The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs 52 tire change from bias to radial

I'm going to replace my 6.50 nylon tires with radials on my 1951 Burb would like to gain some height also want the wide whites any body know any limitations to watch for or sugestions or recmendations Thanks Bob

Don't get the hot rod temptation to get nice wide tires. If you have original wheels, get a nice conservative size comparable to the original tires on the truck. Old school wheels can handle tubeless radials if they clean and rustfree, but the rims are beveled unlike modern rims. So a wide modern tire may slip off the old style rim at high cornering loads and create a major issue. Diamondback and Coker are the ones to look at for vintage wide white radials. I lean to the Diamondbacks because they are USA made originals, but you have to do your own homework.
Oh and don't get those big 3 and 4 inch whitewalls, they look crappy. A nice 2-2 1/2 " wide ww is really nice. JMO.

I agree with the tire width, go tall and narrow, a 215/85/16 would be best. However, I do disagree about the Diamondbacks, just from what I see on their site. Looks like most of their tires, which are not made as whitewalls, but converted from regular tires, are based on Korean and Chinese import tires, mostly Kumho and Hankooks. I would be leary of any converted tire, as the tire needs to be ground on the sidewall to have the whitewall bonded to it, similar to the old Port-A-Walls JC Whitney used to sell. The Cokers are made as whitewalls right from the start, which is a much better way to construct them.

I checked both Diamondback and Coker, neither offer a tire in a size or load rating that will support a truck or panel in wide white.