Whitewalls on a antique car

[Jack Bennett]

I like white walls on the tires of each of my antique cars.

But, I have been gently chastised regarding the use of these tires and the fact (?) that very few antique cars came equipped with white wall  tires, and they add a natty look to a otherwise good restoration.

OK…….I do the toe twist and look down with a abundant show of shame, and, wven though my white walls are here to stay, express my undying gratitude for the person offering the information.

And then my boat is (literally) rocked while I was watching the movie “USS Indianapolis” when they show a wide angle shot of the Capitol, supposedly shot in the late part of the 1930’s.

In this, intended to be period correct photo shot, a number of 1930’s cars are shown….and to the last one, are all sporting white wall tires.

Among shop worn threads this topic should rate a really high score.

But, it carries he same amount of talkability as “what oil to use in a antique car engine” so let’s toss it around for a while.

Jack

 

[24Chry48]

I like my whitewall tires. I have them on all my pre-war cars except a 27 Imperial sedan. It came with blackwall tires and I just never replaced them. They have gotten so expensive that I cringe when I have to buy them now. Everyone has their preference, but personally I think they dress up a car quite nicely, as long as they are the correct whitewall for the period of the car. Nothing looks worse than a 60's car with a 3 inch wide white.

 

[prewarnut]

I think we have seen through the years many period photos and literature supporting white walls on almost every decade of car. Walt has also shown stylistically when and when not to do such (e.g. are there side-mounts and are they covered?) I do however mostly fall in the anti-white wall camp unless it helps the particular vehicle (e.g. a '30s Cord, an otherwise black '20s Pickwick P1). The more important question (for another thread so I don't hijack yours) is what can we do, and why the h@#& does everyone keep painting the wheel spokes/rims a contrasting color???? Unless supported in the literature like a '36 Cadillac with chrome hubcaps please stop painting wheels red, yellow, neon green, orange.....Otherwise your photo examples above look nice with whitewalls.

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Went to black on my ‘31 Ford and I think it changed the looks dramatically. For the better. Some cars I like www, some black. I cannot categorize them.

[alsancle]

We have discussed this many times.   It is your car and you can do what you want.  You don't have to justify it. 

 

But...  whitewalls were much more likely to be found on high end cars than lower and medium priced cars.  There were exceptions of course.

 

When choosing tires I would gently urge you to think about the 5 color rule (and Walt needs to explain why this rule works) but the less colors you use the more aesthetically pleasing the car is with 5 being the max.   Whitewalls always add a color (unless it is a white car).

[Jack Bennett]

4 hours ago, alsancle said:

We have discussed this many times.   It is your car and you can do what you want.  You don't have to justify it. 

 

But...  whitewalls were much more likely to be found on high end cars than lower and medium priced cars.  There were exceptions of course.

 

When choosing tires I would gently urge you to think about the 5 color rule (and Walt needs to explain why this rule works) but the less colors you use the more aesthetically pleasing the car is with 5 being the max.   Whitewalls always add a color (unless it is a white car).

Hi alsankle……..How very true that we can do what we want with our cars.

But, while “car” is a important word in this thought, “we” and “ours” the tie breaker is when it comes to adding things like a moto-meter, instead of a radiator cap, wind wings or some nice brass body trim.

I chose this mundane, and overworked, topic because, as “ours” and “we” can be used to replace “you”, “me”, “they”, “them”, and on forever, “tires” can be replaced by a million other things “our” old cars needs, and falls right in line with other things “we” buy for “our” family, pets, and maybe more hesitantly, ourselves.

One thread on this forum was devoted to a members plight because the white walls on his old car was turning yellow…..note, I said “tires”, but could have easily said “teeth” or “underwear”.

Another AACA member was lamenting on the restriction that another, very popular, but far more strict on the use of aftermarket, non-oem tires on his classic Chevy was a reason for denying membership……and it was treated with the same level of angst as if his wife had filed for a divorce.

A term I overuse is “my”, and it is usually associated with “my” old cars, and it can be discussed for hours as long as it doesn’t stray into becoming “my” lawyer, “my” church, “my” finances and “my” personal affairs.

Isn’t it wonderful though that the width of a slab of rubber, on a tire which must be special ordered, at costs we can ill afford to spare, on a old car which sits idle for 9 months of the year, can be a non contentious topic, which will provide hours of word fodder for similar thinking brothers of a different mother, without one referral to any of the aforementioned, and not one single word of anger to be heard.

