Jump to content

1941 dodge Luxery Liner


trishabig

Recommended Posts

Hi  Members

 

New at this just joined. I need some help with changing the rims on this car. Has 16 in original on it now i think they are 3.5 in wide?. I want a wider rim so i can go to a radial tire. Does anyone know what year rims i will be able to use? Its an original 1941 D-19 Luxury Liner.

 

Edited by trishabig (see edit history)
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler, Ford, Studebaker, Hudson, some Toyota light trucks. Your best bet would be newer Dodge and Plymouth up to 1970 or so as they had the extra holes for the alignment pin. If you get wheels without the holes it is easy enough to drill a hole. I have done this to make later aluminum wheels fit, I think it was a 5/16" drill.

 

Use the narrowest tires you can get. Don't go too wide or it will be hard to steer. If it is hard to steer get an alignment done and pump the tires up to 32PSI. A set of new shock absorbers and it will drive and ride like new.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

keiser 15" tires are not that easy to get anymore and neither are 14". The only thing they stock at most tire dealers is wide low profile tires that will not fit the old narrow rims. You have to buy special order tires that fit the rims, or custom wide rims in 17" size to get the right diameter.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tires from Coker $136 and up. Flat top by your reckoning it seems rims would be about $100 each painted and ready to use, then you have to buy tires and then you find your stock hubcaps won't fit. And you end up with the wrong tires and wrong wheels and wrong hubcaps that just look wrong on the car.

 

It would be easier and cheaper just to buy the right tires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

trishabig,

                   I researched this a while ago for my '38 Plymouth P6 coupe. I also have the narrow 16 inch rims. I ended up buying 215/85/16 black walls. They fit great and look correct. I would recommend this size to anyone doing the same.

Best, Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rusty,

             I just ordered them through my local Shell service station where I usually get tires for my every day cars. Brand is Gladiator, price was $98 each, which I thought was very fair. They are actually an LT tire with a nice highway tread, so the correct size to order would be LT 215/85/16. Load Range is E. These size tires are generally for pick up trucks so just make sure you check the tread pattern of whatever brand you choose to make sure you don't get anything too aggressive. And, although they are a hair wider than the originals, they matched up perfectly with original tire height. 

20170416_195400.jpg

20170416_195425.jpg

Edited by Guest (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

on 4" wide 16" rims it would be a bit crazy to fit 215 mm tyres? Goodyear recommends a 5.5 to 7" rim for one of its offerings.

 

On Coker's web site they suggest 4 tyres based on 1941 Dodge D19 with 600x16 base. Their classic is the cheapest at $241 and they are recommended for 4-5" rim width. The tread is 5" or 125, section width 6.25".

 

Remember wider tyres leads to harder steering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok guys thank-you all for the reply lots of information

 

I will try to post some photos.

 

This car was owned for over 50 years by my brother in law who passed away last year from cancer. I bought it from the estate because he had started to redo it just a year before he passed away.

He had sanded it down to have it repainted. He rebuilt the motor, all new brake line ,gas lines , wheel cylinders, drums, pistons ect..I just sent the tank away to have it redone and pick it up this week in Toronto.

I want to finish it for him. Sounds crazy because i know nothing about old cars but its something i want finish for him.

It has the suicide doors and split hood. A few guys offered to buy it but i have said shes a keeper and will be staying in our family.

The original ply tires 600 16  are cheap enough to buy but the problem is the shipping fees.It will cost over $2,000.00 to get the tubes, tires and shipping costs so i wanted to change the rims and put a tire on that i can get in Canada.

Edited by trishabig (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 Grand for tires?!?!? Canada isn't North Korea. You have tire dealers there, just like we have south of you. Nobody has, or can order a set of 600-16s or the tire that GregLar suggested?? My tire store has ordered oddball tires for me and they didn't charge for shipping. 4 new tires shouldn't set you back more than 500 bucks US

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Something wacky somewhere. I live in Canada, not far from Toronto. Last week I priced a set of tires on the internet. Tire Rack wanted $234 for shipping, JEGS had the same tires at a slightly higher price but offered free shipping. I have bought tires from the US and shipping was not that high. But, I second the suggestion that you try some local tire dealers first.

 

Carl, if you lived in Canada you would know that if you can buy anything for only double the US price you are lucky. Then add 13% for sales tax. Don't forget the Canadian dollar is only worth about 75 cents.

 

Cokers cheapest tires are $136 each plus tubes with radials $236. It is going to cost the best part of $1000 for tires no matter what he does.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

YES , YES , YES ! If you actually want to drive places with your car , put light truck radials on it. Blackwalls are a more authentic look. If you look at pictures from the era , very few cars had whitewalls. Be very leery of the "repro" whitewall tires from specialty suppliers. Many consider them show tires only. They often have a high failure rate. Although some people drive on them , most of these tires soon keep turning into "brownwalls" , and must be constantly aggressively cleaned for show. I have been using radials for over 50 years. All kinds of radials. I am a long distance adventure driving son of long distance adventure driving parents. I sometimes drive to places , or through conditions, where no car has ever been before. North ,  Central , and South America. Europe. I know places where I drive over 150 mph. All on radial tires. Greg's recommendation for an E load rating is a very good idea. I believe he has found a tire which you can mount on your rims. Don't get talked out of it. Radial tires have an astonishing range of useful operating pressures. Tires are the "tunable" part of your suspension. I have used high pressure light truck tires in several applications. Here you see a unique use of L.T. radials. Proper pressure tuning makes this car a sublime pleasure to drive. I am sometimes sorry to "get there". Then I have to park it and shut it down. I do have a few other subtle suspension mods , but the tires are the most dramatic element of my "tricks". With exactly the right unusual pressures front and rear , I believe this front wheel drive Cadillac Eldorado is the fastest , safest long distance cruiser of its type in the world. I am very glad you have found and become one of us. Welcome ! You can be sure we all are eager to see your progress. We each have our specialties , and stand ready to help you with anything. Stay with us !  - Carl

