Which cars should never have white wall tires?

[Brass is Best]

Some cars should never have white wall tires. Here are a few:

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Agree with blackwalls on most cars pre 1935, but from that point forward I think color and bodystyle makes a difference. For most postwar US made I think www looks more,at home especially mid fifties.

 

I like the blackwalls on our 110 for example, but as a convertible in a sporty color, www wouldn't look horrible imo, on this car.  Or out of place.  Actually for this car I am pretty much split evenly.

 

Our goal of course is to wear these out so we eventually have to make that decision, but they are nearly new Firestones so it may take a little while. 😊

[Bill Boudway]

1926 Chrysler G-70

[J.H.Boland]

41 minutes ago, Brass is Best said:

Some cars should never have white wall tires. Here are a few:

I think the locomotive looks sharp with whitewalls !

 

[Brass is Best]

37 minutes ago, J.H.Boland said:

I think the locomotive looks sharp with whitewalls !

 

So do I. 

[JV Puleo]

I don't think any brass cars should have them. In fact, even black walls are likely incorrect for most but white or grey tires are so expensive that I'd never make an issue of it...and we can be pretty certain that even if the tires weren't black to begin with they were as soon as those were available.

[30DodgePanel]

67 Corvette should never have whitewalls...

 

 

 

[alsancle]

That Loco is cool.
 

I’ve been pretty consistent in my position for a long time. The only cars that should wear white walls are the ones that were delivered that way standard from the factory.

 

36-37 Cord being an example.

and I think the Cord would look a lot better with black walls, but that’s just not the way they were built.

 

[oldford]

Why do some of you go to great lengths to push your opinion of white vs black walls on cars? Just let the owner of the car make his own decision...

It's not like they just dropped a Chevy 350 under the hood of a Steamer, or is it???

 

Frank

[John_S_in_Penna]

26 minutes ago, Bills Auto Works said:

Not sure this Locomoblie that I just delivered last week would look good with white walls! LOL

In its day, it may have had RED sidewall tires.

They are a part of automotive history that is

pretty much forgotten.

 

Pictured here (scanned from Automobile Quarterly)

is a Locomobile with just such tires.  They were evidently

a natural rubber red, not a bright red;  and a 1916 ad

for Firestone says the red sidewall was the trademark

of their brand:

[Bhigdog]

Oh, I don't know. My 56 St Regis looked pretty good with them.................Bob

[Marty Roth]

7 minutes ago, Bhigdog said:

Oh, I don't know. My 56 St Regis looked pretty good with them.................Bob

Bob,

 

Please adopt me,

and put me in your will for that beauty of a tri-color '56 New Yorker St. Regis !

 

Does she have A/C?

 

The 1956 Chrysler is possibly the cleanest design of the era, at least in my opinion.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

4 hours ago, Brass is Best said:

Some cars should never have white wall tires. Here are a few:

You missed one that should never have W Walled tires/wheels. It's the Berkshire behind the Ford woody. Even a loco shouldn't have W/W

 

 However, Tiger paws are acceptable! 

even on locos too

 

[Bhigdog]

17 hours ago, Marty Roth said:

Bob,

 

Please adopt me,

and put me in your will for that beauty of a tri-color '56 New Yorker St. Regis !

 

Does she have A/C?

 

The 1956 Chrysler is possibly the cleanest design of the era, at least in my opinion.

No A/C Marty, but it does have a cowl door that opens in front of the W/S. Way cool. Can't put it in my will. It's disappeared into a private collection and will likely not be shown or maybe even driven again.

But you are correct it is a spectacular design by Virgil Exner. My car had the honor of being invited to the Radnor Hunt Concours where it was awarded the best closed Chrysler and was chosen by Virgil Exner's son to receive the "Virgil Exner Award" which he presented. Pretty neat to meet the son of one of the great designers...............Bob

Edited November 23, 2022 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

Remember the 1970's when ironed hair on flat chested women was polular?   That was the same as blackwall tires to me on classic cars.   It's all a mattr of personal taste.

[Marty Roth]

2 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

Remember the 1970's when ironed hair on flat chested women was popular?   That was the same as blackwall tires to me on classic cars.   It's all a matter of personal taste.

I grew up in the 1950s and while styles do change, I don't recall the combination of the above being especially attractive

 

I guess by Paul's reasoning, my lust for :

Marilyn Monroe,

Sophia Loren,

Elizabeth Taylor,

other curvaceous beauties...

 

translates to my interest in cars??

 

That is why, at least by Paul's standards, I like 

My Wife (who caught my eye the first moment I saw her),

In a flashy Classic Convertible

With White Wall Tires

(the car, not the wife)

 

Oh, and did I mention DAGMARS ??

Edited November 23, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

43 minutes ago, Marty Roth said:

I grew up in the 1950s and while styles do change, I don't recall the combination of the above being especially attractive

 

I guess by Paul's reasoning, my lust for :

Marilyn Monroe,

Sophia Loren,

Elizabeth Taylor,

other curvaceous beauties...

 

translates to my interest in cars??

 

That is why, at least by Paul's standards, I like 

My Wife (who caught my eye the first moment I saw her),

In a flashy Classic Convertible

With White Wall Tires

(the car, not the wife)

I'm glad you clarified that very last bit.😉

[1937hd45]

They look just fine if the vehicles are on "Their side".

[Marty Roth]

46 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

I'm glad you clarified that very last bit.😉

And I like DAGMARS, too  !!

[1937hd45]

16 minutes ago, Marty Roth said:

And I like DAGMARS, too  !!

I won a T-shirt on an automobile radio show years ago, "What are Dagmars?". I said they were made in Hagerstown, Maryland. 

[edinmass]

Here are the two Dagmar’s. Both have unusual lines. If I opine anymore the powers above will complain again so we shall just go with just the facts. Also, one car reference is the 50’s Cadillac bumpers as having Dagmar’s attached to them. This is an educational posting and should NOT be edited.

 

#1 is Dagmar the celebrity.

#2 is Dagmar the car. I have actually worked on this one.

#3 is Dagmar the Cadillac front bumper.

#4 is if I comment more they will suspend me AGAIN!

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

Dagmar,s name was Virginia Egner. While i was restoring my 55 Buick i wrote to her, in WV, and asked for an autographed pix. She never replied. She has since moved on........bob

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Bhigdog (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

13 hours ago, 30DodgePanel said:

67 Corvette should never have whitewalls...

 

 

 

This car would be perfect with white walls, the thin line. However the stripes look a bit thick to me. If these were as factory delivered I would give it a pass.

[EmTee]

For second-gen Corvettes I would generally say black, red or gold; thin white would be on a case-by-case basis...

[Paul Dobbin]

In this case, I like the whitewalls on the Corvette, but think they look better on the earlier Corvette.   67 was the first year that Corvette suspension was a true sports car instead of a old Chevrolet.   Maybe the thin red or gold stripe wou;d have been more appropriate in 1967.

[EmTee]

I'm certainly no Corvette expert (or expert of any kind for that matter...).  I just grew-up when the unspoken rule was "no whitewalls with 'mag' wheels" (which typically included factory chrome or "sport" wheels).  There were exceptions though, such as thin white stripes with Buick road wheels, or Chevy rally wheels (esp. on full-size cars).  Aftermarket or factory 'mag' wheels got either blackwalls or RWLs...

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by EmTee (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

11 hours ago, Marty Roth said:

And I like DAGMARS, too  !!

Well...........naturally!

[Paul Dobbin]

3 hours ago, EmTee said:

I'm certainly no Corvette expert (or expert of any kind for that matter...).  I just grew-up when the unspoken rule was "no whitewalls with 'mag' wheels" (which typically included factory chrome or "sport" wheels).  There were exceptions though, such as thin white stripes with Buick road wheels, or Chevy rally wheels (esp. on full-size cars).  Aftermarket or factory 'mag' wheels got either blackwalls or RWLs...

 

    I think Radial Ply tires were the end of Wide Whitewalls until Diamond Back Classic Tire came along.  They can put a whitewall in almost any Tire.

[Pfeil]

5 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

In this case, I like the whitewalls on the Corvette, but think they look better on the earlier Corvette.   67 was the first year that Corvette suspension was a true sports car instead of a old Chevrolet.   Maybe the thin red or gold stripe wou;d have been more appropriate in 1967.

I didn't know 1963-1966 full size Chevrolet used Corvette IRS🤥 

 

Corvette engineers quickly became aware of its shortcomings and opted to begin producing their own version of what is commonly referred to as an IRS system, or Independent Rear Suspension. Released in 1963, IRS systems were first bolted

under the gorgeous C2 split-window and would continue with the chassis for years to come.

The biggest reason why the 1963 Corvette is the most significant in the history of the Marque is only visible from below the car. Designed by Zora Arkus-Duntov, a independent rear suspension (IRS) was part of the new chassis. This was a bold move on the part of GM, although Pontiac Tempest 1961-1963 had IFS and IRS two years before Corvette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

I should have said,that by 1967 Corvette had achieved a transiton from Chverolet to Corvette as a true sports car with all the improvements, engine, suspension, steering,

HP, that had plagyed the early versions.  I'm not a Corvette guy and actually owned a Porsche in 1967. and my last Corvette was a 1957.  My opinion was based on Corvette guy talk and sports car magazines.