Yep, if the very idea that I would even consider spending a fortune for a set of tires for my old car says reams about me, what is said if I go a tad further and add a white wall to those “Coker” sweeties?
And, honestly, if you like writing, and the forum is your canvass, isn’t writing about the tire choice, on “your” old car, as challenging and fulfilling as a thousand page thesis on the price of tea in China?

Jack

 

Edited March 23 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[Jack Bennett]

4 hours ago, alsancle said:

We have discussed this many times.   It is your car and you can do what you want.  You don't have to justify it. 

 

But...  whitewalls were much more likely to be found on high end cars than lower and medium priced cars.  There were exceptions of course.

 

When choosing tires I would gently urge you to think about the 5 color rule (and Walt needs to explain why this rule works) but the less colors you use the more aesthetically pleasing the car is with 5 being the max.   Whitewalls always add a color (unless it is a white car).

Going to add this….If you noticed that there are four, brand new, white wall tires on the Fargo Express Panel I’ve recently adopted, you may have also noticed that one side of the truck has one white wall and one black wall exposed to view.

The other side has two black walls exposed to view.

Sadly, the truck doesn’t have third side because it would have two whitewalls exposed.

This weird arrangement gives me the ability to get some idea as to whether I want to show the truck with white walls out, or all black walls, as I progress through the body work and color scheme.

I am leaning toward all white walls, and, regardless of whatever input I get on this thread, think I will stay with that decision. But, it is a topic I can post without (hopefully) evoking a argument, and I do, sincerely, appreciate the opinions, information and assistance.

Jack

 

[Jack Bennett]

5 hours ago, Jeff Perkins / Mn said:

Went to black on my ‘31 Ford and I think it changed the looks dramatically. For the better. Some cars I like www, some black. I cannot categorize them.

That is one beautiful car…….and the white walls emphasize the colors very well.

On this this car it is easily seen that the tires, being a common accessory on every car, regardless of year, make or model, acts in the same manner as proper punctuation does in a sentence to impose a breath of pause between essential words, and those which define the meaning of the sentence.

There is absolutely no doubt that these tires did not happen by accident, they define the space between the pavement and the car, and demand, without words, “Look at me”………”Aren’t I beautiful”?

Jack

[69merc]

On some cars whitewalls are almost mandatory. Like my car with stock wheel covers. 

[Jack Bennett]

7 hours ago, prewarnut said:

I think we have seen through the years many period photos and literature supporting white walls on almost every decade of car. Walt has also shown stylistically when and when not to do such (e.g. are there side-mounts and are they covered?) I do however mostly fall in the anti-white wall camp unless it helps the particular vehicle (e.g. a '30s Cord, an otherwise black '20s Pickwick P1). The more important question (for another thread so I don't hijack yours) is what can we do, and why the h@#& does everyone keep painting the wheel spokes/rims a contrasting color???? Unless supported in the literature like a '36 Cadillac with chrome hubcaps please stop painting wheels red, yellow, neon green, orange.....Otherwise your photo examples above look nice with whitewalls.

Hi prewarnut…….You are a lay-psychic in that you have touched on a subject I am presently at odds with myself.

I like to close out my day by doing nothing other than looking at the work I’ve accomplished on my old cars, and making a loosely structured plan for the work I intend on doing tomorrow.

On both the Willys and the Dodge I disassembled rhe wheels, separated the spokes from the drum, and meticulously sanded each piece prior to painting and reassembly. Regardless of the color the wheel was previously painted, the spokes were left neutral, sealed, stained and recieved several coats of spar varnish or lacquer.

But, these two cars were in far better shape than the Fargo, and I am not looking forward to removing the spokes from the drum or the rim from the spokes to renew their appearance.

I will repeat what I’ve previously said many times before and that is the belief that “Far more damage is done while “fixing” these old cars than was ever broken by normal use”. And that includes removing age warped spokes from a rim to which they were attached ninety five years ago, and, sanely believing they will go back together without use of a tool which went extinct in the 1930’s. 
That fairly clearly dictates that whatever I do to the wheels of the Fargo, it will have to be done with the wheel intact, and that eliminates removal of the rim and hub from the spokes, and that really complicates doing a decent sanding and paint job.

