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Does anyone know the best modern radial tire size to put on a 1941 Clipper? I am just looking for cheap black walls for when I do the restoration and then I am going to get nice whitewalls for it once the restoration is complete. Also I am going to look at sand blasting the stock wheels. How do I get the chrome ring off and about how long would it take to sandblast each wheel? I would really appreciate any advice!

Slap some 225-75-15s on there and let her roll.

To remove trim rings without damage, pry the inside edge with a broad long screwdriver or flat pry bar. Do not pry the outside edge.

How long to sandblast depends on the blaster. For a really nice job figure 1/2 hour per wheel with a pressure blaster fed with a five horse two stage compressor.

Thanks Ross! I really appreciate the info!

The best radial size would be the original bias size, 7.00 x 15. Bridgestone and Yokohama still offer them. Michelin discontinued the size eight or so years ago.

More info on second page of "Tire Tube Help" thread on the 1946-54 Forum on this site.

Again I appreciate the advice and I have looked at the dimondbacks I really am just looking for a very cheap tire that I can just roll it in and out of my garage! My wife does not like like it sittin in the driveway on jack stands. So really I may drive on them very little around town once I get it running but right now I am looking for a cheap solution to get it in the garage for now.

If you are just looking for something to go short distances, try your local junk yard. Many sell used tires pretty cheap.

SuOverdrive,
I am thinking about radial blackwalls for my 47 Clipper. I found the Yokohama tire, but I am having trouble finding the Bridgestone. Do you have a name or model number for the Bridgestone 7.0 x 15? Thanks.
Mark

Has anyone used this tire before? Coker Classic 3 1/8 Inch Whitewall - 235/75R15 it looks pretty close to the original tires specs Tread Width: 6.58 Overall Diameter: 28.91 Section Width: 9.41 they are listed at $209 a tire instead of $279 for the diamondback 3 1/2 inch whitewall.

Monsignor Graber -- Bridgestone R230 LT radials come in our correct 7.00 x 15 bias ply size.

With these and Yokohama 7.00 x 15 radials still available, it astonishes me why some folks persist in using 235/75R15s intended for 5,500-lb. Stupid Useless Vehicles. Metric-sized radials look hideous on a vintage or Classic car.

BTW, for our '30s Senior-driving friends, Bridgestone, and i believe, Yokohama, also offer a 7.50 x 16 radial.

Unless they somehow "need" whitewalls. I'm for leaving whitewalls to the GMobile concours d'nonelegance crowd. Blackwalled Packards were esteemed in England and at embassies around the globe.

I often think many Packard owners who still don't get it would be better served by the 1941 Cadillac Club of America, formerly known as the CCCA; or the AACA, that considers anything out of the Kelley Blue Book "antique," or one of the other organizations hijacked by the downhome brigade. I just flipped through the current Classic Car, quarterly of the CCCA. Page after page of overrestored monstrosities with whitewalls, and, of course, fog or driving lights you never saw in the day. Aaaand requisite gargoyle hood ornament, despite photographs of late '30s Packard Twelve and Super Eight convertibles in big city showrooms shod with black shoes and adorned simply with the standard baled feather hood ornament so you'd see the car.

The only thing worse than Packard's inept marketing of their world-class junior cars 1938-on, contrasted with Rolls-Royce/Bentley's skillful purvey of their increasingly rationalized "small horsepower models," is our perpetuating Packard's clumsiness. But this brings us back to my closing May 09th comments on the General Forum "This ad would've made all the difference."

Bless You, Su8:
On Bridgestone's website, I found the Bridgestone R230 listed with the 16 inch R265. No data listed for the R230, so will check with my local Bridgestone dealer.
Go in peace.