 

image.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is they just don't make "normal" tires anymore. Every car uses low profile tires. If you want to buy cheap off the shelf tires it is possible but you will have to buy low profile tires,  different rims and at best the car will look goofy and be harder to steer. To buy new tires and rims will cost practically as much as buying special tires. So, the way to go is to find the best tire that will fit your stock rims. The light truck tire is a good approach I never thought of.

 

I have been through the same thing and so have many other people. Right now, I am surprised to find that I am in the same boat on tires for my 1966 Dodge Coronet. 5 or 10 years ago they were the most common, cheap tires. Not anymore, I am having the same trouble you are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should be able to arrange pick up of the tires in western New York, maybe even from a friendly forum member. PM me, maybe I can think of one.

 

Contact these people : https://www.summitracing.com/ 

They sell Coker tires cheaper than Coker and have great shipping policies. I am sure they ship to Canada. They have shipped to me. (hint)

 

At the other end, cars are just horrible monuments to people. No car is an asset. They are all liabilities, even for people skilled at fixing their own. My Mother tried to keep my Father's last new car and it was hard on all of us.  Finally I was able to find a black Buick that made her think of her Mom. I pulled a bait 'n switch her and my brother in law took the monument car as a driver. And that was a car in good condition.

 

If I wrote a book about my Dad's last car it would probably be titled "Good Intentions. Highway Construction and The Family's Road to Hell"

 

Selling the car and making a generous donation to the auto repair manual section of your local library would benefit a lot of people. My Wife is a librarian. How she got me is a story, but I know she had good intentions.

Bernie

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Summit sells Coker  6.00-16 bias ply blackwalls suitable for a 41 Dodge for $136. Buy 4 and it comes to $544 + $81.84 for shipping + $86.72 for taxes and import duty. Total $712.56. I did not bother looking up tubes and flaps. This is in US dollars so figure $1000 Canadian or more with tubes. This is probably as good a deal as you will get.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/cart/estimateshipping#Estimator

 

They have a large selection of tires for your car including name brand whitewalls at higher prices.

 

I should add, that if paying $1000 for tires gives you heart disease better get out of the old car hobby before you have to pay for paint, chrome, upholstery and mechanical work.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coker Tire travels to lots of swap meets with large loads of tires in their tractor-trailer rig. LOTS of folks buy them that way, at the nearest show to their home. Some Canadian guys I met at Carlisle one year had driven down in their 60's muscle cars on the "wrong" tires, bought Coker Tires at the swap meet, and then drove back home. Might be harder to do after 911, I suppose. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the original correct size is 6.00-16 How would that translate into a width/aspect ratio size? I recall we used both 7.00-15 and 215/80-15 on our '64 Dodge half ton pickup. But I think the 215's were wider than the 7.00, and also the 7.00-15 seemed to have a taller aspect ratio than 80 series.

 

It has been suggested to use 215/85-16 in place of the 6.00-16. I think those are much wider, isn't that 215 millimeters which would convert to 8.46 inches? And I am also curious how the outside diameters would compare.

 

Generally the tread width should be about the same size as the rim width so the sidewalls are not splayed out, which would also cause the tread to be higher in the center.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bias ply tires all had an aspect ratio of 100. Maybe some very late 'wide oval'  tires were lower but, all others 100.

 

You want to use the highest aspect ratio you can get and try to get near the same outside diameter as you can. And, narrow tires for the old cars. Cheap tires can be narrower than more expensive tires of the same nominal size by 2 to 3 inches.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can look up tires here. Seems to be lots of LT215/85-16. This place I bought from, happened to get some 175/80-14 which are totally unavailable from any local dealers. They arrives via FedEx and I picked them up at my local FedEx office and got them mounted and balanced for $80 by a local shop. Tires-Easy I believe really just collects the money and has the manufacturer, whoever it happens to be, send them to you directly.

 

 http://www.tires-easy.com/tires/215-85-16?filtering=,price

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg , with all your experience and all the cars you have owned , restored and built , looks like you found an ideal tire for this purpose ! With all my playing with many radial types (and GROSSLY violating rim width specs - narrow rims with wide radials - over many scores of thousands of miles , on road and off at all speeds and loads) , this looks like a PERFECT tire. Looks quiet , and good pattern  for steering. And , as you say , looks good too. What is the sidewall spec for max load pressure ?  Good call !  Hmmmmm....... It just occurred to me that you and I had a discussion , and concurred about the advisability of high pressure light truck radials for old cars. It would have been some time ago , like a year or two maybe. Funny : In a way , many old cars are similar to light trucks in certain respects. Safe , happy , trouble-free cruising , all ! No matter what you are in , or what tires you are rolling on !   - Carl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...