Tire Brand and Correct White Wall Width 1959 Skyliner

New to forum and could not find newer posts for this subject. If one exists, would appreciate being pointed to it so I don't have to start a new thread needlessly.
The newly acquired '59 Skyliner's 800 x 14 tires are old and cracked and I have no idea if whitewall width is correct for the period. I definitely want radials and think I want bias look radial tires but would like your opinions. My questions are:

1)What source and brand is currently the best

2)Is 800R14 correct or is there a metric conversion size that matches it

3)What is the correct whitewall width. The car will not be judged, but I don't want a 1 inch stripe if 2 1/2 or 3 1/4" was correct

4)Are bias look radials the way to go or is there a technical downside to running those reproductions for appearance sake

5)Any other tips that I may be overlooking

Any and all advice based on your experience or opinion will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Bill

Welcome to the Skyliner forum Bill.

I'm running Coker Classics P215 75R14 with 2-1/2 inch white wall. When I bought them (in 2010), they were the closest thing to 'correct' in size and WW width available in a radial tire.

I opted for radial tires because I like the way they handle better than bias ply tires and I am happy with that aspect. They look nice and the white walls haven't faded or spotted the way an earlier set (of non-Cokers) did.

Biggest problem I have though, is with the actual dimensions of the tire. Even the tallest profile radial does not offer the same overall diameter of the bias ply tire. The speedometer shows a few MPH higher than actual speed. And the width of the radials is also a concern. Removing or replacing the rear tire/wheel assembly is nearly impossible. There is barely enough clearance between the lip of the quarter panel and the brake drum to slide the tires on and/or off. It's a real time consuming wrestling match in the driveway. I can't imagine trying to do it on the side of the road.

If there is something new out there with the handling of a radial and the actual, true dimensions of the original bias-ply tires, I'd be interested to learn about that too.

We'll both wait patiently for responses ;) . Things run a little slowly around here at times.

droptopford, thanks for the reply and heads-up on the P215 clearance issue. Do you know of a reference for the correct whitewall width. I want to get the closest.
These cars don't need tires very often so I'm not expecting a lot of replies. But I know there is someone out there sitting on a wealth of information.

This is the chart I used when I bought my tires. https://www.cokertire.com/blog/tire-...ross-reference

I believe the conversion info is as accurate as possible. As I said above though, there are size issues to be considered that aren't reflected in the charts.

There is a lot of product info on that site. As far as I can tell, this would be the most accurate replacement tire: https://www.cokertire.com/tires/750-...wall-tire.html It's a bias ply tire though.

They do show a tire that is supposedly a radial tire that looks like an original bias ply. https://www.cokertire.com/tires/amer...whitewall.html

If they make that one in a 14 inch tire, I can't find it.

I have been using the radial tire that looks like a bias ply from Coker for about 7 years now with no problems on my '59.. Size is 800X14R. I believe these have the correct white wall size of 2 1/4 inches. Pretty expensive though. I Like the ride much better than the bias ply tires that I previously had. If you run with the top down a lot, the rears ride better with a little more air in them like 35 or 36 lbs. Hope this helps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 59 Retract

I have been using the radial tire that looks like a bias ply from Coker for about 7 years now with no problems on my '59.. Size is 800X14R. I believe these have the correct white wall size of 2 1/4 inches. Pretty expensive though. I Like the ride much better than the bias ply tires that I previously had. If you run with the top down a lot, the rears ride better with a little more air in them like 35 or 36 lbs. Hope this helps.

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Thanks for that info! Gonna try those next time around.
I agree with running some extra PSI in the rears. I don't remember what the total weight-shift comes out to between top-up and top-down, but it's enough to make a noticeable difference. A little extra air seems to help.

I use the American Classic 800 X 14R radials on my Skyliner and some of my other Ford cars. I like them, but since they look like a bias ply tire, they also are not as good as a true radial. They are a wonderful compromise which allows you to have a tire that looks OE but has a much better drivability factor than those old style tires.