<VV> New "stock" tires for LM's with custom white walls

Hugo Miller hugo at aruncoaches.co.uk
Fri Mar 27 02:59:57 EDT 2020


When I was a kid I painted whitewalls on my motorcycle. It wasn't long 
before I brushed the tire against a kerb and half the paint rubbed offf 
again.
Your friend sounds a bit OCD ;)

On 2020-03-27 06:01, tony.. via VirtualVairs wrote:
> On 3/25/2020 11:17 PM, larry--- via VirtualVairs wrote:
>> Hi Everyone,
>> OK, now that we are talking white walls,
>
>
> For what it's worth:
>
>
> If the stuff is still available...
>
>
> My old bud Don (Mopars) had a sleeper '64 Plymouth Max-Wedge car.  
> He used to do a bit of 'real' racing and had a long history of being
> involved with drag race hardware and engine builds.   He wanted real
> street performance in the Plymouth but he also wanted stock 
> appearance
> in every way.
>
>
> He had stock 14" whitewall tires on the front.  No problems.
>
> The back tires were a different story.   The engine was radical, and
> stroked to 482 cubic inches with enough camshaft to wake the dead. 
> The Stage-III max heads, already serious, were polished/ported.  Lots
> of tricks.  The car was a monster.  The only way there was any sort 
> of
> chance of the tires in back actually hooking up was to run Marsh
> cheater slicks on the back, with suggestions of tread.  They were
> about 13 inches wide.   The back rims were banded to accommodate the
> wide tires, which would have been wider if Don could have fit 
> anything
> wider inside the wheel well.  The banded wheels also had to have the
> offset "adjusted" so the tires would fit the car without rubbing.
> Likewise, the wheels also had to be 15" since the tires weren't
> available in anything less than 15's.  But Don wanted to keep the
> stock '64 Fury wheel covers.   His solution was to cut the outer rim
> section from a pair of 14" wheels and carefully weld these "rings"
> onto the 15" wheels.   This allowed the 14" wheelcovers to fit the 
> 15"
> wheels.
>
> No whitewalls available on cheater slicks.  Don needed white wall
> tires all around.
>
> White tire paint.  He got his from J.C. Whitney.  Not sure if other
> sources carried the stuff.   He carefully masked off the tires and
> painted whitewalls onto them, to match the white walls on the front.
>
> He jacked up the rear  of the car onto jack stands, started it, put
> it in gear to spin the rear tires, and traced/scribed the outlines
> where he wanted the white to be with chalk, taped around the marks,
> and with a brush painted the white walls onto the tires.  I watched
> him do it.  Afterwards they looked quite passable even when viewed up
> close.
>
> Don drove the car maybe 50 miles a week, not a lot but it did get
> used.  He had two other Plymouths, both '66 models, both 426 Hemi
> cars, eventually sold both, kept the '64 Max-Wedge Fury until he
> passed about 9 years later, and left the car to a mutual friend and
> drag racer (Linwood Craft) who had always admired the car. The car 
> was
> Still wearing those cheater slicks with the tire paint white walls on
> the back and they still looked good.  In fact, they had faded to a
> light beige just like the white walls on the front.  Probably would
> have washed up pure white again with a bit of scrubbing.
>
> If tire paint is still available, it could well be an option for the
> intrepid enthusiast who wants vintage appearing white walls on his
> vintage car.
>
> ...and, I seldom ever miss a chance to mention my bud Don Keesey, old
> school drag racer and hemi enthusiast and engine builder/tuner and
> 4bbl carb guru who was one of the more ingenious guys I ever knew.  
> And he liked my Corvairs.
>
> So... anybody know if white tire paint is still around?
>
> tony..



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