Correct white wall width

[Jackh00]

Hi, new to the forum, just about to order some tires for my 1938 Buick Special. What is the correct white wall width?

[Ron of Chicago]

Welcome to the club Jackh00. there's a lot of great information here from many well educated car people.

I found this from a guy on a Studebaker site. Not totally sure of the correctness but it will give you an idea. You can always got to a tire shop like Coker and they can help with the correct size.

 

An interesting note to consider is the width of whitewalls. When whitewalls really became popular, they were used on Firestone Balloon tires, which featured tall sidewalls. These tires had whitewalls of nearly five inches. By the 1950's, whitewalls were at a pretty standard 3 inches, but that didn't last long. Around 1954 through 1956, you could expect to see whitewalls from 2-1/2 to 2-11/16 inches on American cars. Then, 1957 through 1961 saw another change with whitewalls ranging from 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 inches. Finally, the big change happened in 1962, when most American automotive manufacturers made the switch to 1 inch whitewalls. From there, whitewalls got even more narrow, until finally getting down to 3/8-inch during the muscle car era. The only exception in this whitewall width timeline is luxury cars. Some Lincolns and Cadillacs retained the wide whitewall look longer than other passenger cars, and they also held onto the 3/4-inch whitewall for quite some time

 

Ron

[FLYER15015]

Jack,

Whitewalls on a 1938 Buick ?

Some folks love them, and the bigger the better.

Some folks hate them and black is better.

It's all up to you.

But here is a set of 4 1/2" wide white wall Martins on a '40 LTD.

You can't buy Martins any more, but the "Lesters" come really c;lose.

 

Mike in Colorado