I have been looking at photos of other Fargo panel and pick up truck projects and find that it is a fairly common practice to paint the spokes and rims in a color which matches the paint scheme of the body.

As a interlude to a final finish of the wheel dilemma, I am thinking about putting all white walls out, painting the rims, hubs and wheel center black and painting the spokes green, to match the body color.

One good thing about working on a zombie machine is the amount of latitude I have in doings things like this. Especially, with full knowledge that what doesn’t work today only means I still have something to do tomorrow when I change it.

i too am involved in a dilemma with the immorality of hijacking someone else’s thread, and stepping on their topic when I reply to a comment addressed to me, on their thread.

Seems like a self defeating expectation of a viable format for a forum, kept alive, and interesting, when it is based solely on exchange of written ideas and opinions, and users are discouraged from answering another members question regarding “spark knock” with a response more related to atmospheric temperature, spark plug temperature range and gasoline octane rating than saying “thunk……thunk…….thunk…….”.

That said, I want your input on the wheel color thing and, if it’s done on this thread I promise I won’t complain, and if you put it on a new thread, I will read it.

Jack

 

Edited March 23 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[Jack Bennett]

11 minutes ago, 69merc said:

On some cars whitewalls are almost mandatory. Like my car with stock wheel covers. 

Hello 69merc. For fear that I would be home-locked during the fairly long, and all too common, Washington State rain, damp and windy season, which makes a week end drive in my old Willys or Dodge border on insanity, I undertook reanimation of a more modern 1951 Plymouth Cambridge.

I has electric windshield wipers, which aren’t appreciated until you remember your vacuum powered wipers won’t work during a long hill climb, modern lighting and a heater.

Also, it has full wheel covers, and, in spite of it not being a Porsche 911, it is a classic Plymouth with gobs of aura and pride.

This, after looking at your beautiful Mercury, I am certain you understand.

Not putting wide white walls on my Plymouth would be the equal to you contracting me to install a new, glistening white, environmentally friendly flush mechanism and ultra modern styled commode in your refurbished bathroom.

And, upon completion of the install, and my departure, for a long weekend, from your home, you notice I overlooked putting a seat on the commode.

And why I like white walls on my Plymouth becomes perfectly clear.

Jack 

[TexRiv_63]

Three of the four prewar cars I have owned had blackwalls through no choice of my own, but I liked it that way. Blackwalls gave the 28 Pierce and 34 Packard a bit of an outlaw vibe and it was just correct on the 34 Chevy. But when it came to the 32 Cadillac I bought 6 new wide whites in the Firestone style pictured in the shop manual. As far as I know they were standard on that car.

 

More recently I replaced the tires on my 60 Buick and they also just HAD to be whitewalls - updated closer to the original size. Some cars demand whitewalls!

[31 LaSalle]

I am undecided as to fitting whitewalls to my 1931 lasalle 
I have whitewalls on my 1928 Chrysler 72 but I am not keen on them with the color of my car  

if they were the same size as the Lasalle I would probably swap them round

your thoughts good or bad are welcome

 

[Matt Harwood]

I also think that a drastic change takes some acclimation. For years I thought blackwalls looked low-rent and basic, and I pushed back against them. Full Classics should have wide whites, right? I bought my '35 Lincoln with wide whites on it and I liked the look.

 

 

But when it came time to put new tires on it, I chose blackwalls, primarily because I'm tired of maintaining whitewalls, but partially because I trusted the advice of experienced hobbyists like Alsancle. I added trim rings to keep it from being too dark, but the change was pretty drastic. And yes, at first I wondered if I'd made the right decision.

 

 

Now, a year later, I'm very happy I chose blackwalls. The car looks serious yet understated and looking at the whitewall photos I think it's too busy. Over time, I have become accustomed to it, and it changed my perspective. I really like the look. I'm also considering blackwalls on my '41 Buick Limited when the time comes for new tires. 

 

To reflect on Alsancle's comment about the 5 color rule, I'm not sure where that came from but Walt seems to understand it best. Essentially, it says that you shouldn't have more than five colors on a car, otherwise it starts to look too busy. There's body color, secondary color (if applicable), pinstripe color, wheel color, interior color, chrome, and tires. If all those are different colors, there's just too much going on. My car has five colors: two reds on the body, gray interior, chrome, and blackwalls. The whitewalls moved it to six and yes, with hindsight, it looks busy. 

