Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

My 1950 Packard 2301 Touring Sedan came to me with a set of Packard wire wheels installed. They look really nice, even though they were not available on that 1950 car. I serviced the brakes, etc. and discovered that the crook that sold me the car installed wheels that would not fit. The center hole in the wheel is perhaps 1/4" smaller than required to clear the OD of the front hub. To "fix" the problem he installed spacers under the wheels and screwed in the lug bolts a few turns, torqued the hell out of them so they would not fall off right away, and sold me the car. As an engineer with wheel manufacturing experience I can tell you this won't work for long, even if I find some longer lug bolts. Thick spacers cause bending stress on the lug bolts and eventually they break.

I plan to toss the wheels and the tiny brand new P195/75R-15 whitewall radials and replace both with proper new items. Does anyone out there have experience with the reproduction Packard wire wheels being sold by Kanter, Coker, and others? Do they fit the 2300 series Packard OK?

Also I found some new 700R-15 wide whitewall tires that have the look of the original tires (narrow tread, tall profile, but radials). Does anyone have any comments about these tires? They are manufactured by Sumitomo and sold by The Whitewall Candy Store in Orange, CA. I like these tires because they look authentic, rather than the fat radials normally seen on Packards. The cost is $216, about the same as the fat radials.

I have 700R-15 WW on my 38. Mine came from Diamondback and they used a Yokohoma carcass. The look and ride great.

Attach file:

---

  (130.69 KB)

Quote:

Phil, how much air pressure are you running? I have a set on my 115C, and Diamondback recommends tire pressure of at least 36 lbs to keep the sidewall from flexing too much and loosening the vulcanized white wall. The tires look nice and drive great, but the high pressure results in a hard ride. I will do something different for the tire replacement on my 2106.

I have been considering the Diamondback radials in 7.00-15 for my '47 as well now that the Canadian dollar is approaching par with the US. I am concerned about the ride quality using such a heavy duty truck tire just to have a correct size whitewall. I am considering a set of the Lester bias plies instead. Although I do like the ride that the 235/75/15 blackwalls I presently have on the car they are too wide and the car looks more like it is is a resto rod. Decisions, decisons. I am so fortunate that is all I have to worry about.

Hi Fred

I'm disappointed that you have not had any EXACT feedback on the WHEELS you mention as I would like to know any problems etc. anyone has had fitting and or running on them - reason being they are an expensive item and I don't want to make a mistake by ordering them and later regretting same - costs to me would be inflated too as I am in the UK and shipping plus import costs can be considerable.

By the way my car is a 1948 22nd Series Export Six and while a runner she needs and is shortly going to get a full restoration.

Best regards Michael

I shopped and measured a lot and decided that these wheels will fit my Packard 2300 series as long as the tires are not too fat. The new wheels have a zero offset and a 6 inch wide rim. The original wheels are either 5 or 5.5 inches wide, I am not sure which was standard on this car. The stock wheels have a small negative offset which puts the wheels slightly more inboard than the new wheels. The difference is only about a quarter inch. This should not be an issue.

The narrow tall tires I am getting are as big an OD (29.4) as you can put on the car without concern about hitting the tread against the front wheel well at the rear of the tire. The width of the new tire (7.7)is smaller than the tires I have on it now and they now clear the rear fender skirt by one inch.

The critical item on the Carribean wheels I have on the car now is the diameter of the center hole. The Carribean wheels interfere with the front hub and it will not allow the wheels to seat against the hub flange as it should. The new wheels have a center hole slightly bigger than the stock Packard wheels, so they sould fit fine. I am due to receive the wheels and the tires in early December. I will send a new posting if there are any issues.

I shopped around a lot and the total cost of wheels, tires, shipping, and installation comes to just under $2500. It is a lot of money, but it really impacts the look of the car. Also the tall tires will give me a cruising speed the same as origional Packard tires.

I also have the have 700R-15 WWW Diamondback/Yokohoma radials on my '41 Clipper and am very happy with them. Ride is fine.

Attach file:

---

  (161.99 KB)

I believe the factory wheels are 5.5 x 15. These are pretty easy to find if you are considering going without the wires. If you're set on the wires, check the skirt clearance - the back tires on these cars are a tight fit, much more so than on Clippers.