The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Time for Tires

I've realized there are few options available when it comes to finding 15" replacements for my '37 at a reasonable price. The bias ply options are pricey and the choice seems to narrow if you stay with blackwall.

I've decided to find a modern radial in a 225-75 15 size. How do I know if my stock 15" rims would handle these without a tube?

Assuming you don't have any pin holes, loose rivets or bends on the wheels to leak air, the smoothness of the rim beads and smoothness around the valve stem hole will be the areas to leak air. Clean the areas well and/or paint or powder coat them. Be sure to carefully inspect the wheels before painting or powder coating them to make sure they are safe. You don 't want to cover up cracks, bad rust or badly rusted rivets so you can't see them. It is also very important to install a tire with an appropriate recommended minimum wheel width. Measure the wheel dimension from inside bead face to inside bead face to determine your wheel width then compare to the tire you are considering and discuss it with your tire dealer. Many older Chevy wheels are 4", 4.5" and 5" widths. I run 215/75 16 LT 8 ply rated tires (minimum recommended wheel width 5.5")on my 1954 Chevy truck rims. I'm on my fourth set and know several people who run the same size. I don't know the recommended wheel width for 225/75 tires. I am not a tire expert so rely on your tire dealer for safe application.

Thanks for the reminder on rim width - I'm asuming they're 5" as I search thru the specs available on places like tire rack. 225's favor a 6"-7.5" rim and 205's get me to 5.5". The next problem becomes tire diameter. If I recall, the original 750X15's were nearly 29" and a 205 series is only 27.1" Don't want to hear any screaming @ 50MPH

Try going to http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/chevylist/tech/tire_size_conversion.htm

Brian, I have the same 225/75r15 tires on the front of my 37. I also have the 5" rims. The only problem I have found so far is the sidewall of the tire rubs the tie rod end when cornering. I have replaced the old style tie rod ends with modern ends, but there is only about 1" or less clearance to the sidewall when wheels are straight. The problem seems to be the 75 series sidewalls. The 5" rim works but is really too narrow makes the sidewall stick out farther than on a wider rim. I am currently rethinking my situation before I get my 37 back on the road. Yokohama makes a tire called the RY215 that is supposed to be taller & narrower. I'm looking at this tire for my 37. Charles

I think you've found a solution Charles. I see they also offer snow tire type - Y742S. All the specs seen to fit and the look is bias like.