Wedgewood64 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hi Folks, Time to replace the tires on my 64 driver. Currently running Bridgestone insignias with a 3/4" whitewall, P215/75R15. I guess they're fine. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions, re size, brand, whitewall options (which I guess are few w/o going higher end). Also, were rims originally painted the color of the car? 2 of mine are, the others aren't.... Thanks, and happy 2016. nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Nick, All the rims are (should be) black. If you go by the attached tire comparison chart, your '64 Riviera, which came with 7.10 x 15 tires should be running a 215/75R15 tire.* In '63, I know for a fact that the standard tire was a 7.10 x 15" tire on a 5-1/2" rim. There was an "oversized" tire option; a 7.60 x 15" tire which came on a 6' rim. (Fact - I have the original window sticker for my '63 and it came with the larger tire and 6" rims even though ROA's website does not show this) The replacement size for that tire would be a 225/75R15 using today's standards. I have other literature that shows that option code T4 for 1964 is oversized (7.60) tires, but I do not know if they came with the 6" rims. Can anyone else chime in on this? http://www.vintagecarconnection.com/vintage_tire_size_conversion_chart.htm Diamond Back Classics makes some retro tires that you might take a look at but you're going to be looking into that 'higher end' tire if you go that way. Personally, I've been running Hankook tires on almost everything when it comes time to replace tires. I used to get them from an independent dealer here in town but recently found out that WallyWorld sells the same tire at a much better price. Plus if I ever have a tire problem, there is a WallyWolrd in almost every hamlet in the country. That, and Mobil 1 fully synthetic oil, are the only things I buy at WallyWorld; in the auto service door and out again. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hankook-Optimo-H724-Tire-P225-75R15/17792285http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hankook-Optimo-H724-Tire-P235-75R15-XL/17792288 Tire selection mostly depends on the intent you have for your car. Ed *PS - This post has been changed from its original configuration it now properly reflects the correct size replacement tires. (My first post listed 70 series sizes rather than 75 series replacements. My bad. My apologies.) Ed Edited January 4, 2016 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedgewood64 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Many thanks, Ed, as always. But am I reading that chart correctly? 7.10 x 15 seems to correspond to 215/75R15. I suppose since I'm currently running 215's that there's no way the rims are of the 6" variety. Now, if i can only figured out how a couple of rims on my fairly original car turned wedgewood blue! thanks again, nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Many thanks, Ed, as always. But am I reading that chart correctly? 7.10 x 15 seems to correspond to 215/75R15. I suppose since I'm currently running 215's that there's no way the rims are of the 6" variety. Now, if i can only figured out how a couple of rims on my fairly original car turned wedgewood blue! thanks again, nickNick, You are correct. I was looking at the P-metric 70 series column. So for everyone else out there who didn't look at the chart,7.10 x 15" converts to 215/75R15 and the 7.60 x 15" coverts to the 225/75R15. Sorry for any confusion. If you want a lower profile tire then go with the next larger tire 7.10 to a 225/70R15 and 7.60 to a 235/70R15 If you sand the wedgewood blue down, do you see black underneath? Could be a previous owner. Don't know about wheels from early large model Buicks. If you take a tire off and measure the rim width, be sure that you measure the distance between the bead seats, NOT the outside width. Edited January 4, 2016 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrlforfun Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 OK Riviera People: Not so critical but i thought I'd mention it. For some reason 64 Riviera steel rims were painted an extra shiny gloss black. I also believe the rims were all black and if there was another color it might have been a particular customer. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedgewood64 Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 I can't tell exactly what's up with the paint on the rims. They don't look painted over black. And I guess I should say that though they look like the same blue as the car, they could be some other light blue. Also, there's no blue on the inside of the rims--only the outside. Anyway--that's not very important, I was just wondering, thinking forward to my next respray. Thanks!nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Nick, I believe all rims were painted black from the factory. Of course a dealer could have painted them the body color at a customer's request or subsequent owners could have done the same. One way to check if the wheels are original to a 63 or 64 is that they all had the 4 slots drilled/cut into the rim for the aluminum bolt on turbine wheel cover at the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Pat et al. I have a couple of rims that are earlier rims that were designed for the cheap dog dish hub caps. If you snap the dog dish retaining clips out of those wheels, the slots for the clips are identical to the slots in the later wheels that were used for the cast aluminum covers. In my opinion, Buick used their existing wheel and made the cast cover to work with it. One wheel in particular that I have is a body colored wheel with a pinstripe on it. I have no idea how old it might be. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'm sure that kept the costs down and the bean counters at GM happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I found this on the Team Buick website for the '63 model year. Note R Code 3 Optinal Wheel Color - Lower body color on cars with sheel [sic] covers (not available on black cars) There is not a similar page for the '64 and '65 models so I don't know if this could have been applicable for those years as well. But, the Riviera did not come with "Lower body color." So ??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedgewood64 Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 All very interesting and curious stuff. I'll have to take a closer look when I have the chance, but I doubt I'll find anything too helpful. I have the spinner/spoke hubcaps--with which you can't see the rim anyway, so I can't see the point of having them sprayed or optioned that way. It may be some fluke: a couple rims were replaced with these that happened to match the body color? (I admit that sounds weird.) Well, at least, should I ever decide to repaint, I know that I don't have to do the rims! nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now