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Veteran
Posts: 157
 
Location: Ocala, FL | Hello,
My '58 Savoy four door sedan is running on an old (and worn out) set
of 225/75/R15 Futura 2000 wide whites.
Now I know Coker has that size BF Goodrich Silvertowns
for $181 a piece - yikes, too much for the moment.
I've heard of Portawalls and think they may have been discussed here
but I've seen on other boards people mentioning they ruin the tire,
that they don't seat properly, and one mentioned them being illegal altogether.
I've seen a set on ebay for $115 and others mentioned sets for $50 but didn't
say the source of the $50 set.
Has anyone had experience with using these???
And why not just spray the tire with white vinyl paint and such?
Or better yet, does anyone know of a source of real wide whites
at a more realistic for me price?
Sorry for revealing my restoration budget in such a candid way. hahaha
Steven |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 632
Location: Belford, NJ | I have a set that I bought off of e-bay. Only got one installed and it does not in any way shape or form fit. The tire that I have it on is a radial which may be the problem, but my father warned me that they never fit right even when he was a kid. I never listen... anyway. You can get them for much cheaper than $115 if you want to try them. There was a good string on this site concerning "shaving" your tires you should read. From what I can remember, a lot of tires have the white wall strip under a thin layer of black rubber, so shaving a bit off of them will give you the same look, for much cheaper. |
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Expert
Posts: 2721
Location: Minneapolis | Steven-- I had nothing but headaches with my portawalls, DON'T GO THERE!! No, they do NOT seat properly. A couple of my tubes had leaks, yes, you have to have a set of tubes even for radials, and one of the portawalls was always folding forward (away from the tire). A friggin' time and money consuming nightmare.
I had no luck with paints, after a few days it looks like sh!t, it just didn't work.
There was some discussion of this a year or so ago. Some of the guys here actually took a DA to their white stripewalls with amazing results. They posted pics on the forum. If you have stripewalls that are recessed, you could do this, the sidewall underneath is white. There are even tire places that will turn the blackwalls off to expose the whitewalls so you don't have to spring for the Cokers. However, I don't know how economical that is compared to just buying the real deal. If you have raised stripewalls, like mine, you can't do it, the stripe is all the white you have.
Oh, and did I mention DON'T GET PORTAWALLS? |
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Expert
Posts: 2721
Location: Minneapolis | Here's the thread...
http://forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=489&posts=... |
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Veteran
Posts: 157
Location: Ocala, FL | Thanks for the advise guys...
I will read that older thread and see where to go from there.
Since I will be buying a set of new tires, I guess I'll buy the right size
but regular white wall or is it I need a raised white letter tire?
Steven |
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Account Inactive by Request
Posts: 1601
| The BFG Radials from Coker or elsewhere are, indeed, expensive. But they do give that "radial" ride and feel to the car with the look of the wide whites. They are the BEST way to go. BUt, if like most of us, they seem a little pricey, you can still get the traditional, bias ply wide white tires from Coker that are much less money. They ride and steer like a bias ply, but look good and it may be a good option for you to consider. I would sure look into that, or go to the Tire Rack website and look at their Hallmark radials. These are radial tires with a slightly narrower whitewall (About 1 3/4"), but they really look nice when installed. Again, they are cheaper. Good luck.
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Veteran
Posts: 157
Location: Ocala, FL | carjock - 2006-05-25 11:28 AM
... or go to the Tire Rack website and look at their Hallmark radials. These are radial tires with a slightly narrower whitewall (About 1 3/4"), but they really look nice when installed. Again, they are cheaper. Good luck.
Jim,
I searched the Tire Rack site and didn't find any Hallmarks.
Maybe the are discontinued.
Tire Kingdom site is not working very well.
As far as tire places shaving tires, is this very common?
Or do I need to find an older or specialty place?
Thanks, all, for the advise.
-Steven
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Account Inactive by Request
Posts: 1601
| My mistake! It is the Tire Factory that handles Hallmark. Go to their website--you may have to make a call to them to get specific info. |
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Account Inactive by Request
Posts: 1601
| My mistake! It is the Tire Factory that handles Hallmark. Go to their website--you may have to make a call to them to get specific info. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 471
Location: MN | I put Goodyear Custom Power Cushion bias ply on my 60 D-500. I like the right size white wall, after about 3 years no yellowing yet. This is the tire many FL cars had originally & don't worry maybe jusy maybe I'll put as much as 5000 miles on the car by the time I am raptured. I got them from an outfit out of MO. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 641
Location: Evansville, WI | forwardlookparts - 2006-05-25 9:51 AM
Here's the thread...
http://forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=489&posts=...
Hey, where'd my pics go? Did anybody save them? I can't find them on my computer to repost them 
Edit. Never mind, I see'em now. BTW, I just ground up another pair last weekend for the rear of my Ply. I'm in the process of making a short tech video that I will post when completed. Edited by Bugman 2006-05-25 8:23 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 641
Location: Evansville, WI | Also, ANY tire with ANY white, wether raised or recessed has the layer of white inderneith. Both my last pairs(2 Coopers and 2 Goodyears) were raised narrow whitewalls when I started. |
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Veteran
Posts: 295
Location: Nebo, Western NC | Steven,
I've been grappling with the same problem myself. Even Lucas Automotive in California, who sells old-stock Porta-Walls for around $50/set, will tell you NOT to use them orn modern radial tires -- I actually called them and asked.
I took my '61 out for a spin today and was thinking about whether somebody sold "almost-wide" whitewall radials at a rational price and, poof, Jim comes through! I'm going to check out Tire Factiry's website right now. |
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Veteran
Posts: 228
Location: Centerville, SD | I had a set of portawalls on for a while. I fought with them enitially to get them to seat in the right place. After a couple thousand miles, I was checking things and found they had worn a deep groove in the sidewall where the edge rides. I would never recommend using these things if you plan to drve very many miles with them. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 641
Location: Evansville, WI | plypete - 2006-05-25 9:53 PM
I had a set of portawalls on for a while. I fought with them enitially to get them to seat in the right place. After a couple thousand miles, I was checking things and found they had worn a deep groove in the sidewall where the edge rides. I would never recommend using these things if you plan to drve very many miles with them.
That is the EXACT reason they're not recommended for radial tires. Radial sidewalls flex ALOT while driving. the porta-walls don't flex as much and cut into the tire. Bias plys have a much stiffer sidewall that flexes very little, and thats why you can get away with the porta-walls on them |
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Expert
Posts: 2101
Location: Idaho - where men are men and spuds are spuds | If you decide you're going to buy new, don't forget to check out the Diamond Back tires also. Based on feedback from FL members, they rank right up there with Coker, might even be a little better. Prices about the same. www.dbtires.com |
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White walls, Portawalls, and the like...
