Tires for a 1929 M8?

[Smile]

What sort of tires would you recommend for a Stutz M8?

Original size, all black, from someone who is currently in business.

Attached are two pictures of tires. One photo is of a Stutz wheel.

 

I'm not looking for the neoprene ones on the Ford -  but it is such a great shot I had to include it.

[John_Mereness]

A period correct Firestone blackwall with diamond pattern on tread (or a whitewall or double whitewall preferably over a single sided whitewall) and my second choice would be a Bedford brand tire. 

 

Example (not sure of your size though):

 

https://www.jegs.com/i/Coker+Tire/257/761401/10002/-1?gclid=CjwKCAjwzMeFBhBwEiwAzwS8zBhNme9lTg4261XoloW2PGmGSIsZJzlyORn2r0RAwelbtTWLk6U_YRoCBRgQAvD_BwE

 

or example in a double whitewall

 

https://www.jegs.com/i/Coker-Tire/257/77262/10002/-1

 

This is a nice example of a Stutz with a whitewall, but it was not the place to scrimp and save a penny via buying a single whitewall (which there was really no such thing as a single whitewall unless you bought an off brand such as a Dayton brand tire or .... 

 

https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/6942-1930-stutz-model-m-monte-carlo/

 

 

 

 

This is a Bedford tire tread pattern:

 

 

 

 

YOU DO NOT WANT THIS TREAD PATTERN:

https://www.jegs.com/i/Coker+Tire/257/761401/10002/-1?gclid=CjwKCAjwzMeFBhBwEiwAzwS8zBhNme9lTg4261XoloW2PGmGSIsZJzlyORn2r0RAwelbtTWLk6U_YRoCBRgQAvD_BwE

Edited May 29, 2021 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[alsancle]

What John said.  The Bedfords have a better looking tread but might be a bit too oversized.

 

Mark, you are not going to be able to get 19/20 tubes.  I have a thread going here.   They have been backordered now for 5 months.  There seems to be a single supplier to all retailers.  If you find a source please let me  know.

 

 

[John_Mereness]

AJ is correct on tubes, though as to tubes - have we tried for Michelin tubes out of Europe via one of the tire suppliers or such as Fiennes that deals in Rolls-Royce and Bentley parts.

[alsancle]

19 minutes ago, John_Mereness said:

AJ is correct on tubes, though as to tubes - have we tried for Michelin tubes out of Europe via one of the tire suppliers or such as Fiennes that deals in Rolls-Royce and Bentley parts.

 

John,  I have hoped there is another supplier - maybe Europe - but have not been able to locate a source.   I cannot find tubes on Fiennes's website.

[John_Mereness]

Email them and ask them where to turn to get: A RR PI or PII tube should do the trick 

[Smile]

Thank you all for your  replies, much appreciated. I'll have a think. In the meantime if I find a supplier of inner tubes I'll post their name here.

 

Thank you for recommending the Firestones, white or all black. That Stutz does look very sharp, but I think I'll stick with black.

Mind you, the white wall tire has an interesting back story - as I'm sure most readers here know.

Early tires went from the white-pink of natural rubber to white-white when zinc oxide was added to increase grip. 

 

A few years later a company worked out how to remove carbon black from tar, and add it to rubber to extend tire life.  Mind you, carbon black was expensive, so only the outer layer of rubber, on the tread of the tire, was given the carbon black. This produced a white tire with a black tread -  the 'white wall' tire.

The trouble was that after the carbon black had been extracted from the tar they were left with a waxy residue of sorts, and no market for the stuff. 

What could one do? The answer was obvious. They sold the stuff as a child's toy.

The price of carbon black fell as the processes improved, but the toy took off. It fact it did so well the company  changed its  name to reflect the toy  -  and  Crayola was born. It is still around and is a currently owned by Hallmark cards. Its earnings are undisclosed because it is not a public company.

 

In the meantime the look of the 'white wall'  had become popular, so white rubber inserts were put into black tires to mimic the look of carbon black on just the tread. During the Korean war no white walls were made. The inserts used a lot of natural rubber which was deemed a war material, limiting its civilian use.

Finally,  the most exotic white walls that I can find were built in the '20s by the Vogue Tire Company.

Thank again everyone, much appreciated.

 

[Smile]

Here are two companies that supply inner tubes. 

 

https://www.blockleytyre.com/category/inner-tubes

 

https://raceandrallytubes.com/classico-premier-vintage-road-tubes/

 

Thanks again.

Mk.

 

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, Smile said:

Here are two companies that supply inner tubes. 

 

https://www.blockleytyre.com/category/inner-tubes

 

https://raceandrallytubes.com/classico-premier-vintage-road-tubes/

 

Thanks again.

Mk.

 

 

Mark,  thanks!

 

I just ordered a set (from John's recommendation) from England.

 

https://www.vintagetyres.com/shop/michelin-20h-centre-valve-inner-tube-600-650-700-20

[John_Mereness]

Last set of Double Whitewalls I personally bought and installed were Bedford Brand and I put on a 1932 Packard Twin Six - a wonderful tire.

 

I had universal make the proper tubes with bent metal nickle stems (as a sidenote:  I was standing next to the car one evening and sounded like a gunshot - it blew a new tube just parked there - Universal could not have been better to deal with, though was a project you do not want to do more than once) - aka why I have no objection to Michelin tubes if Universal or .... is back-ordered.