<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..
More information about the VirtualVairs
mailing list