billboos Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I have Firestone 7.00 15 tube type tires on my 1947 Lincoln Continental and need to buy 2 tubes, one to fix a flat and one as a spare. Is there a site I can go to to be sure I get the right size and valve stem type Is there a brand you can recommend. My tube type tires are white wall Firestones. Thanks, and if there is a topic open on this subject that did not come up in a search, please let me know. I hate to start new duplicate topics. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 The large unnameable tire dealer that usually caters to the hobby sells 15-inch tubes with whatever valve stem you want on them. However, the stems are merely glued onto the carcass and not part of it, so they have a fairly high failure rate (I had to go through 11 tubes to get 6 good ones on my '29 Cadillac). I will also note that these tubes are made in Vietnam and are only slightly thicker than, say, a children's party balloon. I have had better luck by having my local tire shop that deals with heavy truck tires order me truck tubes in whatever size I need. They are heavier and have stems that are part of the tube, not glued on. The stems might not look quite the same, but for a '47 Continental, I believe a rubber stem would be correct--it doesn't need to be metal although I think the cap should still be metal. Anyway, I've had better luck with these truck tubes and recently installed a set of 15-inch tubes on my wife's '56 Chrysler wagon, which has wire wheels that don't seal up well enough to go tubeless. Anyway, that's my suggestion. Hope it helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mc Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 I’d go to a Farm & Fleet store and order a tube there. They have an amazing variety of tubes available I think due to all the needs of the farmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Q Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Last time I needed tubes I think I got them from the early ford store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thanks, John, Ryan and Matt who has helped me out many times before -- can't believe he has over 5000 posts. I may resort to a simple patch if tube looks OK. If not, you all gave me good leads. This forum has been great as an info source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mssr. Bwatoe Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) I would suggest, if your not broke, and you are going to actually drive the car, install modern tubeless tires. I use modern steel belted radials Firestones on my original 40 wheels, no tubes no leaks..no nonsense I wore out my repop deluxe champions w/ tubes...lots of leaks, flats etc....15's are common and cheap.. and safe. Rural tire shops service tubes, and can even install them, Skippy at the local tire man has not a clue (you will see) Edited May 23, 2018 by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray500 Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 As soon as I get my new brake system installed on my 41 I will be installing new Diamond tubeless steel belted radials for safety sake. Coker seems to have problems in the industry, and Diamond seems to enjoy a much better record and reputation. Tires are so important as everyone knows, so why not install the best? The biggest problem with tubes in tires is they heat up when driving contributing to a lot of failures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Mssr Bwatoe and Ray, thanks for answering. I'm not at all hung up on keeping original tube type bias tires on the car but can understand why some want to keep their vintage cars totally vintage. I like to drive the car and find that over 50 mph it tends to "hunt" from side to side perhaps from the bias tires. I have Firestone Deluxe Champion wide whites and want to keep the same look and not go to the narrower white sidewalls. Will I have to do anything to the rims to prepare for tubeless radials? I've always been concerned about leakage through the rims or not having the proper edge flange to secure the tubeless radials. Any comments from you or others will be appreciated. I should probably change tires anyway as they have no wear but are probably 25+ years old from the original restoration. I'm not looking for budget tires. I want the best available whether they are the most expensive or not. They are 700. 15 so the selection may be limited in in original look wide white sidewalls. Thanks for any suggestions . Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Here's an article I wrote on the subject a few years ago. RadialVSBias.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 Ray, what size are the tires on the '41. Mine on the 47 are 700. 15. Did you get wide whitewalls or were blackwalls OE on your car? Also, anything special about valve stem installation on the tube type rims. Also for you, Matt or anyone, I assume most big tire shops are not seeing many tubeless tires going on older rims -- any type of tire shop i should try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Your wheels shouldn't be unusual to any tire shop and they won't have any problems mounting the tires on them. The only possible trouble might be if it uses two rim halves joined with rivets, but I don't think that's the case by 1941. They had zero issues mounting my radials on my Buick Limited wheels or the radials we put on Melanie's '56 Chrysler with the wire wheels and tubes. As long as the rim wheel hold air, you'll have no problems. The stems on a '41 should be rubber, I believe, so even if you're judging the car, you shouldn't get docked for that particular detail. My Buick has small hubcaps and trim rings, so a shorter valve stem was fine, but if you have full wheel covers, maybe a longer valve stem would be preferable. But no, the tire shop should not run into any problems with the wheels. Be sure to tell them to balance them with weights on the inside only so it looks best. Stick-on weights are OK inside the rear half of the wheel and should balance up nicely. None of the wheels on my Limited needed more than a few ounces to balance perfectly. I was very impressed. If I had to make a recommendation, maybe find a tire shop that does truck tires or that has been around for a long time, rather than a chain. My tire guys have been in business as an independent dealer for decades and they know trucks, split rims, lock rings and all the other old car stuff because it's similar to a heavy truck. They know it's my stuff so they're extra careful and I always give the guy doing the work an extra $20 when he's done so they remember next time that I'm a good friend to have. That said, I've also had a local chain store mount some tires on my '41 Cadillac a few years ago and it went without incident. Tires are tires for the most part. Just remind them that the weights go on the inside and to be careful with the whitewall. You'll love the radials, I promise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mssr. Bwatoe Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 (edited) Forget those humongous collector Denman looking 3'' whites----allow the lines of the car to shine, without those white side walls..Wheels are solid one piece steel, and will work with tubeless I assure you....... Edited May 24, 2018 by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray500 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 On 5/23/2018 at 10:52 AM, billboos said: Ray, what size are the tires on the '41. Mine on the 47 are 700. 