11:00 x 14's were last optional from the factory in early 1959, before the changeover mid-year to 15" wheels. They ran at 16lbs(!) of air pressure and a road test of the era with these tires found they gave a pillowy ride, but were a little squirmy otherwise. They certainly did no favors for handling. With air suspensions being the rage in 1958, the big thing for autos was a soft ride. I suspect the 11:00x14 tires were specified as a companion option to be used with Chrysler's rear air-assist suspension. No doubt the plan was to get the Imperial's ride as soft as a Cadillac on full air suspension. (At least when the Cadillac wasn't dead on the ground when all the air leaked out!) Chris H. --- DickB@xxxxxxxxx wrote: > If I recall correctly, the previous owner of your > car, Kenyon, had me look > up for him the original tire size for his car, and I > believe the original > size was 8.90X15, which he then bought for the car. > That size is getting > very hard to find, as it was used only on very heavy > cars. I believe those > tires that he bought were supplied by Coker. A 1955 > would not have had 14 > inch rims on it, as far as I know. > > If anyone else wants me to check my listings, I have > the material from the > recap plant that I worked in as a teenager in the > mid-50s, with listings of > the OEM sizes for all US cars of that era. Chryco > cars went to 14 inch > wheels in 1957, and woke up to reality sometime > during 1959 and went back to > 15 inch. > > Dick Benjamin > > -----Original Message----- > From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On > Behalf Of Kenyon Wills > Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 5:34 PM > To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: IML: 11.00 x 14 ? > > My 1955 came with Denman 8-ply Super Cushions on it. > > Don't recall the size. > > These were 8 ply, and were of larger outside > diameter. > I know this because the trunk would not close on > the > vertically-mounted spare due to keeping one as a > spare > and trying that when I got 4 new BFGoodrich > Silvertowns to drive on. > > Bought an additional BFG and mounted to that spare > rim > and I was OK. > > The larger, heavier duty tires specified for Ghias > have been recently discontinued at Coker, and I'd > encourage you to look at the BFGoodrich SilverTowns > - > have been VERY happy with them, and I don't think > you > need the extra durability that the larger tires > provide/don't know how they'll fit on your car. > > Interesting question: As the Ghias were built on > stock Imperials, were the wheels, rear axle, or > wheel > arch/housings changed to make the larger tires fit? > > If not, then the answer is that they'll interchange > with no problem. I suspect they'll interchange > without a clearance problem, but that's guessing and > nothing more. > > > -Kenyon > --- ChiPieAlandPaula@xxxxxxx wrote: > > > Hello All, > > What I am about to say is strictly an opinion. > > Always heard that the "super > > cushions" were designed to take the extreme weight > > of the Ghia limos. This > > from a salesmen that specialized in New Yorkers > and > > Imperials during that era. > > Really do not have any idea either way. Just a bit > > of "trivia" to add to > > this thread. > > > > > Allan from > > Billings, Montana > > > > > > > > ************************************** Get a sneak > > peek of the all-new AOL at > > http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________ > ________ > Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network > Research Panel today! > http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 > > > > > ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com > ----------------- > This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing > List. Please > reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your > response will be > shared with everyone. Private messages (and > attachments) for the > Administrators should be sent to > iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx > To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to > http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm > > > > > > ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com > ----------------- > This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing > List. Please > reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your > response will be > shared with everyone. Private messages (and > attachments) for the > Administrators should be sent to > iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx > To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to > http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Got a little couch potato? Check out fun summer activities for kids. http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com ----------------- This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm