JDuguid Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 I need to order new tires for a 1917 Buick D-6-45 Touring. It’s currently wearing Universal white walls, 34x4. I had been thinking of replacing them with the same. However, those are not in stock at Coker, so they don’t qualify for any of the promotions they’re running. They do have solid black in stock that would qualify for the promotion. Is one more period correct? The car has a white body with black fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 White wall tires were introduced in 1934. Therefore, they are not correct for your car. when were white wall tires introduced - Search (bing.com) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 (edited) Looking at how the spokes fit the hub I would be more concerned with their loosness. Period correct tires would have been all white. Unrestored survivor 1916-45 with possibly period tires on the rear. Depending on tire manufacture some were gray or even a red. Some had white walls with red tread. Or red walls with black tread. The Baloon tires shown in factory ads for my 1925 Buick show lighter colored side wall tires. Edited December 30, 2022 by dibarlaw Added content (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuguid Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Good eye @dibarlaw! Yes, both back wheels and one front had significant damage. New tires will be mounted on four new wooden wheels that were completed this fall. I have seen similar ads like the fist one you posted showing white tires. Because black is so often seen today, I wasn’t sure if there were reasons people selected one or the other. I hadn’t really considered solid white because my primary desire was to keep the car’s appearance as how I always remember it. My grandfather restored it from boxes of parts and pieces and now I’m grateful to be it’s next caretaker. Can anyone with the solid white tires chime in on how easy they are to maintain a clean appearance? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 3 hours ago, JDuguid said: Can anyone with the solid white tires chime in on how easy they are to maintain a clean appearance? My neighbor at the AACA car show in Satratoga had solid white tires on his 1906 Maxwell. They were gorgeous but a disaster to keep clean, he had tire covers on them for the show just to wheel it around, and even though the car ran, he trailered it 1/2 mile from the lot to the show so the tires wouldn't get dirty. Tires back then that looked like white walls were actually the opposite. Instead of white sides on top of black tires, they were black treads on top of white tires. Rubber is white. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 FWIW, I think blackwall tires on the white car would look good. Certainly easier to maintain than all white or whitewall tires... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 (edited) Tires were white when I invented them. Rubber is white. Edited March 10 by Morgan Wright (see edit history) 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock10 Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Thanks 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 JDugid, I had white wall tires on my '13 Buick that I wore out from driving. We drive the car between 1,500 - 2,000 miles a year I had new wheels made last year to get rid of the squeaks when driving ( indication of impending failure IMO) and new tires all black walls. In my book, safety is everything and getting new wheels made for less than $2,000 plus new tires is less than one wheel failure, damage to the car, and not to mention possible bodily injury to you and your passengers. Just IMO. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 JDugid, As the owner of a 1916 D-45 with the car being in my family for 60 years, I have managed to learn a thing or two about them. These cars left the factory at Flint on 24-inch wheels with 56 inch wide axles. There was an option for 26-inch wheels with 60 inch wide axles. I have never seen or heard of a D-45 with the larger wheels and wider axles. Our car has 34 x 5, BF Goodrich Silvertown Cord BlackWall tires. I have factory documentation that our car left Flint with Black body color. Your car being painted White is the result of somebody's personal preference. Your car has Baker Wheels and if you can get a set of the 34 x 5 tires, you will be amazed at how well the car will ride and drive, plus they will fill the fenders better and look better while doing it. Please keep in mind that the 1916 and 1917 D-45's were basically the same car appearance wise. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuguid Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 16 hours ago, Terry Wiegand said: Your car has Baker Wheels and if you can get a set of the 34 x 5 tires, you will be amazed at how well the car will ride and drive, plus they will fill the fenders better and look better while doing it. @Terry Wiegand Thank you for the response and details. You make a good point about the larger tires filling out the fenders. This car has 26” rims, so the 34x5 Silvertown Cord won’t fit my rims. Would you recommend stepping up to a 36x5 or staying with the 34x4.5? I was just reading about paint colors in another post here and saw that white wasn’t an option. I’m learning a lot about this car here! With all the feedback here I’m leaning toward the solid black. Another fear is the heat here in FL may discolor or be harsher on the whitewall, dulling it faster. Thanks again to everyone who chimed in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 That's confusing. Does this car have 34x4 (26" rims) or 34x4.5 (25" rims)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuguid Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 2 hours ago, Bloo said: That's confusing. Does this car have 34x4 (26" rims) or 34x4.5 (25" rims)? That was my error above, all these tires and numbers are running together! Currently, it has Universal straight ribbed 34x4 on 26” rims. With Terry’s comment about filling in the fender space, I found 36x5 that also fit the 26” rim. Both are Lester straight ribbed, similar to existing. I can’t find Silvertown Cords for a 26” rim. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 (edited) Just looked. They still list it. I wouldn't bet on it being in stock. https://www.cokertire.com/tires/34x4-bf-goodrich-cord-blackwall.html Edited January 2, 2023 by Bloo (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 JDuguid, Are you absolutely sure that the wheels are 26 inch diameter? IF they are and IF they are Baker wheels, then this is the first 1916/1917 D-45 Buick in captivity that I have ever seen or heard of and I have seen a lot of them over the years. I am posting some photos of the Baker Rim Wedges for the wheels on my car. Do your rim wedges look like these? I would really like to know if your car does indeed have Baker wheels like it left the factory with. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuguid Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 6 hours ago, Terry Wiegand said: Are you absolutely sure that the wheels are 26 inch diameter? IF they are and IF they are Baker wheels, then this is the first 1916/1917 D-45 Buick in captivity that I have ever seen or heard of and I have seen a lot of them over the years. I am posting some photos of the Baker Rim Wedges for the wheels on my car. Do your rim wedges look like these? I would really like to know if your car does indeed have Baker wheels like it left the factory with. I’m not sure of much anymore… Yes, I double checked measurement of the rim and tire that came off of it this morning. The rim is 26” and the tire’s inside opening is 26”. The wheel wedges are not Baker. These are stamped Perlman. W C on the left, M O on the right. Does that provide any additional insight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 The wedges are the same as the Buick wheels, even though they have Perlman on the wedge. The wedges are made by The Weston-Mott axle company who would have made the axle. They were located in Flint, MI and supplied axles to Buick among other manufacturers among others. That is what the WM on the different wedges shown stands for. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepcak Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 (edited) Terry, the wheel size (26" size vs 25" size) has been already discussed on this forum and there were at least two other D45 cars with 26" rims identified. My car has 26" Baker wheels and there was one more car mentioned. I just cannot locate the thread anymore. So maybe they are not so uncommon as you suggest.... I am looking for a spare 26" Baker rim, for straight side tyre 34x4, with overall width 3.75" (95mm) any chances anybody? Thank you, Josef Edited January 7, 2023 by pepcak (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPilkie Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Hi Bob Pilkie here in Edmonton Alberta. I have a 1916 Buick D45. It has 26” wheels. I put a few new tires on it 34x4 but wish I would have put 36 x5. They do look much better. And would ride a bit better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karejorgen Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 My 1917 D45 that is under restoration is also running 34x4 tires and 26 inch rims, and the 60 inch wide axles 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Wiegand Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 That explains the 26 inch wheels. They were only on the wide axles and this was an option on the D-40 Series cars. Terry Wiegand South Hutchinson, Kansas AACA Life Member #947918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Wright Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 This 1915 Buick has 36 x 5 balloons and you can tell right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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