 

All that said, if you like whitewalls, install whitewalls. If you like blackwalls, install blackwalls. Few things on our cars can make such a dramatic change in its appearance while simultaneously being quite easy to change. It's not cheap, but it's not expensive for the dramatic change it provides. You can always try it and go back if you don't like it.

 

Oh, and I very much wish I had installed blackwalls on this car four years ago when I first got it. What a difference!

 

 

[alsancle]

15 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

I also think that a drastic change takes some acclimation. For years I thought blackwalls looked low-rent and basic, and I pushed back against them. Full Classics should have wide whites, right? I bought my '35 Lincoln with wide whites on it and I liked the look.

 

 

But when it came time to put new tires on it, I chose blackwalls, primarily because I'm tired of maintaining whitewalls, but partially because I trusted the advice of experienced hobbyists like Alsancle. I added trim rings to keep it from being too dark, but the change was pretty drastic. And yes, at first I wondered if I'd made the right decision.

 

 

Now, a year later, I'm very happy I chose blackwalls. The car looks serious yet understated and looking at the whitewall photos I think it's too busy. Over time, I have become accustomed to it, and it changed my perspective. I really like the look. I'm also considering blackwalls on my '41 Buick Limited when the time comes for new tires. 

 

To reflect on Alsancle's comment about the 5 color rule, I'm not sure where that came from but Walt seems to understand it best. Essentially, it says that you shouldn't have more than five colors on a car, otherwise it starts to look too busy. There's body color, secondary color (if applicable), pinstripe color, wheel color, interior color, chrome, and tires. If all those are different colors, there's just too much going on. My car has five colors: two reds on the body, gray interior, chrome, and blackwalls. The whitewalls moved it to six and yes, with hindsight, it looks busy. 

 

All that said, if you like whitewalls, install whitewalls. If you like blackwalls, install blackwalls. Few things on our cars can make such a dramatic change in its appearance while simultaneously being quite easy to change. It's not cheap, but it's not expensive for the dramatic change it provides. You can always try it and go back if you don't like it.

 

Oh, and I very much wish I had installed blackwalls on this car four years ago when I first got it. What a difference!

 

 

 

You said it better than me.

 

There are three big mistakes that have been made over the years with wheels:

 

1.   Paint the wheel a different color than the fenders.

 

2.  Whitewalls.

 

3.  Wrong size.  Typically too small but sometimes too big.

[Walt G]

I am not going to get into this to much, because it would take a lot of comment and also images to help most to comprehend what I am saying clearly not just "sort of".

Big mistakes mentioned - paint the wheels a different color from the fenders. Applies MOST of the time but not all of the time. What are the wheels- wood ? if so short spokes, long spokes , width of spokes, ?  Size of wheels 15 inch ? 23 inch? Disc wheels? Also the year - earlier cars show more of the underside of the fender are open and bigger areas, later years "envelope" the fender and enclose it . that all plays into how you see the car and how it affects the rest of the car - body type also plays into that - perpendicular or slip stream.

I just did a story on car trend design and styling of the 1935 to 1948 era for Crankshaft magazine #8. Not trying to promote a magazine but that gives visual as well as information to see what I am taking about. I previously did a story n the WWI to 1933 era - Perpendicular to Art Deco. There is no one set rule of how a car will look best - fender skirts and fenders that are skirted in styling can totally affect the visual appearance of the car.

Big sedans that have a dark color(s) in the 1934-48 era with black walls ( if larger cars) can look very very heavy in profile appearance.

Over the years I must have chosen at least a dozen or more colors for collectors to paint their cars because they couldn't see the car "done" in their mind and I could, also chose the black or white wall for them as well. I have studied color - not just in art history and teaching art but have at least 1,000 paint chips of the 1925 to 1938 era of considerable size that I have looked at over the years. Even with a good size paint chip - say 4 x 2 inches it is not easy for a non artistic based collector to imagine a hood or two door panels painted in a color - large area and reflections play into the whole picture as well.

Will stop - this is getting to long and you really need photos/images to clearly comprehend what I am trying to convey.

[Jack Bennett]

2 hours ago, Walt G said:

I am not going to get into this to much, because it would take a lot of comment and also images to help most to comprehend what I am saying clearly not just "sort of".

