I think many of us have gone through this dilema. Do a search and there are several threads.
I figured out all my tire dimensions. diameter, section width, tread width, and did several searches at the tire sites to come up with the right numbers on a modern tire. This took a lot of time and screwing around.
The story ends with me going to a good local tire place and finding that they have 7:50 x 17 Tornels in stock. They are a larger diameter then what I took off, but look and work great.