The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Tires!

I finally need tires for my build. '50 3100, 235, T5, 3.54 rear axle and manual steering. I want a tire that'll make it easy to turn which means thin. My wheels are 15x7.

Any suggestions? I'm thinking 215 75r15's.

Those 215/75/15s are pretty close to the 6.70-15 tire that was common back then. Should be ok on the 7" wheel, though you may consider a 235/75/15 as well. It's a little wider and taller, and will be a better fit for a 7" wheel. Air them up to around 35 up front, maybe 35-41 in the back depending on what range you get (P rated. P XL, or LT C range), it'll still steer fine. I'm running even wider tires, 30x9.50x15, with manual steering, and have no problems turning.

I have 235/75/R16 tires on stock rims on my 50 and it is a challenge to steer while standing still. Maybe I need to join Bill's gym.

Carl, it was our conversation that almost made me buy that size tire. Then I talked to a friend and he said that wide a tire would be a bear to steer.

So many conflicting opinions.

for starters, you don't "steer" while standing still, nextly, you won't find any tires that will make it easy to turn the wheel of a 50s truck when not moving, it's the nature of the beast and why the steering wheel diameter is so much larger than on modern trucks .... but, radials of any size will make it much easier to turn the wheel when you have even a small momentum forward or back, the reason a wider tire may take a bit more effort to steer in motion is the steering geometry was designed for much narrower rims and tires, wider tires put too much leverage out beyond the ends of the spindle, particularly with the much wider than stock 7" rims .... the difference in the sizes [215/235] you're discussing shouldn't be noticeable

Bill

I bought new 235 75 R15 for 59 Panel, stock rims. Looked good, steered good. Thin white walls. Near 30" tall. Priced right. $342 out the door in your town.

What were the stock wheel sizes? Is there any reason not to run wheels and tires closer to the original size?

The stock sizes from that are averaged between 4 1/2" to 5 1/2" in width. The only reason, beyond perhaps a custom mag wheel, to run a non stock wheel size is simply better availability of radial tire sizes, which do tend to need a wider wheel for proper sidewall support. The lower width range of most light truck radials (215) is right at 5 1/2". Without proper sidewall support from a correct width wheel, you can end up with some pretty squirrelly handling. Bill hits it right on with how these trucks steer, standing still, it will not matter what tire you have. However, you can get away with wider wheels/tires without too much issue if you have the proper fitment, not going too wide and getting the backspace and offset proper to keep the scrub radius and wheel centerline close to the stock specs.
52Carl, no gym here But I will admit to being an above average size guy, 6'4" and pushing 300#. I also have a longer than normal arm length (great for getting leverage) for my height.

I've had my Cooper 8.75x16.5 radials on my '50, 3600 for 6-7
years now. Lacking turn signals, the left arm is out the window
when I'm turning so I'm steering with the right arm only. No
problem as long as I'm rolling even a little. Two arms when
standing, still won't do the job.
A couple of guys followed me to the parking lot at Menards the
other day and pulled up next to me when I stopped, the one
leaning out the passenger side said, "we been following you for
five miles, you want to sell that truck?" Seems he wanted one
for his wife. Of course the answer was no and I told him there
were a lot of them out there and gave him a few places to look.
But, we started talking about the truck and I told him to jump
in the driver seat and try it on for size. This guy was about
your stature Bill, and with the seat all the way back, his
knees and belly bumped the steering wheel. It was plain that
there was just no way an AD could be comfortable for a
grandiose driver, I can only imagine what it would be
like in an Art Deco cab.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

jr, 'stock' would have been either 15 or 16" with a width of 4 or 4.5" for the AD's, and there's no reason to not keep as close to stock as possible other than radials can be a problem on the narrower rims - but it's also the case that the 55-59 series wheels that are 5.5" wide fit the AD, and LT tires fit them fine with a much more original look - my 700R15's are a treat, as good as adding power steering

narrower tires have a number of advantages, aside from being suited to the design engineering of these trucks, including better gas mileage, less hydroplaning, better traction in snow [you may not be needing that - but I do], and they appear to be the future for efficient vehicles

Bill

Well, the way I have been putting on the pounds lately, I may catch up to your weight, I will never make it to 6' 4". If I put on another 50#, this steering issue will be a moot point, as I won't be able to fit behind the steering wheel to steer it.
Carl

52 Carl -
When you changed to the radials, did you use radial tubes or tubes at all? I have a 54 with 16" rims. They look like they have a lip where the tire would seal but Universal and Coker tire reps say I need a radial designed to be used with a radial tube. (Big sales pitch - blowing smoke?) The reps say the rim design changed in 55 to a different rim lip. Any additional info would be appreciated.

Wait to hear from LONGBOX55 about a substantial change in the wheel in 1955 (relative to making them different for using radials). I doubt it.

I'll be installing radials on 54 16" rims without tubes (nice rims) and will most likely seal around the rivets/joints with silicone sealant (these are beautiful rims that have been "trued" and powder-coated).

The rims on my Suburban were not in such good shape. I had to use radial tubes and plastic stem protectors (with SRM II Cooper Radials). These were installed by a Cooper dealer, even though these are tubeless truck radials. I have had no problems in 10 years of 1,000 miles/year driving (good, non-winding roads - mostly at highway speeds).

There was a change in the rim lip contour, I believe it was a bit earlier than '55, though. Has more to do with the change from tube type to tubeless tires, with the taller lip on the tubeless rims acting to "lock" the bead of the tire to the wheel. However, if you ever get a chance to look at a 14.5, 15.5, or 16.5 wheel (the first 2 are trailer wheels, BTW), they have virtually no lip at all, even with tubeless tires. I've mounted tubeless tires on the earlier wheels without any problems, as long as the inflation isn't let to get too low.
As far as the whole "bias ply wheel vs radial wheel" thing, I've been told that the radial wheels are supposedly thicker in the web area, and are able to handle the increased side loads that a radial tire can handle. I'm skeptical about that, steel wheels on todays cars tend to be pretty thin, very easily bent with very little force. Unless you're planning on doing some high G road course racing, I don't see any problem putting radials on older wheels that are in good condition.

by 1955 tubeless were standard equipment on new vehicles and AFAIK the truck rims didn't change then, although some tire shops seem to think radials won't work on them .... I've always put tubeless radials on the old trucks as long as the rivets weren't corroded and never had a tire shop object .... LONGBOX, I think the rim that "locks" the bead is called a safety wheel and didn't start until about the 70s, strictly for a "run flat" precaution - as you say, keep inflation checked and correct

Bill

The radial tires were already on the rims when I bought the truck. They have tubes of unknown origin, so I am driving on borrowed time until I make some time to demount them, fix the rusty valve stem holes, and take out the tubes, and put the raised white letters on the inside.
Carl

Well, after watching CL for a long time I just ended up buying a set of 4, 15" chevy 6 lug rims from 1969 or so. No problem with drum clearance or wheel clearance. They have 235/75/15 radials with 50% tread left and the full set was just $100. They are about one inch shorter in total height. I have not driven on them yet but they look good. This way I can switch back and forth simply by changing the set of tires. Lucky me. Now I just need a nice set of center (dog dish) hub caps for the 1969 wheels. That is my new search.