Big mistakes mentioned - paint the wheels a different color from the fenders. Applies MOST of the time but not all of the time. What are the wheels- wood ? if so short spokes, long spokes , width of spokes, ?  Size of wheels 15 inch ? 23 inch? Disc wheels? Also the year - earlier cars show more of the underside of the fender are open and bigger areas, later years "envelope" the fender and enclose it . that all plays into how you see the car and how it affects the rest of the car - body type also plays into that - perpendicular or slip stream.

I just did a story on car trend design and styling of the 1935 to 1948 era for Crankshaft magazine #8. Not trying to promote a magazine but that gives visual as well as information to see what I am taking about. I previously did a story n the WWI to 1933 era - Perpendicular to Art Deco. There is no one set rule of how a car will look best - fender skirts and fenders that are skirted in styling can totally affect the visual appearance of the car.

Big sedans that have a dark color(s) in the 1934-48 era with black walls ( if larger cars) can look very very heavy in profile appearance.

Over the years I must have chosen at least a dozen or more colors for collectors to paint their cars because they couldn't see the car "done" in their mind and I could, also chose the black or white wall for them as well. I have studied color - not just in art history and teaching art but have at least 1,000 paint chips of the 1925 to 1938 era of considerable size that I have looked at over the years. Even with a good size paint chip - say 4 x 2 inches it is not easy for a non artistic based collector to imagine a hood or two door panels painted in a color - large area and reflections play into the whole picture as well.

Will stop - this is getting to long and you really need photos/images to clearly comprehend what I am trying to convey.

Hello Walt…..Hooray……Bravo……..Whoopee…….Kudos………Accolades and any other source of praise you could be rewarded with for making this post.

I am 100% certain that you already realize that my wheels will be painted on a whim, and that will probably be determined by the time of day and number of MGD’s I’ve drank prior to starting the task.

The wheels I am about to paint is on a 1929 Fargo Express Panel truck I, admittedly, bought on a whim.

Thus far I have chosen purely transportation related vehicles as the receivers of my ministering, and this panel is the first 100% commercial vehicle I have owned.

In the nearly eight decades I have been afforded life, I have learned that there is no “right” way of doing anything, and the illusion that I would even need to replicate the way the wheels on this truck looked in 1929 is surely nothing more than a mirage.

I do appreciate the thought behind your statement, leading into the comment “I am not going to get into this much, because it would take a lot of comment”………………………

On a 95 year old commercial vehicle, or a solely transportation/luxury, and totally hobby related vehicle, whether or not it is painted, fully restored or just sitting on rims in the garage, its rich, and rust colored patina allowed to shine through is wholly dependent on a great number of things which go much deeper than a layer of paint or the type of tires were chosen to compliment the cars appearance.

Rather, your statement echos and amplifies why I would post a thread and make a time worn and much overworked topic, such as the selection of tires being appropriate to the vintage of a car, the main subject.

It is needless to say that whatever I choose to do with anything, in this instance the tires, on my old (zombie) truck is done on a spur of the minute whim, is immune to criticism or judgement, may be totally insensitive to period correctness, and its undoing, and redoing is what the hobby is all about.

And, the comments which impart the welcome inclusion of those who are physically, financially, demographically or, for any other reason unable to actively own their own car, or physically work on one, is indeed what this sort of forum is all about.

Personally, my old car hobby is just like a juicy pie, sliced into manageable portions, and served up in quantities which are both digestible as well as fulfilling a taste particular to the minute I select to partake.

Now that I have had my fill of the verbal side of working on my old truck (making comments on the forum) I will retire to the garage, crank up my radio to some good music, and sand the fenders of my old truck in preparation to painting them.

And, Sir, that is a comment, and I welcome anyone with a old car, a radio, and hopefully a cold MGD, to chime in and keep this forum rocking.

Jack

[Jack Bennett]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:19 PM, 24Chry48 said:

I like my whitewall tires. I have them on all my pre-war cars except a 27 Imperial sedan. It came with blackwall tires and I just never replaced them. They have gotten so expensive that I cringe when I have to buy them now. Everyone has their preference, but personally I think they dress up a car quite nicely, as long as they are the correct whitewall for the period of the car. Nothing looks worse than a 60's car with a 3 inch wide white.

 

HI 24Chry48……..It is without a doubt that your “cringe” at spending money, while totally dependent on its availability and liquidity, on tires for your collector cars is figurative, rather than literal, I’m placing my bet that you do it, regardless.

