I had my first radial Michelin tires on my 1960 Desoto back in the late 60's and they were so hard they lasted about 80000miles. When they hit highway expansion strips at 80mph my teeth would rattle. Radial tires do seem to harden with age especially snow tires and I usually have to buy new ones every 5 years regardless of mileage as they become so hard they are dangerous in any wet, let alone, icy roads. I am still debating whether to buy radial or bias 7.00-15's for my '47 S.C.. I really like the blackwall look better than wide whites which give the car an understated look and accentuate the body lines and the cloisonne hubcaps,are more period correct and of course are much less expensive. The car presently has "el cheapo" brand 235/75/15's blackwall radials which are too wide for my taste and give the car a resto-rod look. They are a big improvement over the 30 year old belted tires G78-15's that came with the car. I drove for many years on bias ply tires in the pre moving radar era (both chasing and being chased) at speeds in the 85-120mph range and never noticed any handling problems if the front end was tight so I am swaying(no pun intended)towards bias plies for authenticity and price.

Ooh, I don't like the narrow W.W.. Sporty maybe, but not for me or my car. I'll stick closer to the 2 3/4"-3" point.

"So you're near the old Buick Town? Cool. How are things around Flint these days? Is the Blood Plasma Center still open on Mondays?
And also Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays? I've hear that on Saturdays and Sundays they're closed."

LOL Indeed I am right outside of Flint. Flint is Flint. You know how it goes: not enough jobs and too many bullets but the plasma center has all the job security they could want. Although, even Flint is appalled over that poor little boy in Argentine.

Ray- with enough money you van do anything.

Following Kevin's lead, I'd also go with a early 50's frame. The width would be a little of an issue maybe. But you could have the frame pinched. A 288ci/ standard with the stock rear would be more than enough. Due to a possible spacing issue between the cowl and stone guard, I'd just leave the hood off. Put glasspacks on it. The ifs will make it handle a bit better, but leave it all stock height. Find some steel artillery wheels and wrap them with big and littles. No white walls. Leave the fenders on. Retain as much of the interior style as possible. Find a visor.

Just scheming here...but what ever you do, pack away all those original parts.

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Wow...that is telling especially considering how light a Miata is.

Regarding "flat spotting": My 91 year old uncle bought a Miata in 2000 and it had Michlien Pilot tires. He put 4500 miles on it then he couldn't drive anymore so the car sat in his garage for a bit over 5 years. I had the task of selling it for him, so after I changed the fluids and got it started, I took if for a test drive. I didn't think I was going to be able to get it back up the driveway - dang thing drove like it had square tires. Fortunately after about a mile they rounded out again and all was fine.

Crap, now Kevin snuck in on me. What is this? A competition?

Well Owen, you snuck that one in on me. I was basing my comments on similar pics.

Interesting how some of the cars in the picture have Wide White Walls, and the other Narrow White Walls. The narrows give a sporty look.

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Good question. The most accurate answer, I believe, is "it depends." I have a '56 auto show picture of a Caribbean equipped with new "narrow stripe" tires. They are at least as narrow as any of the tires from the '60s and '70s ww tires. A period pic of a '56 Clipper has very "wide whites" but most of the pics from '56 are sporting something more in what I'd call the medium range of white walls. For my money, they look the best. It's a matter of taste, I suppose.

So you're near the old Buick Town? Cool. How are things around Flint these days? Is the Blood Plasma Center still open on Mondays?
And also Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays? I've hear that on Saturdays and Sundays they're closed.

Does anyone know what the original width for a white wall in '56 was?

1956 saw just the very beginning of the narrow whitewalls and Packard used them as well as others - see the enclosed picture of new Packards in a showroom. That said, the narrow whites look out of place and era to most folks, judging visually I'd say whites of about 2-3/4 inches or so were typical of the era. Packard, also like other makes, used several brands of tires including General, Firestone and GoodYear.

Hope this helps you with your decision.

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