Why the 16 inch wheels?

[spdway1]

I am a young guy here owning an "A" and a "AA", I kinda like to keep them original . Ok Guys, This bring me to my question... Why the 16 inch wheels?

[David Martin]

I installed them just for the appearance. However, I have retained the original wheel for a future owner if they wish to change back to the originals. David

[glenn in camino]

Probably because radial tires are available in 16 inch sizes.

[zzlegend]

Probably because i like em

[Logan]

Cheaper tires, more stabil when driving down the road, more surface area touching the pavement, and they look good.

[RcT]

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I look at the Model A Ford as an extremely pleasant piece of design work. I can understand the advantages of the 16" tires and wheels, but asthetically, to me, they look out of proportion to the car. I have seen exceptions, such as those with a larger, taller tires which look better, and they do seem a bit more passable on the '30-'31 models. To me, they look too small and fat for the tall, lanky, '28-'29 models. Thay just don't seem concentric to the curve on the fenders. Then again, I have issues with trunks mounted behind the spare tires and upside-down landeau irons, but my opinion matters not to what you choose to do with your car.

I have seen non-original cars on this site with certain modifications done well, and are pleasing to the eye. But there comes a point when the clean simplicity of the original car crosses over into the "clown car" catagory. Less is more.

Again, these are my thoughts only, and please keep your attacts to a minimum. Enjoy your car. Do whatever you find pleasing to you.

Richard

[Charlie Stephens]

Probably got started during WW II when you could onlly get 16 inch tires if you were lucky. After that it stuck. I like the look of original 19's or 16 inch Kelseys equally on my '31 RDPU.


Charlie Stephens

[kenparker]

They look good. They ride smoother. They cost less. Most important is they make people ask questions. ken

[Gary WA]

I like the looks too!!!

[Georgew48]

I like the looks of the 16 on mine.

[eagle]

I can't see the "looks better" ideas. To me, the wrong wheels/tires is the first thing I see when spotting an A driving down the road. From a quarter mile away, I'll tell my daughters "there's a Model A!" then the next thing out of my mouth "But they've got the wrong wheels on her..." Sorry, can't help myself.... Its your car and I would never tell anyone else how to dress their A, but I like the original "tall tires".

[jkeesey]

I'll admit if you run modern lower profile 16s they look terrible, but if you run some old 600x16s with a fat white wall they look good. When you hold the 600s up next to original 19s theres not that much height difference the main difference is the width.

[Russ B]

In the '50s and '60s, it was more of a rarity to see regularly driven Model As with the original 21" or 19" wheels and tires, and almost never did I see them with anything but sealed beam headlights. A's with 16" wire wheels were the norm. Then, Model A's on the road were more often just daily transportation and had evolved to run on more available parts.

I have one A with smaller black wire wheels and black walls; and frequently I am asked if the car is original, and "What is it?". Ninety nine + percent of the general public only recognizes our old cars as "old cars."

I like smaller diameter wheels, but feel the A's fender shape needs a fairly tall tire for the car to look right with smaller wheels. It makes me happy and the car gets driven.

[newshirt]

As a novice, I was shocked when I first saw 16" wheels on a Model A (in modern photographs). But as time went on I saw so many of these photos that I began to believe it was a Model A option. In other words, I thought they came that way from the factory.

It never occurred to me to "modernize" an old car (except for hot rods). But then I learned that modern mods make the car better. 16" wheels are more stable, alternators are more reliable, halogens are brighter, turn signals are safer, etc, etc, etc. With some creativity, you could turn your Model A into a Pinto!

You'll have to decide what mods fit your personality. Are you a hardcore purist? Or can you live with a few modern upgrades?

[Logan]

Originally Posted by newshirt

As a novice, I was shocked when I first saw 16" wheels on a Model A (in modern photographs). But as time went on I saw so many of these photos that I began to believe it was a Model A option. In other words, I thought they came that way from the factory.

It never occurred to me to "modernize" an old car (except for hot rods). But then I learned that modern mods make the car better. 16" wheels are more stable, alternators are more reliable, halogens are brighter, turn signals are safer, etc, etc, etc. With some creativity, you could turn your Model A into a Pinto!

You'll have to decide what mods fit your personality. Are you a hardcore purist? Or can you live with a few modern upgrades?

Funny you mention that, because you can fit a pinto motor in an A with very little modifications, mounts up to the flywheel housing and everything.

[Lycoming-8]

I drove my 1929 business coupe from Jan of 1960 thru early 1964 on the streets of Cincinnati with 21" wheels, mechanical brakes, 1 tail light, and non-sealed beam head lites. Additionally the car always passed the Cincy or Norwood, twice a year, safety lane check; which the brand new Chebbies often didn't. Availability of tires was not an issue, nor was stop-ability!!

Granted during that era I only saw one other 'A' used regularly, another '29 business coupe but with oval windows.

[Geo. H]

I was born in 1934. As I grew up, I was always interested in cars. Old cars, new cars, it didn't matter. In my teen years, a lot of the Model A's on the road were running 6:00X16 tires. To me, a Model A with 16's looks more capable, more like a real car. I have two A's: a roadster running 6:5016's with wide whitewalls, and a coupe running 19" blackwalls. The coupe looks ten years older, and sometimes that's good. The roadster has an overdrive and more horsepower. It feels much better at speed. To each his own.

[CarlG]

If I could find 16" wire wheels with '30-31 centers, I might consider it. Otherwise I'm sticking with 19's. What I think really looks wierd is a 30 or 31 with 21" wires. See them like that on eBay all the time.

[jr-41ford]

I would really like to run some 6.00X16 WWW tires on my '28 Roadster, but have the early (AR) brake drums. Only other rims besides the stock 28 rims that fit on it, are some old military Jeep steel wheels.

I want 16" wire wheels and have some. I may buy some spacers and machine them to fit on the AR brake drums. They would also help tires clear the rear shocks too.

I do prefer to have wire wheels on it, but I have other wheels with the 5X5.5 bolt pattern, that I would like to use to change it up, including a new set of Radir Wheels WWW cheater slicks.

WOO-HOO!

[Georgew48]

If I had a points car then I would want the original tires and wheels, but for a hobby /daily driver car I like the 16 in wheels with the 600/16 tires. I want both. I have the daily driver now looking for a points car.