I do metal detecting with a machine which cost me over $800.00 in the 1980’s. The tools (digger, pin pointer, battery packs, and my essential camouflage clothing and sexy finds pouch) probably cost another $500.00 or $600.00 dollars. I will not expound on the other expenses such as gas and car maintenance here, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of consideration as a major expense.

And, not unlike the flotsam I collected while engaging in the equally expensive hobby of genealogy, at the end of a days metal detecting search I have some pull tabs, a few bottle caps, a penny or two, and loads of discarded lip stick tubes and bobby pins.

Yet, I can’t wait to buy more batteries, add a new sniper coil or a set of waterproof headsets, and head for the inviting mud and dog poop to search a new park.

In appreciation of forum “topic” rules, I need to be super careful not to let this post stray too far from antique cars, so I’ll talk about that instead of my boats and bee keeping hobbies.

I have a fake left arm……..no complaints though because the titanium holding the pieces together feels no pain, and it is much better than having no arm at all.

However, the people who installed this arm don’t know much about mechanical devices, and upon completion I had lost a good percentage of the range of motion normally expected of a fully functional arm.

The lower half of the windshield of 1923 Dodge Roadster I adopted was broken and needed replacing. It really stymied my aspirations of returning the windshield to its magnificent state of clarity when I learned that the replacement glass would cost $200.00 and change. 
Being retired and frugal to a point of being painful, I resisted paying this much for a piece of glass, cut and installed by a professional auto glass dealer, and, instead opted to buy a piece of uncut glass for about $95.00, and cut it myself. I had missed the fact that the windshield was 1/4 inch narrower at the top than at the bottom, and therefore, the perfectly rectangular piece of glass I’d so carefully cut did not fit the frame.

So, a bit of force, applied to strategically determined places around the top perimeter of the glass would surely force it into the snug, but very wobbly frame.

Remember the goofy arm…….? Well, it doesn’t respond to pressure, and can do some really stupid stuff if pressed beyond it’s own limits.

As the frame twisted, and the spiderweb of cracks spread across the face of my previously flawless glass, the $200.00 cost of having the glass professionally replaced, seemed far more reasonable that it appeared to be only seconds before.

Reasonably, I could have just reinstalled the windshield frame without any glass at all. Or I could have opted for a much cheaper, non-safety glass replacement from Lowe’s, but that was not reasonable.

So my next trip was to Tacoma Glass, and in my company was a empty front windshield frame from my 1923 Dodge Roadster.

A few days later I returned to the dealership, handed them my credit card and collected my beautifully finished windshield.

Now, as I nurse a cold MGD and peer through the magnificently clear windshield of my roadster, I don’t even think about the cost of replacing a piece of glass on a 100 year old car, I am just grateful I still have the eyesight to enjoy the view and am capable of having the car and the ability to do it.

Jack

 

 

[24Chry48]

10 hours ago, Jack Bennett said:

HI 24Chry48……..It is without a doubt that your “cringe” at spending money, while totally dependent on its availability and liquidity, on tires for your collector cars is figurative, rather than literal, I’m placing my bet that you do it, regardless.

I do metal detecting with a machine which cost me over $800.00 in the 1980’s. The tools (digger, pin pointer, battery packs, and my essential camouflage clothing and sexy finds pouch) probably cost another $500.00 or $600.00 dollars. I will not expound on the other expenses such as gas and car maintenance here, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of consideration as a major expense.

And, not unlike the flotsam I collected while engaging in the equally expensive hobby of genealogy, at the end of a days metal detecting search I have some pull tabs, a few bottle caps, a penny or two, and loads of discarded lip stick tubes and bobby pins.

Yet, I can’t wait to buy more batteries, add a new sniper coil or a set of waterproof headsets, and head for the inviting mud and dog poop to search a new park.

In appreciation of forum “topic” rules, I need to be super careful not to let this post stray too far from antique cars, so I’ll talk about that instead of my boats and bee keeping hobbies.

I have a fake left arm……..no complaints though because the titanium holding the pieces together feels no pain, and it is much better than having no arm at all.

However, the people who installed this arm don’t know much about mechanical devices, and upon completion I had lost a good percentage of the range of motion normally expected of a fully functional arm.

