Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

what is the correct tire size from Coker tire. 8.00x15?? bias ply. i want it to be as close to original as possible. material, whitewall size, etc...

i was looking at these. https://store.coker.com/760-15-coker-classic-3-ww.html

thanks,

Hank

Hank,

7.60-15 is the correct size. I think, but am not positive your era car would still use a 4" WW tire. 3" seems more like a late 50's early 60's width. I have a lot of miles on vintage BF Goodrich Silvertown tires. I am also very impressed with the 4" WW Firestones on my Super 8.

Best of luck,
Jim

I am more impressed with Diamondback tires, their sizes, prices and growing reputation. But I also prefer radials to bias ply.

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i would probably prefer the radials also and have not 100% made my mind up on bias ply, but i am leaning that way because i want it to be as original as possible. i want to feel what it felt like in 1955 the first time i drive the car out of the garage.

so if bias ply was the original material then i would like to go with that and get some radials for longer trips as i can image they are better and more reliable.

thanks for the info dude!

this is the closet to 4" on coker's side in the right size.

https://store.coker.com/760-15-b.f.goodrich-3-3-8-ww.html

so, where to get 4" WW cheap and reliable.

I would like to go with bias plies also but i do a fair amount of highway travel to attend local shows and I feels safer with them radials on the car.

no offense, but i don't really want to ride around in my American made car on japanese tires. give me a set of good ole firestone or something. thanks for the input none the less.

i just wanted to know where to get some bias ply in the correct size with the correct size WWW. so i could finish out the rear end and mount everything back up with the tires on it. i just don't know where to get them with that wide of a white wall.

I am not 100% sure the 3 3/8 whitewalls are not correct for your car. If you find they are supposed to be 4 inch for sure, I thought I saw 4 inch firestones in the Coker catalog. I find the actual catalog a little bit more user friendly because you can see all the different tires with a flip of the page. I am hoping someone else here can confirm this for you.

My personal experience with tires is this: Radials work great, but age out after about 4 years. At that point, they are as likely to throw the tread right off the casing and or, blow out. Bi-plys do not seem to do this at the ripe young age of 4 years old. Radials do not look correct, the aspect ratio makes them disproportionate. The Diamond Back radials have a fairly good aspect ratio, but are essentially light truck tires. They are industrial strength, but may not ride quite right. They are also significantly more expensive than the original mold bi-plys.

Another interesting little situation I have seen with radials is they can flex the wheel so much that the wheel will habitually throw wheel covers. I have seen this more on slotted wheels than with full ledge wheels.

Between myself, and friends with old cars, we probably have close to 100,000 miles on BFG Silvertown tires. I took a month vacation on a set, traveling through 4 states. Another friend basically went coast to coast on a set on a month long trip. No reported trouble.

Here is the catch, radials will mask a worn out mis-aligned front end. Radials also resist grabbing the grooves in the highway. On a properly maintained front end bi-plys work adequately.

I really respect your thoughts on wanting the full experience of the car the day it was built. I share that feeling, and as a result, my collector vehicles have correct tires. They are a bit more money, but look fantastic. I also understand why folks run radials, and respect that choice.

Jim

OK, I'm confused. I thought since this was in the V8 forum we were speaking of a 55/56 Clipper Custom which would have 7:60x15 tires. Or is it a 46/47 Clipper Custom which would have 7:00x15? (These are from two different sizing conventions, I believe the 7:00x15 is actually the larger tire with higher load rating.)

If the former, the best measure of whitewall width is to look at original factory photographs, and there are plenty of them. If the former, I agree that at best whitewalls walls were almost impossible to obtain in those years.

Packard sourced tires from several tire manufacturers during any single year and I doubt that each manufacturer's whitewall width was identical to the others, so just general period norms should apply.

Another senior moment! When I saw the heading Clipper Custom I only had a few moments before going off line and assumed incorrectly that we were discussing the original 1940's Clipper Custom in my rush to offer constructive advice. My apology for any misleading statements. I have deleted or amended my posts. Sorry.