rodneybeauchamp Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Came across these pictures the other day and think they both look " just right" for my Arctic White 63. Only problem is that in Australia, they want two Kings Ransoms, a partridge in a pear tree and more for a set of American Classic or Cokers. Have read some mixed reviews on the cheaper offerings here, so can any of the "Down Under Owners" suggest a solution that leaves some money left for petrol? I don't mind spending a reasonable amount for good tyres 235/75R15 but AU $450.00 plus freight to South Australia EACH! thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrP Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 My preference is the original "narrow" whitewall. Source for me was Coker but there are others. Oz price seems pretty damn steep at $450/tyre. Good luck and good hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 On a pure white car like yours the wider white walls work well. Any other color car and they are just too much for my taste. Here's another company for you to look at. Not sure if they would ship to Australia or how much it would cost. Good luck! https://www.dbtires.com/tires.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Diamond Back has the ability to create any kind of sidewall you might want. They'll make a whitewall and in any width or configuration (triple wall in '65) then laminate it to a black tire. Once applied, you cannot tell that they were not built that way in the first place. So if anyone has an original white sidewall tire as a spare, they could measure the width of the whitewall and the space between the wheel and the whitewall and get an exact reproduction of an original except that your new tire will be a radial in the profile that you want. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Have used Diamond Back for MANY yrs. with NO problems. I HIGHLY recommend them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Riviera Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Way to wide ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petelempert Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Just my opinion, but to me the wider wall tires signal a car from the 40's or 50's. That said, you should do whatever makes you happy. It's your car. PRL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I vote "NO" to the installation of "Gangsta" whitewalls.......go with the stock width. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) ...according to Diamond Back's website, 1962 was the last year for the wide-whitewall from the "big three". From 1963, they all standardized on the 1" variety. Can anyone confirm this? Edited March 31, 2016 by dwhiteside64 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelman Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Part of the appeal of the first generation Riviera is it's flexibility. It is able to still look good with wide whites, narrow whites, blackwalls, mags, or stock hubcaps, even in combination. On the right car, wide whites do not look out of place, but I am not the purist others are. Here are some more pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Norm Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 depending on how original you want to go here in Perth we have several people who can apply an aftermarket whitewall to any tyre. i have a machine to do it also. perhaps try a set of flappers and if you like the look then get it permanently done. its not as good as the real thing but it might save you a thousand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63 Red Riv Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 My 63 came with them, at first I did not like them. But after a while they kind of grow on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 2 hours ago, 63 Red Riv said: My 63 came with them, at first I did not like them. But after a while they kind of grow on you. I remember your car, that does look nice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 I will never install white walls on ANY car, period. They call attention to a portion of the car that doesn't deserve such. The lines of the car is where the focus needs to be, IMHO As a kid I always got a good laugh out of a kid with Snow White boots, wading in the puddles, boots picking up all the crap, and boots not looking so WHITE. Car tires take the punishment, so why subject them to dirty sidewalls? Every car pictured in this thread would look better with blacks, BLACK TIRES MATTER, Lol Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) Black side wall tires for the 50's and 60's would indicate to any one looking at the car that you were too cheap to afford the "upgrade" to white side walls. If the late Bill Mitchell or Ned Nickles were alive, I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you told them that their designs needed "cheap" tires. Hells bells, I used to buy port-o-walls just so my car wouldn't look cheap. Car styling for today is different and most cars do look better with out white walls. At least no one is running raised white letter tires on their Riviera. IMHO, those are best left on some period muscle car or an off road Jeep. I have white side wall tires on my '90 and '93 Rivieras and I've seen similar cars with black walls; the cars with black walls just look, and I hate to keep using this word, CHEAP. Ed Edited April 1, 2016 by RivNut (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jframe Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I personally like the white walls, just not wide ones. I have some Firestone radials on mine now with standard size whitewalls, and I want some just a TAD wider. Preferably some tri bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivdrivn Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 4 hours ago, RivNut said: Black side wall tires for the 50's and 60's would indicate to any one looking at the car that you were too cheap to afford the "upgrade" to white side walls. If the late Bill Mitchell or Ned Nickles were alive, I'd like to be a fly on the wall when you told them that their designs needed "cheap" tires. Hells bells, I used to buy port-o-walls just so my car wouldn't look cheap. Car styling for today is different and most cars do look better with out white walls. At least no one is running raised white letter tires on their Riviera. IMHO, those are best left on some period muscle car or an off road Jeep. I have white side wall tires on my '90 and '93 Rivieras and I've seen similar cars with black walls; the cars with black walls just look, and I hate to keep using this word, CHEAP. Ed It really depends on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I know that I'm in the minority but I still view the Riviera as a luxury car that just happens to have some performance. That said, I just like the white side walls on most every application of Riviera except the 79 - 85 T-types and all of the 95 - 99's. If someone goes whole hog on a custom early Riviera, then black walls on 17" - 20" chrome wheels look good. I have a set of 20's with 45 series black wall tires that I think look good on the car but that's not what I put on it to drive to an ROA event. I can see some redlines on certain years also, IF they were offered from the factory that way. White walls are my bling. Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I'm THRILLED you like YOUR bling/whites. This is ONE of those times, (we agree to disagree). Talk about cheap, PORT O WALLS, why they flopped in the wind, and waved at all as you went by, hehe Love this site, really! Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 (edited) I remember the time that Alan Smith went into the OTASCO store on South Main in Hutchinson and bought a set of port-o-walls that were narrow whites to replace the wide ones he had on his 56 Ford. I went back the next week and got a set for my 55 Chevy. 60'so bling! Ed ps: Who remembers what OTASCO stands for? Edited April 1, 2016 by RivNut Spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Oklahoma tire and supply company. OTASCO See I AIN'T no dummie, MAYBE, Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I guess everyone has an opinion on what THEY like. The first GM car to come from the factory with narrow WSW was the 1960 Corvair Monza In 1961 other GM cars started to go narrow and by 1962 I don't think you could get a wide white from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 WWWs, Narrow WWs, Triple stripe WWs, RWL, Redlines, or colored, plain old BWs, or Porta-Walls ? Different strokes for different folks, and just remember - Beauty is in the "eye" of the beholder ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 How about Green Mist with some Redlines?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) I'm with RivNut. The Riviera is a luxury and I will say classy automobile. And not to be driven down dirt ditch paths. White walls are an elevation above...dirt. Get a truck or Jeep if you care to play in the puddle. I don't think using white walls w/ stock rim sizes take away from body lines. Its only todays rides with ridiculously huge rims that take away from new car body lines. (Which are all door knobs anyway) I love the white tires on the white car. It looks like it descended from the clouds. Lift off! Edited April 3, 2016 by PBouker typo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Can you imagine how terrible that dark green Riv would look with WHITES, TERRIBLE..... Blacks forever, FOREVER! Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Dale, you are such an old fogy! Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 We all have our likes/convictions, I just DON'T Like WHITES, SKIRTS, TIRE KITS, BLUE DOTS, DICE, FOX TAILS, MOON HEADLIGHT COVERS, CURB FEELERS, GAS DOOR GUARDS, DUAL ANTENNAS, SPOT LIGHTS, LOWERED REARS, LIGHTS UNDER FRAME, MUSICAL HOURS, STEERING NOBS, STUFFED TOYS ON PACKAGE TRAY, FAKE LITTLE KIDS CRYING UP AGAINST THE CAR, and probably a few others. hehe Yep, I'm getting older, still out work 90-percent, still winning art shows, and MOST of all very loyal to Buick. Bride and I have shared 56 great years, she being arty also means we think alike, OFTEN, Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dwhiteside64 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 On 3/31/2016 at 5:56 PM, RivNut said: Black side wall tires for the 50's and 60's would indicate to any one looking at the car that you were too cheap to afford the "upgrade" to white side walls.... Ed Well in 1964 there was option T-3 which gave you an upgrade to "oversized black walls", all for a whopping $16.77! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) Back in the 60's while enployeed by Tractor Supply a few of us were guest at the Uniroyal factory. Some of you will recall in the fifties they produced tires that were really TROUBLE. I recall they were called U S RUBBER back then. They were trying to over come that very bad issue, so was paying for Company officials to see their factory. One portion of the tour was showing how white walls were built. At that time large/wide strips of White rubber was impregnated in the walls, then black rubber covered the White. The tire was then slipped on a lathe so to speak, and a cutter removed the Black down to the White, and at a width ordered. So if you scrubbed the curb hard enough you could get spots of White that YOU didn't want. I'm NOT saying all tires from other factories built theirs the same way, but Uniroyal did. Dale in Indy Edited April 3, 2016 by smithbrother (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 1 hour ago, dwhiteside64 said: Well in 1964 there was option T-3 which gave you an upgrade to "oversized black walls", all for a whopping $16.77! Looking at Darwin Falk's "options included" articles in the Riview, I see that a whopping 217 Rivieras were ordered with this oversized black wall option. Out of 37,658, that's an impressive 0.57%. Some folks just had a eye for beauty - NOT. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Yep, the country was fooled back then, NOW/TODAY'S buyers are smarter, designers are smarter, so BLACKS are in, Lol. Dale in Indy "Black tires matter", gives your car the look it deserves, makes the car stand PROUD! Show the world your lines, NOT distract from such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I've been thinking some since my latest post. When I got my '64, someone had repainted it LeMans blue - a 60's Corvette color. It had white sidewall tires on it when I got it delivered but they were dry rotted. I needed a set of tires just to get it around and found a set of black walls and put them on it. They looked good. Then I took them off the rally wheels and put them on some steel rims so I could get the rally wheels restored. When the black walls went on the steel wheels, I thought perhaps I should drive over to the nearest demo derby. I put a set of wire covers on with the black walls and that did little to improve the looks. If the newer cars weren't all running around on large diameter alloy or chrome wheels, the black walls would look out of place as well. Take a look at some car sometime where the wheel cover has fallen off or they're running a black wall donut on a skinny rim. The bling wheels are what make the black walls okay. Just stating an opinion. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I hear loud and clear what you are saying. Wheels or covers are key, my thinking, since I'm a contemporary artist is to keep thing LESS busy. Cool rims, or caps lose some of their appeal with whites, IMO. Makes the wheel area just to busy, but that's me, I rest my case/opinion, respect YOURS, Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivdrivn Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 On April 3, 2016 at 8:40 PM, smithbrother said: Can you imagine how terrible that dark green Riv would look with WHITES, TERRIBLE..... Blacks forever, FOREVER! Dale in Indy No need to imagine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Triple Black with BLACK tires!!! I may put some redlines on... 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petelempert Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 The good news for all of us today is that there are so many tire type options. We are a little spoiled these days. Wide whites, redlines, blue lines, white letters, black walls-if you are willing to pay you can have what you want. Lots of choices and these are for the most part well made tires with very few failures and amazing wear rates. Did you ever notice when you look at vintage pictures of cars from the 60's it's amazing how many of the cars we consider "muscle or performance cars" wore skinny, non radial 1 1/4" white walls or just plain black walls. Tires were different back then. In Smokey Yunick's book he talks about the single biggest issue in high speed racing was the tires, not engine and suspension limitations. When I was a kid it seems like Dad was always dealing with flats, plugs, bald spots and spectacular blowouts. Today I can't remember the last time I had a blowout. So, there are tons of good choices for us. Buy what you like and roll around with pride. PRL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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