) measures the whitewall width before the tire installation on the wheel.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 BJE,More on the whitewall width on 1941 Buicks -(1) I should have mentioned in my #6 post (above) that I made my measurements vertically to reduce error.(2) I have attached a picture of a 41 or 61 early production car with a 24" long rear fender ornament (later production cars used the 21" long ornament). Since the model of the car isn't known, I scaled the picture using the 24" ornament as a reference. This is a less precise method than in post #6. For the car pictured, I had a similar result of about 3¼" width for the whitewall.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 40 years ago these were acceptable: I'd put up another picture but my wife just came in from washing my car and is fixing me a snack.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 BJE, My " Martin B-16's" measure 4.5" from the rim to the outside of the white part and the last half inch is raised a bit. Perfectly smooth on the white part and all the lettering is on the black portion. You can blow up my avatar, or check my album for a better look. Mike in Colorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 BFG Silvertowns. Forget the width now.CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allcars Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 For what it's worth, this apparently original-equipment 7:00x15 double-whitewall U.S. Royal tire that still resided in the RH fenderwell of my former '40 66C Century Convertible when I owned it had a 3-inch whitewall on each side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BJE Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for all of the replies. Sorry I didn't get back sooner. I think that a whitewall around three inches is close to the factory photos. I think that a wider white than this, and certainly four inches and over looks more late twenties or early thirties than late thirties. I need to buy new tires because mine are getting very old and it makes me a bit nervous to drive it for fear of tire failure. I think that my tires which have a 3 3/4" whitewall (measured from the edge of the rim outward) look a little too wide compared to factory photos. I am more concerned with correctness than appearance. What really bothers me is seeing wide whites on a car such as a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud which clearly had one to two inch white walls from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 For what it's worth, this apparently original-equipment 7:00x15 double-whitewall U.S. Royal tire that still resided in the RH fenderwell of my former '40 66C Century Convertible when I owned it had a 3-inch whitewall on each side. Now, that is a keeper. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 So was the 22 year old girl I got to wash my Buick for me.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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