New to me 35 - Looking for Guidance

[Dennisfly]

I've been on the Barn with my Model A, but just acquired a 35 Standard Tudor and I'm new to the prewar V8s. I found a 1932 to 1941 Shop Manual Service Handbook which is a 1940 reprint from Ford Motor Company of Canada. I found it at Rockauto for $15 and it is 200+ pages and has alot of info. I will have alot of questions, but for right now, one at a time.

My tires are old enough to have voted in several elections and I need new ones (600-16 wide whitewalls) . I have looked online and there are several brands available. Performance plus seems to have them all with free shipping. Brands considered are European Classic $199, Coker $200, BFG $279, Firestone $279, Diamondback Radials $279.

The manual I bought has procedures for dismounting the old tires and mounting new ones with no special equipment. Is this really feasible or should I find a shop to mount them? I'm concerned about the shop scratching the wheel paint.

I have seen online talk of Coker's being out of round and hard or impossible to balance. I also read that just because a tire has a brand name like Firestone or Goodyear on the side wall doesn't mean it was made by that company.

I'm looking for advice that will help me make the right decision. Then I'll be back with the next issue after this one is resolved!

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Dennisfly

I've been on the Barn with my Model A, but just acquired a 35 Standard Tudor and I'm new to the prewar V8s. My tires are old enough to have voted in several elections and I need new ones (600-16 wide whitewalls) . I have looked online and there are several brands available.
I'm looking for advice that will help me make the right decision. Then I'll be back with the next issue after this one is resolved!

[38 coupe]

Are the tires bias ply or radials? In my experience old bias ply tires keep on going without failing dramatically. Radial tires on the other hand will break a belt or throw the tread off in dramatic fashion. If you have bias, and they drive well, you may not need new tires.


Personal examples:

I have installed radials on a 37 Ford and it drove very nicely. Those tires still look great 10,000 miles later, but are now 15 years old so I no longer trust them. New radials are going on the car soon.

In the last year I purchased a 38 Ford and it has bias ply tires that drive nicely. I think they are 15+ years old but I am not planning to replace them.

[nelsb01]

Two things that will not cost you the price of new tires.
Join the Early Ford V-8 Club www.earlyfordv8.org (membership from the left menu)

And from the same web site, click on Online Store and then Ford Books and purchase the 1935-1936 Ford Book.

As for tires -- for every poor response there will be more non-responses not posted how good they are. It is a personal choice.

[Tinker]

Well the internet is an interesting place with a lot of opinions. I have coker tires that are a bit older. 8 yrs. NDT at 70 does fine and whitewall 16s at 55. Guess I got lucky.

You might find issues with tires from anyone. Might find your wheels or suspension are suspect too. When balancing my wide 5's they put a few weights on it. Oh course I had to bring a speedway adapter and tapered nuts to balance.

Guess anything is possible. and options are fairly open. Having a 16X4 is a good thing, common size, and a few post on other companies out there like diamondback. I'll run bia-plys till I can't buy them. Stubborn I guess


No guidance here, just my experience. Congratulation on a super nice 35! Best of luck!

[cas3]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I currently have Bias plys on every car too. I like the look I guess. However....back in the 80's my daily driver was a 38 chevy with a datsun 240z motor, and a volvo trans. In those days, young, poor and dumb, I could still find used 16" tires at the junk yard. After blowing up a dozen or so I got some 15" wheels so I could run junk yard radials , and man...it was like a new car! Silly me, still buy bias tires

[Tinker]

Hard to find 35's wires I guess.


Guess it depends on what you want out of the tire. If you are doing cross country runs, maybe something robust. If you are doing local runs. You'll be fine with other.


I usually spend money on things that matter. I'll buy a pair of boots that cost 3 times more then a cheap pair, I know they will to be conformable and know they will last 3 times longer.

[jrvariel48]

What a beautiful car!! Good luck with baby!

[Jacques1960]

Car looks very good - honest and unadulterated

[APDAVE]

Nice Car!! Dave

[flatford8]

Did it come with the hat on the back seat???.......LOL......I like your car !!!
Very Nice!!...Mark

[drolston]

My first flathead was a '35 coupe which got me in a lot of trouble, but a great car to work on and drive.



You can get tubeless radials that will fit; you will surely enjoy the improvement in ride and handling over bias ply. Any reputable tire shop can mount them without risk to the paint on your rims. Be sure they check that the rims are true; that is the bead is concentric with the hub; usually not a problem. More of an issue is minimal wobble of the rim when rotating. Much over an eighth of an inch can be a wear and vibration problem. Good luck and have fun with that beauty.

[Steve in Denver]

Radial Tires-Be sure to measure the diameter of your spare, assuming it is the same as those on the ground. Don't get radials much bigger or, speaking from experience, they will not clear the front fenders.

[CaliforniaBorn36]

Looks like Performance Tire is a distributor for Coker Tire. I have Firestone Bias Ply on my 1936, (Not made by Firestone). The branded bias ply tires are made in molds that other companies have purchased and are no longer made by the brand. I have heard that most are manufactured by Coker and sold through the other distributors. So, look for the best deal.

Bought mine through Universal Vintage Tire because they were the same price as Coker but had free shipping. (https://www.universaltire.com/catalo...re_size=600-16)

[Dennisfly]

Thank you to all who have responded. I now have a wider base of knowledge on which to base my decision. And to Mark, yes the car came with the hat on the back seat!