The lower half of the windshield of 1923 Dodge Roadster I adopted was broken and needed replacing. It really stymied my aspirations of returning the windshield to its magnificent state of clarity when I learned that the replacement glass would cost $200.00 and change. 
Being retired and frugal to a point of being painful, I resisted paying this much for a piece of glass, cut and installed by a professional auto glass dealer, and, instead opted to buy a piece of uncut glass for about $95.00, and cut it myself. I had missed the fact that the windshield was 1/4 inch narrower at the top than at the bottom, and therefore, the perfectly rectangular piece of glass I’d so carefully cut did not fit the frame.

So, a bit of force, applied to strategically determined places around the top perimeter of the glass would surely force it into the snug, but very wobbly frame.

Remember the goofy arm…….? Well, it doesn’t respond to pressure, and can do some really stupid stuff if pressed beyond it’s own limits.

As the frame twisted, and the spiderweb of cracks spread across the face of my previously flawless glass, the $200.00 cost of having the glass professionally replaced, seemed far more reasonable that it appeared to be only seconds before.

Reasonably, I could have just reinstalled the windshield frame without any glass at all. Or I could have opted for a much cheaper, non-safety glass replacement from Lowe’s, but that was not reasonable.

So my next trip was to Tacoma Glass, and in my company was a empty front windshield frame from my 1923 Dodge Roadster.

A few days later I returned to the dealership, handed them my credit card and collected my beautifully finished windshield.

Now, as I nurse a cold MGD and peer through the magnificently clear windshield of my roadster, I don’t even think about the cost of replacing a piece of glass on a 100 year old car, I am just grateful I still have the eyesight to enjoy the view and am capable of having the car and the ability to do it.

Jack

 

 

You know me well. I cringe at the thought of buying tires, but I do it in spite of myself. After all, this collecting cars "hobby" is really a disease, as I'm sure you would agree with me. I have bought many pre-war Chryslers and Chrysler dealership signs and a thousand other Chrysler items which I now display in "The Old Chrysler Garage" museum in Minnesota. Fourteen of the fifteen cars in the museum have whitewall tires. Only the 27 Imperial sedan has blackwalls. I purchased the car that way, and it looks good, so it's going to stay whitewalless. As for your windshield blooper story, it made me laugh because I've done a lot of similar goof ups, buying wrong parts or buying parts I already had and didn't remember having, and the list goes on. Once in a blue moon I make a purchase that turns out to be a great deal, and I guess that's what keeps feeding the disease. Enjoyed your conversation.

[Jack Bennett]

10 hours ago, 24Chry48 said:

You know me well. I cringe at the thought of buying tires, but I do it in spite of myself. After all, this collecting cars "hobby" is really a disease, as I'm sure you would agree with me. I have bought many pre-war Chryslers and Chrysler dealership signs and a thousand other Chrysler items which I now display in "The Old Chrysler Garage" museum in Minnesota. Fourteen of the fifteen cars in the museum have whitewall tires. Only the 27 Imperial sedan has blackwalls. I purchased the car that way, and it looks good, so it's going to stay whitewalless. As for your windshield blooper story, it made me laugh because I've done a lot of similar goof ups, buying wrong parts or buying parts I already had and didn't remember having, and the list goes on. Once in a blue moon I make a purchase that turns out to be a great deal, and I guess that's what keeps feeding the disease. Enjoyed your conversation.

Thanks for your reply and kind comments 24chry48.

I procrastinate every time I put finger to key to complete a on-line order for anything with which to clothe and feed my old cars.

Most recently I looked across the bridge and could see far enough into the future that putting a new top on the Fargo cold be seen as a reality.

Selection of the tires was much easier because I located a fellow which had four brand new, still in the shipping wrap, 18” tires in his basement. 
He had apparently ordered them many years, aka decades, ago and had never gotten around to putting them on his car.

When I saw the price at which he wanted for the tires, and the fact I’d nearly given up on finding serviceable 18” tires of any sort, made the fact they were also whitewalls a negligible consideration.

But, the seemingly simple task of selecting a material of a suitable sort for the new top of an old panel truck loomed on the horizon.

But, not unlike the tires, an opportunity to buy the material for a new, antique looking, top reared its head, and could not be ignored.

I was convinced that the “Long Grain” vinyl top material sold by Snyder’s, and the other antique car outfitters I buy from, was a no-brainer.

