Wheel Identification & Tire Size?

[5thhorsemann]

I agree, the 235 will not fit rite on the 6 inch rim, I think 215 or 205/60 is as big as you can go on a 6".

[Threehz]

Great exactly the info I needed! Well the Z should be up and running hopefully in the next month or two and then I'll slap some tires on the new wheels and see how she likes em !

[5thhorsemann]

Check out the tire rack site, they have excelent info and prices.

[Mike W]

So I just recently went through a similar exercise as you on tires / wheels / sizes, etc.

My old tires were shot and really needed to be replaced. They were mounted on original Appliance 14 inch mesh wheels (that I purchased in 1975 or so) and were 215 -60 R14. I went through a lot of back and forth on whether to upgrade the wheels, which would give me an almost infinite choice on tire sizes / brands / etc, or to stick with the Appliances and try to keep the car as period correct as possible.

In the end I decided to stick with the Appliance wheels and live with the very limited choice on tires.

[Mike W]

Not sure what I did in my last post. Posted before I was finished.

On tires, I decided that I wanted to go a little larger in size and have as much rubber on the road as possible. I was also very concerned about rubbing, etc with larger tires than what I was going to replace.

I ended up going with BF Goodirch Radial TA. 225-60 R14. Actually had a very hard time finding anyone that had them in stock. Ended up finding an online dealer I had never heard of before (tirecrawler.com) who claimed to have them in stock and also had the best prices. Came through on everything and I had them in less than 3 days.

Had them mounted on the refurbished Appliances (subject of another thread) and so far they have been great. No clearance issues at all and I really like the ride and feel of the larger tire. I'm also amazed at the improvement in handling and overall drivability of the car. It's been so long since these have been changed, I guess I forgot how mch of a difference new tires can make.

Finally, I was also concerned about the width of my old rims (6 inches) and whether they would work with the 225-60 R14's. I went to the BF Goodrich site and looked up the tires that I wanted and they provided all of the specs including minimum / maximum rim size. Here's the link for the tires I selected:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/size/PMetric/225/60/14/OE/BNW/radial-t-a/tire-details

I've attached a few pictures of my car so you can see clearance, old / new tire differences, etc.

Mike.

[Threehz]

Those look great Mike! I've been looking at different size tires and reading reviews of different tires and found some cool ones but there are so many choices and sizes. This helps a lot considering I can see some differences in tire and our wheels are the same size.

Also about your Appliance wheels, you said you just refurbished them? I cleaned these wheels up but the clear coat is starting to come off on a few little areas and there are some scratches and dings on them, can you post a link to the thread you mentioned about that?

[5thhorsemann]

If you are going to do it, now is the time, before you get the meats mounted. Use tal-strip (spray can type), the clear coat will come rite off. then use standard polishing techniques to bring up the shine. Also, make sure the tire shop puts the ballance weights on the inside of the wheel.

[Mike W]

Threehz,

I just finished the post on my Appliance wheel refinish. You can find it here:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?43224-Appliance-Wheel-Refinishing

Mike.

[5thhorsemann]

Awsome finish product, but our wheels have those rivets around the center, which do not come off. So unfortunately, we are stuck sitting next to a big fat tub of elbow grease. I used the tal-strip a pressure washer to remove the clear coat, a pneumatic die grinder with a 3" buffing wheel and various grits of wet sand paper and rosin and finished with mothers and Budweiser. (more bud than mothers) On my pickup, it took like 2 hours a wheel, but they had a mirror finish and it is easy to keep up on.

[Arne]

The fake rivits in your Westerns might not come off, but I know of people who have removed and replaced them on the AmRaces. They are splined, and can be driven in and out.

[Threehz]

Yes the rivets definitely look like they'll come out however I think stripping the clear coat, polishing and recoating them will be the extent of my restoring of these. Definitely will check out that tal-strip though.

[5thhorsemann]

I wouldn’t recommend applying a clear coat to the wheel after you polish them, it is really difficult to get rid of all the polish residue to get good adhesion on the clear coat. That’s why I finish with mothers aluminum polish, it seals the casting and lasts for months.

As I recall, my rivets are cross peaned and it would be a PITA to remove them.

Edited August 13, 2011 by 5thhorsemann