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

Thanks for all the help.
I raised the car last night to check things out and will be raising the front as well today. Want to remove all wheels and have them sand blasted. Hope to have this done during the weekend.
Will go with the Hercules tires as that is in fact all I can find in that size with at least a small white wall.

africapackard:

In response to a recent request to Coker tires to tell me what size radial should replace a 7.00 x 15 bias ply tire (the size originally specified for my 1948 LWB sedan), I received the following e-mail response:

" Thank you for your recent inquiry into Coker Tire. The tire size you would need is a 235/75R15. I have attached a link to our website so that you can see them. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me.

http://store.coker.com/search.php?mode=search&by_title=Y&by_shortdescr=Y&by_fulldescr=Y&substring=235%2F75R15

Thanks,

Jerry Preisel "

If you visit the linked site, you will see that Coker is one of the few tire manfacturers that makes wide white wall radials that look pretty good on vintage cars, although, you will also see that they can be a bit spendy.

Quote:

Owen:

All of the reference material I have seen, including the owner's manual for my '48 Packard Super 8 specify a 7.00 x 15 bias ply tire size (6 ply for my LWB). What reference are you using to indicate the 7:60 x 15 size?

Has there been much discussion on this site regarding the pros & cons of switching over from bias plys to radials? I understand that manuveurability at higher speeds may improve but steering out a parking spot may be next to impossible with radials?

Hi PackarDan

Thanks for that link. I looked at their website and would have loved some wide whitewalls! Ja, but the prices! Will never be able to get that stuff shipped here!
I would surely like to know what will be the best as I am confused. It seems that the problem with the 48-50's is clearance in especially the rear wheel well. I do not want tires to rub the body at the back or in front when turning. As it is impossible for me to get bias ply tires I will have to go for radials although they might look a bit different/strange on the car. Some say they do drive nice but that slow speed manoevreubility is not good. Maybe someone else can chip in here as well? Do you think the 225's will be worth it? I hope the load rating is enough - 1874 pounds. Nobody has said anything about that yet - seeing that the Packard is such a heavy car? Any advise or opinion is appreciated in order to make an informed decision!

I have 235/75/15 blackwall radial tires on my '47 Super Clipper. Other than be a bit of a chore to turn or park at very low speeds the car handles and rides very well and holds the road like a modern car at 70mph which is about as fast as I would ever drive the car for any distance. The previous G78-15 belted bias ply tires that were on the car when I bought it were atrocious and scary at speeds over 50mph as they tended to track on any road imperfection.. Diamondback tires offers the 7.00-15 radial tire built by Yokohama in a white wall or blackwall with the lettering removed. In Canada Toyo still sells a 7.00-15 radial tire also but they also have raised lettering on the sidewall. I believe these are a 6 ply tire as is the Yoko's. I have heard that Michelin still may offer a 7.00-15 tire or metric equivalent in Europe. Bridgestone also just recently discontinued this size but maybe a dealer might have some old stock? Maybe check with your South African tire dealers and see if there are any left?
Personally I would really like to get a set of the 7.00-15 radials tires to replace the 235/75/15's as these tires are quite wide and don't have the correct appearance. The sidewalls with raised lettering (somehow "Yokohama" on a sidewall doesn't look right on a post WW2 car )don't appeal to me either so I will probably bite the bullet and get a set of Diamondbacks but not necessarily the whitewall version. My two cents of advice is unless you are planning on trailering the car to concours car shows or limit your driving to slow speeds I wouldn't bother with bias ply tires for safety reasons.

Went ahead and bought the 225/75 15 Hercules tires. All and all I am very happy even though the white wall is very thin! I think they very closely matches the 7.60-15 that were on before. At least they will be much safer as the old cross plys must be more that 20 years old! Here is some pictures with the tires fitted to the newly painted rims:

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G'day from Aus

I took took the decision to put radials on my 56 and they are a tight to fit in the rear but no rubbing at all. The handling is great!

I learnt to drive on the exact car you have (rh drive, colour and all!!). I wish radials were around in 1969 when negotiating the mountain road each weekend (too quickly and with much tyre squeel - as you do as a teen).

Thanks for the pics and the memories of early Packard abuse and life long addiction!

Regards from the Southern half of the world.

You could turn the tires inside out and just show them as blackwalls which would appear more period correct that the thin whitewall. My opinion is that white wall tires on prewar and early postwar Packards is overdone on modern restored cars and in the case of the 1946-47 Clippers also incorrect. I have had both whitewalls and blackwall tires on my '47 Super Clipper and in my opinion the car looks far more elegant and stately without whitewalls. Packard body styling in most years was so beautiful that I find whitewall tires a distraction from appreciating the lines of the car body but most owners seem to think the opposite. Packards do not need that embellishment to look good and indeed most Packard owners who could afford these fine cars when new probably considered the addition of whitewall tires as rather bourgeois.

Responding to an earlier question in this thread, 7:00 x 15 and 7:60 x 15 are from two entirely different tire sizing regimens from different eras as can't be simply compared. The 7:00 x 15 is a larger tire than a 7:60 x 15.