Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I checked my tires on my New 1942 "160" and they look good but are 25+ years old. They are 7.00 X 16 Firestone 4 1/2 WW. I would like to replace them with 7.50 x 16 which would give me a little larger tire and a more "grander look". So any suggestion on if I can go the next size tire up to a 7.50 and any input on make, ie Luster, Firestone, BF Goodrich?

Marshall Law -- Go with Bridgestone LT V-Steel Rib 220 7.50/R16 GBW. Yokohama makes a similar LT radial in your desired bias size, as did Michelin 'til a decade ago who probably figured there wasn't enough of a market.

I've been running Bridgestone LT R230 7.00/R15s on my '47 Super for years. Terrific and the single best thing you can do for a vintage/Classic other than overdrive and a pre-oil device for full oil pressure before cranking the engine.
Sam's Club and other discount outlets carry the above 220.
The above two sizes are the only bias-sized radials being produced today, lucky us, which means your sidemounted black beauty and my car are among the few survivors that can have the benefits of radials without the too wide, dorky, obviously inauthentic look of metric radials.

If you're dying for the done to death cliche of whitewalls, DiamondBack Classic Tires in South Carolina (www.dbtires.com) used to vulcanize widish whitewalls on the above Yokohamas, if not the identically spec Bridgestone.
But just checking their website, noticed they had only Cooper bias-sized LTs w/ whitewalls in your 7.50/16 size,
for $279 each. But at least one dealer online sells the same Courser (Cooper) R/D LT 7.50/R16s in blackwall for $135.

You've got an inherently elegant car in your 138" wb sidemounted black sedan. Leave the monkey see/monkey do suburban concours whitewalls to the '41 Cadillac, Chevy club coupe crowd. Packard put horizontal side grilles on the traditional bodied cars like yours in '42 to make them jibe with the new Clippers, which other than convertibles,
were the only way you could get a 127-inch wb 160/180 that year. So your '42 already has a racier motif than its '41 160 forebear and can really carry off blackwalls. It'll look like an embassy car.

Less is more with any good design.

You really see the car w/ blackwalls, and you'll be historically correct, esp. as most wealthy folk thought them gauche in the day. A friend put blackwalls on his black '40 180 Darrin, black top, gray interior, no fog/driving lights that you rarely saw in the day, just the standard baled feather hood ornamet, no gargoyle hood ornament.

And that car is s l e e k.

You may have to push the local tire shop or even "Classic" tire dealer to order the above for you, and tire salesmen make car salesmen seem like Milquetoasts, so stick to your guns.

Goodyear and others make 7.50/16 bias sized LT radials--
one site listed 16 different models. I mention Bridgestone because i'm using them, and the Coopers only as i had a set on my '70 Polara conv. decades ago and drove the wheels---
oops, you're law enforcement and the statute of limitations mightn't have run out.

Don't let any misery loves company types try to sell you metric SUV radials, or tell you "LT (light truck)" tires
will do this and that. Fullsize SUVs are built on pickup truck platforms.

Do not use tubes. You don't need them. Just make sure your rivets are tight, your inner wheel smooth.

You can remove any offensive lettering with a die grinder tho' there's none on my Bridgestones.

Bottom line. I know many '30s and '40s Cadillackers and Packardites running bias-sized LT radials without a hitch. The first drive after installing them on my '47 Super i couldn't believe the difference over the Denman bias plies i'd been running. No strange sounds. Felt like power steering and amazingly, the car
even stopped quicker. Yes, really. It is so. Verdad. But the whys of that are beyond my tech knowledge.

The o n l y drawback is that radials make your car handle so much better, you'll start to take sharp curves faster than you ordinarily would, to "outdrive" your car, fine road cars that Packards are.

Every last one of the 1936-37 Cord folk i've long known are immensely happy with radials, even tho' they're forced to run metric sized, which nonetheless look okay on their cars.
But since we can run b i a s - s i z e d (7.50/16, 7.00/15) radials on our Packards, we get the best of both worlds.

We get a kick out of characters paying a fortune for funky bias plies people in third world countries wouldn't touch, but slap wide whitewalls and some "authentic" tread pattern on them, and "hobbyists" will pay a fortune for 'em.

If you catch anyone laying on the ground scrutinizing
your tread pattern, tell the poor sap to get a life.

Don't waste your money on a radial tire for a prewar car. Besides for making your car look funny, you'll receive little or no perceived improvement in handling, except maybe on extremely rutted pavement. I did a drive test between a 1942 with radials and a 1940 with bias... both limousines. No difference. Both cars had just had their front ends rebuilt, including tie-rod ends, king pins, shocks and steering.

Yes, you can put a 7.50 on that wheel. That's what I have on my 1940. You may experience a little fender rub when making a sharp corner and hitting a bump at the same time, tho. Your side-mount covers will not fit if you put that size tire on your spares. In fact, they may not even fit in the fender well. A radial certainly wouldn't fit int he spare carriers.

I know the 180 Packards came standard with wide whites, and I believe the 160 models did too. I'm a big fan of black tires, and it certainly would have been an option for the original owner to have specified black tires over the whites that would have come from the factory.

Thanks I shall keep with the Bias and go with the 7.50 x 16 not sure about the Blacks yet.

Not meaning to pick a fight here, but the opinions above are contradictory at the least.

Every member I know prefers radials wherever they can get them...and many of those members are diehard originalists who would only use absolutely original tires if they could.

As I see it, they let the ride decide.....even on the older cars....

If not, is there mass hysteria in Packardland?

I pretty much agree with West, Packards prior to the new suspension introduced with the 41 Clipper benefit at best only marginally from radial tires.

The '42 mentioned in my first post is owned by my father. He bought it in 1959. He put radials on it because it was not handling properly. Before he made the mistake of putting radials on it, I told him to first make sure his "house was in order," (check king pins, tie rod ends, steering, etc.). He didn't heed my advice... put the radials on... and when it came time for the alignment, the shop said they couldn't do an alignment because his front end components were in dire need of rebuilding/replacing.

He, too, has driven both my car and his, and now wishes he hadn't put the radials on. As Dave said, the prewar-designed cars do not benefit much from radial tires. The one single area of benefit is that it WILL stop faster in an emergency situation. In other words, if you have to lock your brakes, the radials will stop it quicker.

In my opinion, anyone who likes radials better on a prewar-designed car is probably driving a car that has a suspension/steering problem.

My 115C has Diamondback www tubeless radials based on Hankook tires. It steers, stops and rides nicely. No problem with any of the steering or suspension components. The tires are mounted tubleless on the original wheels and hold air pressure. I think these tires are better than the replica bias ply tires being offered.

My 1955 Clipper Super also has a set of Diamondback www tubeless radials based on Dayton tires. They look attractive, and steer and ride excellently.

That said, my '47 Custom Clipper has a set of five 25+ year old genuine Firestone bias ply tube type tires. The spare has never been used. It too steers, stops and rides nicely. I only drive the Clipper in around the immediate area due to age of the tires and tubes; although, there is no sign of aging on the outside of the tires, and tread is still deep. The Clipper has always been garaged. It will get a set of Diamondback www tubeless radials when I replace the Firestones.

These are my experiences, others may have had different ones.

(o{}o)

If you go with 7:50 they will not fit in the fender wells.

If you're asking if they won't fit in the fender wells, I'm assuming you're referring to the spare tire fender wells. As I mentioned above, the 7.50s will not fit in the spare tire fender wells. I have to use the original 7.00 for spares.