But, while meandering around the antique car forums I saw a material called “tuxedo”, which is a much finer grained material than the Long grain I used on the Willys, so I ordered 17 feet, and that will be what you see when you look at the top of my old panel truck.

Jack

 

Edited March 25 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[24Chry48]

If the 18 inch tires you bought were 5.50x18, I had looked at them also, but just didn't need them right now. They were a good price.

[Jack Bennett]

On 3/25/2024 at 10:53 PM, 24Chry48 said:

If the 18 inch tires you bought were 5.50x18, I had looked at them also, but just didn't need them right now. They were a good price.

Hi 24Chry48…….Yep, they were 5.50X18, and I had given up hope on finding some at a decent price. 
Only after I got the Fargo home did I realize the immense amount of work, and the potential cost of parts needed to get the truck even rolling.

Finding four tires, especially of this odd size, at such a fair price was really a blessing.

 I am always antsy about buying anything on line, and I, seriously, thought this was a scam.

I told the gentleman selling the tires I was Leary of the number of on-line scams targeting people who had antique cars, and I would only buy the tires if he sent them, and then I sent him a check for the tires and shipping.

Surprisingly, he agreed, and I did get the tires, and as agreed, sent him his asking price, the shipping costs, and a cash gift for his honesty and trust in me.

The tires are new, never mounted, and still in their original wrapping.

I am a many denominational guy, and, even though it could have only been one of many deities who intervened in helping me here, I am grateful because  it surely was more than luck which put me in touch with such a respectable fellow.

Jack

Edited March 28 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[24Chry48]

11 hours ago, Jack Bennett said:

Hi 24Chry48…….Yep, they were 5.50X18, and I had given up hope on finding some at a decent price. 
Only after I got the Fargo home did I realize the immense amount of work, and the potential cost of parts needed to get the truck even rolling.

Finding four tires, especially of this odd size, at such a fair price was really a blessing.

 I am always antsy about buying anything on line, and I, seriously, thought this was a scam.

I told the gentleman selling the tires I was Leary of the number of on-line scams targeting people who had antique cars, and I would only buy the tires if he sent them, and then I sent him a check for the tires and shipping.

Surprisingly, he agreed, and I did get the tires, and as agreed, sent him his asking price, the shipping costs, and a cash gift for his honesty and trust in me.

The tires are new, never mounted, and still in their original wrapping.

I am a many denominational guy, and, even though it could have only been one of many deities who intervened in helping me here, I am grateful because  it surely was more than luck which put me in touch with such a respectable fellow.

Jack

I am glad I passed them up. It sounds like they went to a good home. It is really nice to hear about your good experience with the seller. I have been very fortunate buying a lot of things online. But to get your item before paying is pretty special. I have had one similar experience, with Larry Isgro, in New York. He sells carburetor rebuild kits. The first time I did business with him, he said he would mail it out to me, and I could just send him a check. Needless to say, I have bought many kits from him.

Edited March 29 by 24Chry48 (see edit history)

[Jack Bennett]

Hi 24Chry48. I had a psychotic episode, and when I woke up I had bought a 1929 Fargo Express Panel truck.

There is not a single inch of rust free metal or a shard of rot free wood on the body. Indeed, the truck had died and would have looked as much at home in a grave as it did out of place in my yard.

I am not sure exactly when, but sometime during the reconstruction of the 1923 Dodge, I took a blood oath, promising myself that I would never put myself at the mercy of the eBay and Craigslist “antique car” parts scalpers again.

So, when I got a better look at the Fargo, and recalled paying $170.00 for a single door handle for the Dodge, I seriously considered going into a cult and spend the rest of my life involved in a day long routine of self-flagellation.

Tires for these old machines might as well be molded of gold, and their quality is as questionable as the stability of the stock market.

Being a hobbyist, and any money I spend on my old cars is a “expense” rather than a “investment”……..well, it doesn’t take a scholar to understand why I didn’t welcome the idea of paying Coker $1600.00 for the tires, and another $300.00 or $400.00 shipping for tires needed for the purpose of moving a scrap pile around the yard in hopes that one day it may run.

The other consideration is buying four tires, again at the scalpers price, on eBay or other internet seller only to find they were the wrong size, and have more cracks than Mount Rushmore.

And, it does give me a immense amount of pleasure to learn that there are still folks around who are trustworthy and place their respectability beyond the reach of a dollar.

Thanks for your response, it is appreciated.

Jack