white walls love them or hate them

[31 LaSalle]

40 minutes ago, Steve Moskowitz said:

I'm shocked the world's foremost hater of whitewalls has not opined yet!  So there is one of our esteemed members not from the East that feels that way!   I like whitewalls but NOT on every car.  Some cars definitely look better with blackwalls.  I'm just glad we have tires for the most part to keep our old iron on the road!

so not for every car what about this one

[31 LaSalle]

15 hours ago, 32PONTIAC said:

Just curious on what size the tires my be? 

Tyre size is 6.00/6.50X18

[31 LaSalle]

14 hours ago, George Smolinski said:

The wheels in this photo are too busy - 4 different colors within a 16-18" diameter circle; 5 colors in whatever diameter circle with the tire. I think given the color of the car, it will be damn hard to get a color or colors for the rims that will look good. There's just too much white. Was that bright white a factory color?

I realise most of the replies to my post think the car is a bright white and maroon color

but in fact it is a light cream and brown color.  would not necessarily have been my choice if I was having it painted. but was done over 15 years ago by previous owner to an excellent standard 

I dont think these  would have been Chrysler colors correct me if I am wrong

also it look a lot better than on the pictures

[John Bloom]

9 minutes ago, 31 LaSalle said:

I realise most of the replies to my post think the car is a bright white and maroon color

but in fact it is a light cream and brown color.  would not necessarily have been my choice if I was having it painted. but was done over 15 years ago by previous owner to an excellent standard 

I dont think these  would have been Chrysler colors correct me if I am wrong

also it look a lot better than on the pictures

No apologies necessary for your handsome Chrysler!  
 

i’ve had a lot of collectible cars in my lifetime. Sometimes even multiple examples of the same year and model. For every model of collectible car I’ve owned (or chased), there is in my mind the perfect most beautiful color combination for that model (personal preference i.e. MGTC......BRG, 65 Riviera......Red,......etc...). Only a few of them had that color, which means there has typically been compromise by me and I still enjoyed it. If you hate the color of your car change it. But if you find yourself thinking that it isn’t your preferred color choice, go price new paint from a quality shop. You might find you like the current color better than you thought. 

[Gunsmoke]

I have an original 1931 Chrysler CD8 sales brochure showing all models and of the 10 illustrations where tires are shown, no whitewalls. Tires spec simply reads "balloon cord, 6 ply non-skid tread on all wheels 5.50"x18". I believe these dealer brochures were for the first series CD8's and likely printed circa fall 1930. As mentioned all period factory photos showed blackwall. By spring 1931 Chrysler was releasing the 3rd series (also referred to as Deluxe or CD*) and advertising then began showing illustrations with white walls. I honestly don't know if any cars left the factory with whitewalls, but it is clear the original designers only envisaged blackwalls. When the "marketing people" get involved, original design intentions can get tossed. Personally I am not a fan of whitewalls for many reasons, seldom a factory option, difficulty of keeping clean, distracting from lines of car, etc. I look at whitewalls the same way I look at excessive chrome or fins, portholes, decorative rad caps, etc, just cosmetics, which should not be required on an already  nice looking model. Interesting very few European marquees used whitewalls.

[West Peterson]

It is my life's goal to correct all wrongs. 

I do not believe I've ever heard anyone make a blanket statement that white sidewalls are not correct in regard to "options." The fact is, most cars in the Classic era (~1915-1942) were delivered without white sidewall tires. To see them used on anything and everything is what bothers me. So... they were shown in factory brochures/literature, but still, most were delivered without them. I agree that some cars look really nice with white sidewall tires. However, when I see them proliferated on so many cars across the board, I personally respond in the opposite in regard to my own tastes. A "plane-jane" car with white sidewall tires, in my opinion, just looks out of place (I'll refrain from using the word "wrong"). To conclude, since it seems that 90 percent of all cars of the Classic era are restored with white sidewall tires, I prefer black because I prefer to be different... even on the big high-dollar Classics.

 

In addition to not liking white sidewall tires on everything, my other pet peeve is seeing cars with black tops and light-colored greenhouses. Which photo of this same car looks more classy?