15. Did you get wide whitewalls or were blackwalls OE on your car? Also, anything special about valve stem installation on the tube type rims. Also for you, Matt or anyone, I assume most big tire shops are not seeing many tubeless tires going on older rims -- any type of tire shop i should try. My 41 has 700-16s which were the standard of the day. You can use 15 inch, but it will probably throw off your speedometer/odometer. Depends too on which rims you have, if they are 15 inch you either have to change them to 16 inch to be original, or just go with 15 inch tires. Not easy to find rims these days, and you have to be careful they they aren't bent or damaged especially with tubeless tires to get a good seal when installed. Good luck on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray500 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Just now, Ray500 said: My 41 has 700-16s which were the standard of the day. You can use 15 inch, but it will probably throw off your speedometer/odometer. Depends too on which rims you have, if they are 15 inch you either have to change them to 16 inch to be original, or just go with 15 inch tires. Not easy to find rims these days, and you have to be careful they they aren't bent or damaged especially with tubeless tires to get a good seal when installed. Good luck on it! Merv Adkins out in California has lots of parts and probably has rims to fit your needs. He's in the LZOC website, and he has a lot of old cars to get parts from like no other parts house! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 24, 2018 Author Share Posted May 24, 2018 Ray, thanks for the tip on Adkins in case I need other parts. My '47 Continental has 7.00 15 as standard so I'll stick with those. I talked with Rusty at Diamond Back and he said they have that size in the Auburn Deluxe line with whitewalls up to 4 inches. They are tubeless radials supposedly with a bias tire look. It looks like Diamond Back and Coker are the only options for my size whitewalls. Any suggestion for other options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray500 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Yes, about the only two that can produce them. I was told that Coker uses the old Firestone molds and they have some issues. Diamond Back seems to enjoy a better reputation. The whole idea is to have tires that look like bias ply's profile while being tubeless radials. Newer radials are usually wider and don't look original. Also the proper whitewall is important that is not address by later tires currently offered. Diamond ships the tires with the whitewall areas protected when you receive them to be mounted by the tire shop. It's possible your car was converted to 15 inch wheels or perhaps they were available when the car was new. Either way it won't make much difference, and finding new 16 inch rims isn't easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mssr. Bwatoe Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) They all had 15'' tires!! Its ironic, 25 years ago we were the odd ducks with 16'' on our prewar cars...,now anything smaller than that is odd.... I'm pretty sure 42- up till the late 50's were 15, and yes they will work on your 40, same bolt pattern.. Edited May 25, 2018 by Mssr. Bwatoe (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19tom40 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 If you do go to tubeless tires, be religious about checking tire pressure every time that you use the car. Rims meant for tubeless tires had a safety bump to keep the tire seated on the rim when the tire pressure was low. The 47 Lincoln rims do not have this. Before you invest in new tires, check your front end for worn parts by jacking up one wheel and trying to turn the wheel left to right of the car. Any movement means worn parts, check to see where the movement is and replace the worn parts. Next grab the top and bottom of the wheel and check for movement. If there is movement, your kingpin bushings are probably worn. Check both sides. When your front end is free of excess play, have the toe-in adjusted. A truck shop is usually the best for this operation and the computerized alignment tools don't seem to work very well on the straight axle cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 26, 2018 Author Share Posted May 26, 2018 Thanks to all of you for your help -- I don't want to wear out my welcome but Yet another question if I may. I have a flat on my '47 Lincoln and want to replace the tube while I'm deciding on all new radial tires. I can find some 7.00 15's on line but there are different valve stems like TR13 and TR15. Does anyone have experience with those tubes to help so I don't get tubes with the wrong valves and have to return them one or more times. Any ideas where I can order? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 After a lot of research, it appears the valve stem for my "47 Continental is the TR13. I ordered two "light truck" Carlisle tubes from Tireinnertube.com in the 7.00 15 size. I'll let you know how it works out. . I don't know where they are made. I've read that Carlisle brought their production of tires back to the US from China a few years ago but no mention of tubes. I won't be surprised if tubes are made in China, Korea or Vietnam. They are advertised as heavy duty but we will see. I'll probably go to the Diamond Back 4 inch white sidewall tubeless radial (bias look-alike) tires in the next few months. Any comments pro or con appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboos Posted June 1, 2018 Author Share Posted June 1, 2018 UPDATE: Received the 7.00 15 Carlisle light truck tubes from Tireinnertube.com. Arrived in three days after ordering from Missouri to California. $19 each or 2 for $34.They seem pretty heavy duty but are labeled "made in China" as I guess most all are. Have not taken to local truck tire dealer for install yet. I hope the TR13 valve stem is proper -- would appreciate it if anyone can confirm. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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