[Walt G]

I have a 1932 Studebaker 63 page 8 1/2 x 11 inch dealers insert that would go in a ring binder ( perhaps each year the binder stayed and the inserts were tossed?) this is on coated stock paper and is titled Book of Facts. In there all the cars posed for photographs ( all sedans too!) have white wall tires. As shown here in this thread for Chrysler the magazine advertising has cars with white walls. WHY? well they look more attractive in the mind of the sales department, and the whole thing was to draw customers into the showrooms to buy cars! Once the customer was in there they most likely did not order a car with white walls- $ being a factor.  It is all in what today is referred to as "marketing" . During the depression people did not want to be seen in a flashy car - sure it was just bought but people did not have enough $ for a meal much less a new car . There was a lot of window shopping back then , even for automobiles.

[alsancle]

7 hours ago, 31 LaSalle said:

would love to no    YES OR NQ

                               BLACK OR WHITE

                           

 

 

Hard No on white walls on ALL Cars unless the car only came factory with them like the 36/37 Cord or the 53 Packard Caribbean.

[SC38dls]

I remember my dad painting his tires white on a late 40’s Plymouth. He traded the car in and bought an early 50’s Dodge and out came the special white wall tire paint. It was classy to have white walls in the early 50’s. Dad would never spend the extra $ to get them because curb scrapes couldn’t be painted as well on them. He was not the best driver around. 
dave s 

[31 LaSalle]

3 hours ago, John Bloom said:

No apologies necessary for your handsome Chrysler!  
 

i’ve had a lot of collectible cars in my lifetime. Sometimes even multiple examples of the same year and model. For every model of collectible car I’ve owned (or chased), there is in my mind the perfect most beautiful color combination for that model (personal preference i.e. MGTC......BRG, 65 Riviera......Red,......etc...). Only a few of them had that color, which means there has typically been compromise by me and I still enjoyed it. If you hate the color of your car change it. But if you find yourself thinking that it isn’t your preferred color choice, go price new paint from a quality shop. You might find you like the current color better than you thought. 

previous owner must have loved the color combination or had lots of paint left

here is a picture of my cars twin/// 

[mrspeedyt]

"White is right!"

 

 

next time I need tires for my 41 CAD. I'm definitely going to consider some wide whites 

[keiser31]

This Chrysler CD8 used to belong to my friend, Harry DeMenge in San Diego. I don't know if whitewalls were on there originally.

Edited November 22, 2022 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Gunsmoke]

K31 you are right, the CD8 Roadster above was Harry DeMenge's with the photos taken in late 1970's after he had completed a great restoration, photo and comprehensive article is included in July 1980 edition of WPC News. Restoration was a tough exercise even back then for rare cars, he indicated he bought another CD8 roadster as a donor car as well as a CD8 sedan as a donor! No internet search options back then.

[Paul Dobbin]

 

In 1972 my company bought a new Ford Gran Torino for me to use as a company car.   It had blackwall tires and pot hub caps.  I was an insurance claims investigator and in some neigborhoods, kids would say to me "You'ze a cop aint you?".   Out came my J.C. Whitney catalog an I ordered chrome trim rings for it and soon wore out the tires and replaced them with whitewalls.  For undercover work, there is a need to blend in.

[Walt G]

Whitewalls, blackwalls lots of astute opinions . Well one example here shows red walls - thank you. And some time ago I did a story that focused on other colors of sidewalls for times and this is all pre WWII. So here you go for a reminder. Green and granite walls.   ( yes, some of you are thinking, how did we know that he would come up with the "odd" factor - hey its what I do , art in the blood takes on strange forms and thoughts, add to that a substantial library of material to back up what I state and ...............  🤪) Have to give you guys something to smile at each day!

Edited November 23, 2022 by Walt G (see edit history)

[Walt G]

note in the period literature illustration that the stem, to add air to the tire is bent.  this was a common thing /feature in the 1932 and up era. Brass bent stems.

Hey don't you just love it, can you hear a aficionado /expert at an upper crusty (crustish?)  concours telling one and all about his "willow wall" green sidewall tires!

That would be a hot topic And you read about it on the AACA forums right here first. 😉

[Matt Harwood]

I've always liked wide whitewalls. It was my dream from childhood to have a six-wheel Full Classic with giant wide whites and a trunk. I liked my '29 Cadillac with whitewalls but I didn't like the maintenance that they demanded. If I were doing it again, I might have chosen blackwalls after seeing how good the car with the wire wheels looked. I think my disc wheels would have looked even better.

 

 

 

I faced the same conundrum with my '35 Lincoln. It was outfitted with whitewalls from the factory as standard equipment (factory photo, below). But when it was time to buy new tires, I figured I'd try blackwalls and see if I like the look. I think I do, but I'm not 100% convinced yet. I'm going to reserve judgement for when the car is back together again and out in the sun with the trim rings installed before I make a final decision. I do like the low-maintenance look and somehow they seem more "durable" although that shouldn't be the case. I do think it gives the car a more sturdy look. I did an informal poll in the thread on my Lincoln and the votes were pretty evenly split among whitewall/blackwall with the blackwalls having a very slight edge.

 

I only wish someone hadn't said that blackwalls make it look like a Nazi staff car--I just can't get that out of my head.

 

 

 

I guess that doesn't help the discussion very much. I seem to have no real opinion. I don't think there's any right answer--do what you like and change it if you don't like it. Tires are relatively cheap to change for a BIG difference in the look of any car.

[John_Mereness]

Just depends on the car and keep in mind that whitewalls rarely look good on chrome plated wire wheels, that said though you have to understand the mentality - a whitewall is a my dog is better than your dog, a round of golf and dinner at the Country Club, a new pair of designer shoes, and ....

[AURktman]

My 60 Pontiac came with wide whites (sort of wide at 2.25” wide).  I think it looks best with the wide whites but I do prefer blackwall on most cars.  She has thin whitewalls on now, but will be going back to original wide whitewall bias ply soon.  

 

Original tires presumably

 

Blackwall in 2016

 

 

Now with thin whitewalls. 

 

[31nash880]

 

Found "tire paint" at the auto parts store. Since I will be needing tires and white walls are yellowing, I can see it in person with black walls.

[Dandy Dave]

On 11/22/2022 at 1:55 PM, 31 LaSalle said:

previous owner must have loved the color combination or had lots of paint left

here is a picture of my cars twin/// 

Those cars look like a Liberace piano and suite all ready for a show. My Grandmother use to watch him perform and raved about him. My great aunt,  Her sister lived in Reno and she visited often.

[TexRiv_63]

Another thread I can't believe I missed until now. I am definitely a fan of blackwalls and felt that my 28 Pierce and 34 Packard looked great with them. The 32 Cadillac cried out for whitewalls on the other hand. Some more modern cars also seem to be required to have them like my 60 Buick - although...

[alsancle]

On 11/21/2022 at 6:56 PM, alsancle said:

Matt, I wish it was my theory. I forget who told me, someone at Hershey. Steve, was that you? Walt?

 

Five color theory states that you can’t have more than five colors on the car or it looks stupid. That includes the black on the outer tire, the white wall, the wheel color,  pinstriping, interior, top, fender color, and body  color.

 

White walls just add an extra color for no reason. I hate them with a burning firey passion, but this is a logical argument against them.

 

Walt can probably explain the five colors, maybe he’s the one that told me?

 

I remembered who explained the 5 color rule to me.  It was Rolls Royce expert Steve Littin at Hershey.  So for now I'm giving him credit for it.

[R Walling]

 Black wall's for me! (With touch of white spats OEM)

Edited February 19, 2023 by R Walling (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

This eight-wheeler wouldn't look good at all with white walls.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

You guys are FUNNY!  

  As long as there are two or more folks alive, this question will not be settled!   

  VIVA LA DIFFERONCE [ sic?]

 Not that a peon's [😁] thoughts matter, I like white on some cars , not others.  

 

  Carry on.  

 

  Ben

[TAKerry]

Im with Bruce, I have always like the WWW tire, but after perusing this forum for a few years AJ has enlightened me a bit, LOL. Dad started driving around 1950 and I remember him telling me about painting the white wall on black tires. He was a poor farmer, so I suppose it was a relative inexpensive way to upgrade ones social status? or just plain cool factor! 

[SC38dls]

My two older brothers and I were assigned to wash the car every weekend when it wasn’t too cold. We also had to paint the white walls on the tires when ever they were looking shabby, faded or scraped up from hitting curbs. Dad said why pay for whitewalls when tire paint is cheap and I’ve got free labor! 
dave s